Asking a transgender patient what their preferred pronoun is can go a long way towards improving their healthcare experience, says mental health nursing student Sami Hillyer

I am a trans woman, and I am a nurse. Sometimes it feels like these are unrelated, other times they feel inextricably linked.

Trans people occupy a wide spectrum of internal experience, my own being that I am feminine and wish to be seen as such. Among safe spaces and queer circles, being able to say ‘this is who I am’ can feel liberating, propelling trans people forward and equipping us with the language to define ourselves.

I have reached a point where I feel confident enough to know who I am. On my last placement, I was out as