Co-authored by Candace W. Burton, PhD, RN, AFN-BC, AGN-BC, FNAP assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Monica McLemore, PhD, MPH, RN, assistant professor at the University of California San Francisco.

This week the United State Supreme Court hears arguments in Obergfell v. Hodges, a case that could determine the fate of hundreds of same sex marriages across the country. Even as our attention is drawn to that high-stakes process, it’s critical to consider how we can create an inclusive space in our own lives, work, and communities. One means of doing so is to recognize and attend to the needs of trans* and non-binary gender individuals in health care practice. As three nurses who work in mental health, reproductive health, and emergency care, we encounter people all along the gender spectrum and strive to provide safe, effective, and nonjudgmental care. We also understand that institutional-level change occurs about…