06/18/2022
Always at FATS. ALWAYS.
I began to specialize in trauma-informed intimate healthcare because I sought approaches to improve my own clinical practice that could work for s*xual assault survivors and q***r people, of which I am both, and wanted to take the best care possible of my communities. many years ago I drafted this “stop” and “out” language, and began demanding that providers attend attention to the patient’s non-verbal cues as part of ongoing consent. this script (this image is just an excerpt of the longer dialogue) and many others are available on my blog, linked in bio. I write a new script almost every week in my subscription newsletter - would love to have you reading there, too 💌
I’m still crafting language and drafting suggestions. I still want to really understand the research, history, and ethics behind true informed consent, the challenge of healthcare provider power dynamics, and approaches that seem easy and “of course” to so many and yet are so difficult for the MIC as well as many midwives, nurses, and other intimate care providers. If you read my work and say “of course,” and “that’s so easy!” then I couldn’t be more thrilled we are on the same page! but if you read my work and your response is defensiveness, excuses for why these suggestions aren’t possible, or an attempt to discredit my experience and knowledge, I can almost guarantee that what I write and advocate is meant for you and the patients in your care. if your response to yesterday’s post about physicians cancelling birth plans was an gut-reaction “well some patients,” take a step back. and think about what sort of an MIC environment creates that response within you, and how that same environment creates how you view “some patients.” start here, with informed and consent, gentle intimate exams, and verbal and nonverbal cues about patient comfort.
