Allies in White Coats: Introducing The AFFIRM Program
Dr. Lulu? “Number One Gender/Sexuality Educator”
Helping healthcare professionals increase their revenue by creating affirming, patient-centered practices for Black LGBTQIA patients. | Bestselling Author | TEDx Speaker | Host: Moms 4 Trans Kids Podcast | Affirming Mom
Introducing the AFFIRM Patient-Centered Care Program: A Call to Action for Healthcare Professionals
My Journey to Affirmation
As a pediatrician, a mother, and an advocate, my career has been shaped by my lived experience. The moment that truly changed everything for me wasn’t during medical school, nor was it in my years of practice, it was in my own home. When my eldest child came out as transgender, I had to face the truth that, despite all my medical training, I was not equipped with the knowledge or framework to provide truly affirming care, even within my own family.
Like many doctors, I had been taught about diseases, diagnostics, and treatment plans, but no one had prepared me for the profound responsibility of affirming a patient’s identity as a fundamental aspect of healthcare. The more I researched, the more I realized how deeply systemic bias and ignorance harm LGBTQIA+ patients, particularly Black transgender individuals, who often face medical neglect, misdiagnosis, and outright discrimination.
Too many gender and sexually minor patients complain about feeling alienated, misgendered, tokenized, and unaffirmed by their healthcare providers. They want to go to the doctor and leave feeling seen, listened to, advocated for, and treated like any other patient. Sadly, too many avoid the medical system completely as a result of too many incidences of trauma.
This realization led me to create the AFFIRM Patient-Centered Care Program, a hands-on transformative approach designed to equip healthcare professionals with the tools to deliver competent, culturally compassionate, and affirming care to LGBTQIA+ patients.
The Problem: A Healthcare System That Fails LGBTQIA+ Patients
LGBTQIA+ individuals, especially Black and Brown transgender patients, experience staggering health disparities due to systemic discrimination and unprepared medical professionals. The statistics are sobering:
These numbers are not just data points; they represent real people who suffer preventable harm. Bias in medicine isn’t just unethical; it’s dangerous.
What is the AFFIRM Patient-Centered Care Program?
AFFIRM is a high-impact training program designed to bridge the gap between medical knowledge and affirming practice. It’s built on five core principles:
The AFFIRM Patient-Centered Care Program provides healthcare professionals with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to deliver affirming, life-saving care to LGBTQIA+ patients. This is not just cultural competency training, it’s a transformation in practice.
Why This Program Matters for Healthcare Professionals
Whether you are a physician, nurse, mental health provider, or healthcare administrator, affirming care is not optional, it is an ethical, professional, and legal responsibility. The AFFIRM program empowers healthcare professionals to:
? Improve Patient Outcomes: LGBTQIA+ patients who receive affirming care have lower rates of mental health crises, better treatment adherence, and improved overall health.
? Reduce Medical Harm & Legal Risks: Non-affirming care leads to misdiagnoses, malpractice claims, and ethical violations that could have been prevented.
? Increase Patient Trust & Retention: Trust is the foundation of effective healthcare. When patients feel safe, they seek care earlier and engage more actively in their health.
? Meet Ethical & Professional Standards: Organizations like the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) recognize affirming care as the gold standard.
Who Is This Program For?
The AFFIRM Patient-Centered Care Program is designed for healthcare professionals who are ready to make a real change. If you are:
? A doctor looking to improve how you treat LGBTQIA+ patients beyond just knowing the terminology… ? A nurse or frontline provider who wants to ensure every patient encounter is affirming and trauma-informed… ? A healthcare leader or policymaker striving to implement systemic changes that foster affirming environments… ? A medical educator looking to integrate LGBTQIA+ patient care into curricula…
Then this program is for you.
A Call to Action: Be the Change
Healthcare is not just about treating illness, it is about ensuring every patient feels seen, heard, and valued. The AFFIRM Patient-Centered Care Program is more than a training; it’s a movement toward justice, equity, and ethical medical practice.
If you are ready to become an affirming healthcare provider, I invite you to join the AFFIRM program and take a stand for inclusive, equitable, and patient-centered care.
?? Want to learn more? Reach out to me on LinkedIn or visit my website to explore how you can bring AFFIRM to your practice or institution.
Let’s transform healthcare, one affirming provider at a time. ??????
#AFFIRMCare #LGBTQHealth #AffirmingMedicine #EquityInHealthcare #PatientCenteredCare
Dr. Lulu
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1 周Wish you all the best in the program. Uchenna "Dr. Lulu?”
Helped 25 busy corporate employees start building the life of their dreams ? Ex Unilever, Profitero & Danone ? Mental Health Awareness Podcast host ? DM "Dreams" to start building the life of your dreams in 2025
1 周Catchy name, Uchenna "Dr. Lulu?” Umeh NGLCC Certified
Executive Director at Human Rights First Rwanda Association
1 周This is timely and needed. Good work you're doing. Health practitioners need to equipped with the knowledge of working with marginalised groups this will save lives and better marginalised healthcare needs.
I guide others to Embrace Change and Identify, Explore, and Eliminate the stress of facing life changes, to benefit the rest of their life. I live it personally and teach. Let's connect.
1 周This is exciting! Uchenna "Dr. Lulu?” Umeh NGLCC Certifiedis ! In 2018, I volunteered at NYU Medical School as a practice patient for third-year medical students. It was an eye-opening experience to see how uncomfortable many were. The medical community didn't recognize us as anything other than a psychological condition with no treatment or cure until 2012. It's no surprise the medical profession is not prepared. Similarly, therapists are not prepared to address the unique needs of transgender patients. They learn from books but have limited knowledge of how profoundly difficult the incongruence is between gender, physical body, socialization, and expectations.