Trevor Gabel-Baird has seen and felt the effects of bias, transphobia, and homophobia in health care, and wants to improve treatment for all.
Gabel-Baird, who identifies as a queer man, has experienced the lack of empathy in health care himself and wants to create positive change for all.
“I’ve felt judged for who I am as a person, I wanted to eliminate those barriers that prevent people from being seen and that stop them from going to their physicians or nurse practitioners,” explained Gabel-Baird.
One instance Gabel-Baird could recall was with a charge nurse in a prior role, who misgendered a transgender patient who had ended up in the intensive care unit after they made an attempt on their life.
“It was very off-putting to me to witness my peer and someone I’m supposed to look up to, especially as a brand-new nurse, putting the patient at risk, and that’s what drove me to apply for the nurse practitioner program,” Gabel-Baird said. I felt health care needs more people that can speak to the lived experiences of the LGBTQIA community.”
In the LGBTQIA+ community, more than one in six adults have reported they avoid seeking health care due to anticipated discrimination. More than 20 percent of transgender adults reported discrimination in health care according to the National Library of Medicine
“To be a nurse practitioner it requires a stronger compassionate trait,” said Dr. Kara Schrader, Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program Director. “Our nurse practitioners tend to work with marginalized populations. The LGBTQIA community has difficulty with health care access, and huge health as well. So, it is important for nurses to be empathic when it comes to the compassion we provide.”
Gabel-Baird has experienced health care through the lens of a queer man and the inequalities firsthand. Watching them on the bedside is what really drove him to take this step into this position, and to provide better care not just for the LGBTQIA+ community but other marginalized communities as well.
Nursing runs deep for Baird; he grew up watching his mom work on the labor and delivery floor. In the evenings at the dinner table, she would tell stories of her days in the emergency room. He said it felt natural that he would become a nurse.
“In Michigan State University’s Family Nurse Practitioner Program, the curriculum made it so you we’re responsible and take the information they give you and run with it. I would dive deeper into the literature, going outside the assigned readings and finding more related topics from other sources to learn from,” said Gabel-Baird.
Of course, nothing can beat real-world experience and the opportunity to develop one’s empathy and compassion.
“I think it’s important to be able to empathize with the patients you come in contact with because it makes it so you can see through their lens,” Gabel-Baird continued, “You get an idea of how they are seeing the world, and what is affecting them. And if you can empathize with that person, it makes it easier to treat them."
As far as long-term goals, Gabel-Baird continues to impact nursing by educating the next generations of nurses. He wants to get back to academia and work at a university to foster and educate future nurses and teach them to provide equitable and empathic care to all people.
“The faculty have been instrumental to my development here at Michigan State,” Baird said. “Dr. Schrader has done a fantastic job at the content she provides, but also the structure of her classes.”
In addition to currently doing a clinical rotation at Hastings Internal and Family Medicine in Hastings, Mich., Gabel-Baird is also a teaching assistant in the college’s simulation lab.
“Emily McIntire, the sim lab director, has been a phenomenal mentor,” Gabel-Baird said. “She has really fostered my desire and my understanding of teaching; I can’t thank her enough for the opportunity.”
