1/5th a Hopkins Nurse

One semester down, four to go until I'm officially a nurse. It's been quite a semester and there's plenty to reflect on as I grow in my praxis as a nurse and as an educator. I've spent the past 3 years lecturing caring professionals on how they can better serve their patients, and it's been fascinating to be on the other side of the table.

I'm grateful to be part of a cohort of 160 future nurses in the Johns Hopkins MSN program who spent the last four months learning the basics of patient care: from diabetes management to changing bed sheets, wound care to the physiology of septic shock. Below are a few reflections on the values we've found and cultivated along the way:

The reason I was most excited to start nursing school was to invest in the foundational knowledge surrounding my specialty. Entering school this fall, I already knew more than most of my professors about gynecological health and sexual dysfunction, LGBT health, and sex work. But I knew next to nothing about heart failure, asthma, kidney disease, and the myriad other body systems that comprise a picture of overall health.

Intimate Health Consulting is founded on an integrated, holistic approach to healthcare, which recognizes the social, emotional, cultural, and spiritual components of health as well as the physical. We emphasize that our sexual experiences do not misfire in isolation; pathology is influenced by multiple systems, both internal and external. While I feel well grounded in the environmental factors, this semester has helped me speak the language of the physical exam, drawing connections to the other systems of the body that can influence our sexual selves.

As nurses and as advocates, we cannot survive as islands unto ourselves. We need community to thrive and to effect change. I've been so grateful to find other passionate, disciplined, diverse, and open-minded students in my cohort dedicated to making the future of healthcare better.

This picture is from the Hopkins gathering to protest the Trump Administration's new DHHS guidelines which roll back protections for transgender students under Title IX. Hundreds of Hopkins med, nursing, and public health students gathered to say we #wontbeerased. Two of my dear friends, Andrew and Rebecca, have showcased their allyship for the queer community  through their presence, engagement, and continued learning about issues facing the community. For them and for the other wonderful allies I have found this semester, I am grateful. The future of LGBT healthcare looks bright.

My university, Johns Hopkins, is the largest employer in Maryland, and it has a....complicated relationship with labor. The nurses at Johns Hopkins Hospital (East Campus) are in the process of unionizing- an effort that has been met with harassment, intimidation, and outright aggression. Hopkins has hired one of the biggest names in union-busting to mount a legal effort to quell the organizing happening on its campus. Yet the asks of the union reps are simple: adequate staffing and equipment for units, salaries that match the area average for skill set and experience, and parking so that they can come to work and do their jobs.

Witnessing this conflict between administration and labor reminds me how important it is to hold our institutions accountable. Frederick Douglass told us, "Power concedes nothing without a demand," and as I mature into a nurse within this institution, I need to keep pushing against power and to center equity and justice in my work. It's so easy to see our identities as grad students as all-encompassing, to block out the larger conversations our community is having. But as future nurses, we must be part of those conversations, engaging with the people we hope to serve.

Attending the Female Genital Cutting (FGC) Symposium was one of the most unique opportunities presented to me this semester. I had the chance to listen to experts in the legal, medical, and social work fields about screening, care, and counseling for people at risk for or affected by female genital cutting. This topic had always interested me, but this symposium deepened my understand of the topic and lit a fire in me to learn more.

Throughout the rest of the semester, I've dug into the literature drawing connections between the medicalization of circumcision and female genital cutting, the religious implications of Judaism and Islam, and the sociocultural aspects of these practices.

I'm grateful to say I have joined the US Clinician Network on FGM/C  as a resource for people affected by the practice who want to discuss body image, sexual health, and function in conjunction with consultation from medical clinicians about treatment options and continued care. If you know anyone who has questions about FGC or would like support around their experiences from a non-judgmental practitioner, please be in touch. I am grateful to add this to my skill set.

Despite being in class 22 hours a week, clinical 8 hours a week, teaching as a GUTA for the Hopkins School of Medicine, and...I guess studying occasionally, I tried my hardest to get involved in the Baltimore community. I received training from Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition to carry Narcan in case of opioid overdose,  I supported shows by the Baltimore Rock Opera Society and the Charm City Kitty Club, and most importantly, I celebrated International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers with the wonderful folks at SWOP (Sex Worker Outreach Project) Baltimore.

SWOP reminded me, more than anything else this semester, how important it is to surround yourself with community, with the people who "get it," who fight the good fight with their bodies and their lives every day. It is rejuvenating and hopeful in these dark times to look around and see the other queers and freaks and hoes and crips loving each other and holding each other up. I am so much more than a nursing student. I am so much more than a sex educator. I am grateful to this community of advocates for having me and keeping me in all my complexity.

At the end of the day, I'm deeply moved by my experiences with nursing school this far. There has been growth and discovery, learning and difficulties. But I never expected to find so much joy in this process. Here's to another 4 beautiful semesters.