The Medical Professional's Guide to LGBT+ Inclusion: Creating a Workplace Culture that Nurtures a Welcoming, Inclusive, and Affirming Environment

The rates of medical bullying, absences by LGBT+ professionals due to lack of safety in the workplace, and subsequent suicidality for LGBT+ youth and adults are exponentially higher than for non-LGBT+ youth and adults. As a result, many LGBT+ patients and professionals are suffering needlessly, and many business leaders are unsure of what to do. This book solves that problem.

Featuring real-life situations and scenarios, a glossary, and further resources, this book enables professionals in a variety of business roles to integrate foundational concepts into their everyday interactions with potential and current employees to create an overall medical workplace culture that nurtures a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environment for all. This book can be utilized by independent readers, department teams, and entire medical corporations reading experiences.

Setting out best practices and professional guidance for creating an LGBT+ inclusive medical workplace, this approachable and easy-to-follow book guides medical leaders and anyone working in a medical facility toward appropriate and proven ways to create safer working environments, update workplace policies, enhance hiring and staff retention protocols, and better support LGBT+ employees in the workplace as well as for LGBT+ patient experiences.

The real-life scenarios are a unique feature of this book. While many offer information, this book is practical and requires active engagement with the material for the reader. The scenarios offer the reader the opportunity to try out the foundational knowledge they obtained in earlier chapters by giving real business place experiences that others have been challenged by. After reading the scenario, there are intentional pointed thought questions, which can be used for discussion if the book is read in groups or teams. This encourages teamwork and shared learning. Then, readers will receive guidance from America’s leading LGBT+ expert, who uses her 25+ years of experience to guide the reader as if they were receiving individualized guidance right from her to them!

Kryss Shane, MS, MSW, LSW, LMSW (she/her) has been called a “Leading LGBT+ Expert” by The New York Times, Cosmopolitan Magazine, CNBC, Huffington Post, various Parent and Business magazines and websites, and by a wide variety of professional organizations due to her 23+ years of experience in this field.

Kryss earned her Bachelor’s of Science at The Ohio State University in the field of Human Development and Family Sciences, her first Master’s degree in the field of Social Work at Barry University, and her second Master’s degree in the field of Education, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction at Western Governor’s University. She holds social work licenses in the states of Ohio and New York, as well as numerous certifications in topics including providing online-specific education, mental healthcare and LGBT+ youth, suicide prevention, and many, many, more.

She travels the US working as a consultant, educator, and corporate trainer, as well as appearing at events and conferences as a keynote speaker, an author, and a writer, all of which focus on making schools, businesses, and community leaders more LGBT+ inclusive. In addition, she is currently a Teaching Associate at Columbia University and an Adjunct Professor at Brandman University.

Throughout her career, Kryss has aided in the introduction of Gay Straight Alliances in numerous high schools, participated in the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., rallied for non-discrimination laws in numerous states, and has held or actively participated in meetings with numerous legislators to educate and encourage their participation in the Equality Movement. She has worked in concert with numerous equality-based organizations in a variety of roles to support, affirm, and celebrate the LGBT+ community.

Kryss is well-versed in the areas of sexual and gender minorities including historical and current research. She has significant experience working with transgender youth, transgender military servicemembers, LGBT+ people struggling with suicidality, and others. This provides the foundation she uses to educate and guide professionals to better understand, accept, and communicate about and alongside the LGBT+ community.

She continues to actively advocate for LGBT+ rights on the local, state, federal, and international levels.