[00:00:00] Sean Burke: Welcome to the Care to Listen podcast. In today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Emily Wyatt, a 2SLGBTQIA plus liaison nurse and passionate advocate for marginalized communities. We’ll explore their journey from nursing school to advocacy, navigating personal healing, and the challenges of balancing work and well being along the way.

[00:00:20] Today’s episode is being broadcasted to you on the unceded and traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh Nations. Trigger warning. This episode includes discussions about sensitive topics, including self harm, suicide ideation, substance use, and depression. Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Care to Listen podcast.

[00:00:41] I’m your host Sean Burke. And joining me today is Emily Wyatt. Welcome to the show, Emily. Thanks for having me. Uh, well, today is such an important conversation. Um, you know, talking about your personal lived experience, uh, being a 2SLGBTQIA plus patient navigator at Island Health. Um, I know it’s something in a role that you take very seriously, um, and just again, are willing to come in and share what that experience has been like for you.

[00:01:10] So, first of all, thank you for that in advance. And why don’t we start off by just giving you an opportunity to, to introduce yourself and share a little bit more. 

[00:01:20] Emily Wyatt: Yeah, um, so I have been a registered nurse, uh, working with Island Health, um, initially in their emergency department for just over three years now.

[00:01:33] Um, it, during that process, I, uh, also have sort of went on a return to work, ended up doing this 2SLGBTQIA liaison role, and that’s the first of its kind, um, in, uh, Canada, still working on expanding that, and that’s been really exciting. And essentially just using Um, my knowledge to try to make health care better, safer for, um, anybody that’s in the 2SLGBTQIA community, as somebody who’s from that community and has been a patient and a care provider.

[00:02:10] It’s hard on both sides. 

[00:02:12] Sean Burke: Yeah. And I think in particular, you know, you’re talking a little bit about being that person who has lived experience, but also to trying to support others who might be navigating, you know, again, some of that personal experience is being brought up again and how that can, can impact your overall wellness.

[00:02:29] So maybe we’ll just start in terms of, you know, there’s, there’s lots of areas in terms of workload, in terms of some of like, you Your lived experience and coming up and helping and support others. Why do you do the work that you do? 

[00:02:44] Emily Wyatt: Um, to try within the system to make any amount of difference that I can for, for people from all communities.

[00:02:51] Um, Obviously at the moment, my work is very specialized within a certain community, but essentially I just really think that everybody deserves quality health care that meets their goals all of the time. And I don’t think we’re hitting that right now. 

[00:03:07] Sean Burke: And what are some of those early findings when it comes to the work that you’re doing, that you’re starting to see?

[00:03:13] Emily Wyatt: Yeah. Uh, I think that one of the biggest things I noticed, uh, for the first few years of working in the emergency room, I was so flat out, I never had a chance to actually stop and evaluate the environment that I was working within. So I didn’t really notice a lot of the, the, uh, sort of threads, the same sort of situations popping up again.

[00:03:38] And it wasn’t until I had that opportunity to step back a little bit and see them. So what I noticed specifically with the community that I work in is, um, that we would see people from the, the 2SLGBTQIA community come into the hospital, starting with minor issues, minor issues, or, or moderate, not really get, any appropriate care for a variety of different reasons that we could spend probably multiple hours talking about.

[00:04:08] Um, and that would happen over and over again until essentially we would see that individual in our trauma room being resuscitated, being sent to ICU, or dying in our trauma room. Um, and it wasn’t until I had the chance to step back and, and pick up on that. And so what I think I’ve seen is that by this role existing, patients have a safer way to interact with the health care system, and hopefully are, well, not hopefully, the data shows that they’re more willing to come into the health care system when they, um, have a reasonable reason to do so.

[00:04:46] Um, which means that they feel safer and they’re going to actually get care more often before it is in such a extreme situation. 

[00:04:56] Sean Burke: And Maybe walk me through a little bit about your experience. And so when you were, I believe you were going down a path, um, to becoming a nurse, um, and then this was during, instead of me trying to explain the story, why don’t you tell us the story?

[00:05:14] Emily Wyatt: Yeah. Um, so an abridged life, uh, life story. Um, so when I was, um, growing up, my mom was actually an RN. Um, She had passed away quite early on in my life. Um, diagnosed with cancer, like stage four colon cancer when I was about, uh, 12. Um, and, uh, passed away when I was about 16. Uh, through that time, I was also a member of the queer community, but I wasn’t really sure what that meant for me.

[00:05:44] I was trying to figure that out. But as you can imagine, trying to figure that out while all these other things are happening, not super, you know, Easy. Um, Also, as related to my, my mom’s situation, my sister and I both had our colons removed as well, and so, I’ve been significantly hospitalized and medicalized my entire life.

[00:06:06] Um, So not really having the time to interact with that, and what that looked like for me through that period of time was just Not really seeing the point not of living not really seeing the point of continue on further but not Doing anything active about it. It was just like I don’t really see myself a little bit past 19 So I’m gonna do a lot of dumb things that are harmful for myself.

[00:06:27] Thankfully. I’m still here That sort of came to a head where I got into nursing About four years before kovat happened, which was you know Great. Um, and that is around the same time when I started my transition as well. So about halfway through nursing school. So, um, by the time I graduated, COVID was in full swing and I was sort of like in the most vulnerable point in my, um, uh, gender transition as well.

[00:06:56] Um, so two really big transitions going into nursing practice, um, as well as, um, My, my gender transition and working in the emergency room during COVID, all of these things, all at once kind of culminating at the same sort of time for me. 

[00:07:11] Sean Burke: And, you know, first of all, thank you for telling your story because I mean, so many people, I think just listening to it, um, either one can understand and relate, um, and to get to understand, you know, some of the difficulties that you were experiencing.

[00:07:28] When it comes to, You know, having that passive suicidal ideation, having the ability to go through and to to come to a place where you can move forward in a productive way. What was that like for 

[00:07:44] Emily Wyatt: you? It was really hard, especially at the time when I went into nursing school. I just had a relationship that wasn’t super healthy to begin with because it’s hard to have a healthy relationship when your identity is so Shattered into pieces.

[00:07:59] Um, so it was, it was a really rough time and essentially the decision I made was, well, I want to at least do something with my life. This was when I was like 22 or 23. I can’t remember exactly, but, um, I still at this point didn’t really see myself living that much longer, but it was like, well, at least I can try to do something that will be helpful for people.

[00:08:22] Um, and so, yeah, it was, it was very hard to be able to pull myself into that sort of world of helping others. But at the same time, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. Um, the nursing program I went to in VIU was amazing, and the first year really focused on, um, interrogating who you are as a person internally, and, and what you’re bringing to the table as a nurse.

[00:08:49] And through that process of understanding, you know, my own needs, my own desires, my own values and beliefs actually brought a lot of healing and closure to some of these situations I’d been struggling with for a really long time. Um, including my passive suicidal ideation, my gender identity, and And that opened the door for me to start my transition, and to start feeling more comfortable in my body.

[00:09:12] So, very difficult time, but also one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, and I would attribute the reason why, or a big part of why my, my kind of passive suicidal ideation is

[00:09:27] Sean Burke: That’s such a great, you know, story and journey and to listen to hear your, your experience and where you are today. I’m curious for somebody, um, who may want to support somebody who’s going through transition, but doesn’t know how, um, what, what can they do to be a good ally to support somebody? It 

[00:09:48] Emily Wyatt: can be, like, it can be really overwhelming, um, and if you’re not somebody that’s from that community, it can be really hard to know the right things to say.

[00:09:57] I’ve had really well meaning people, like, kind of try to comfort me in ways that aren’t particularly helpful, um, But the fact that people are trying and they’re reaching out and they’re keeping track of you, one of the biggest things for me, with both school and my transition, I was very privileged to be able to have the support of my family even if they didn’t really understand.

[00:10:17] So I had a safe place to be while I was going to school. I had financial stability, um, uh, and was able to take less student loans and all of that, which I recognize hugely beneficial for me. But I think what most people can do is honestly just sit and listen to, to your friend, your family member, your colleague, um, listen to their experience, listen to what they’re saying.

[00:10:39] Um, cause the reality is, is a lot of the things that we’re feeling most trans people are, um, but we’re so isolated from our communities. The other thing that you can do is try to help them if they’re ready, if they’re in a place of change, to connect to, to local communities or local care providers that might be helpful in talking through some of these things, um, to, to help navigate those feelings.

[00:11:06] Sean Burke: Yeah, and what you said about a safe space, I mean, at the end of the day, it’s, that’s the biggest thing that, you know, it sounds like it can continue to be helpful. Jumping back to the conversation around COVID, um, so now you are a nurse. You’re starting to work with, with people and COVID hits. Um, big change and transformation again that you’re going to need to navigate.

[00:11:32] What’s that experience like for you? 

[00:11:34] Emily Wyatt: Um, it was at the beginning, there was actually kind of a bit that was like, there’s this um, That sort of like uncertainty, which is why I got into the emergency room, where you don’t really know what’s happening and there’s that kind of excitement that comes with that, which sounds kind of crazy some of the times, but it’s like working the uncertainty, that kind of cowboy medicine, figuring things out as you go on the fly.

[00:11:57] So that was kind of interesting. But as it dragged on is when it got really challenging, uh, when we’re just swamped, people are burning out, our staffing levels are low. Um, so the amount of time that nurses in the years before us that would have graduated and we would have started seeing burnout or people leaving their jobs, we started seeing that.

[00:12:20] half a year, a year sooner, like much sooner. Um, and even now like our staffing levels haven’t recovered. So it’s just a very challenging time to care for yourself. And I know that I didn’t do the best at that. I sort of did what I always tend to do when things are hard and I bury my head in the the work that I’m doing, what I’m passionate about.

[00:12:40] Um, and just did a bunch of overtime, did a bunch of shift extensions, um, which Really, for my physical and mental health, didn’t, didn’t help very much. 

[00:12:50] Sean Burke: Well, it sounds like the system itself needed that, um, but there wasn’t necessarily the supports in place to, to help the people. 

[00:12:58] Emily Wyatt: We care about the people that we work with, and our patients, and we don’t want to see anybody suffering, so, we, it, it’s so easy to just throw ourselves at the problem.

[00:13:09] Um, and it wasn’t until I had time off of work and I kind of took a step back from things that I realized that just throwing people at the problem isn’t going to fix anything. It clearly hasn’t. Um, we’re just going to, to make it unsustainable and make the problem worse long term. So, how instead do we find ways to improve the quality of care that we’re giving, So that people are in less acute, um, medical crises when they come to the hospital.

[00:13:39] And so, or maybe even don’t even need to make it to that point where they need to go to the emergency room in the first place. Um, and I don’t know that I have all the answers for that, but I think there’s more that we can be doing to, to walk back where we are right now. And, 

[00:13:52] Sean Burke: you know, from your personal experience, throwing yourself into the work, how did that impact you personally and what maybe might have you changed if you were to go back?

[00:14:02] Emily Wyatt: Yeah, it, uh, mentally it impacted me in a way that I was, you know, as irritable when I got home, um, as irritable if anybody asked me about my day, I was constantly tired and no time to spend any of it doing things that I love. I love doing art, I love going spend time with friends, and I wouldn’t, on my days off, it would just be lying in bed at home.

[00:14:23] Um, me and my partner wouldn’t really do anything, so from that perspective, just having no energy, Um, and just feeling helpless. And then physically Um, I wouldn’t eat very well because I’d often be way too busy at work to stop and take a break. So, you know, we have our little digestive crackers at work that we give to patients and puts, uh, spread some peanut butter on one of those and have a snack in about five seconds and you’re good to go for the next six hours or so.

[00:14:53] Wow. Yeah. Um, for a little foreshadowing, I might’ve ended up a little bit malnourished because of this. Right. Not ideal. 

[00:15:03] Sean Burke: Yeah. Well, and, you know, when you look back on this and you have those, those learnings and thinking about the next generation coming into nursing, what are some of those practical tips that you might be able to share for somebody when they’re faced with, you know, something like that or having to make a decision?

[00:15:21] Emily Wyatt: Yeah, I think as hard as it can be sometimes, um, You know, especially when, A, making overtime money is great. We all love that. Um, and we, like I said before, we don’t want our coworkers, uh, our friends, our, uh, patients to suffer, uh, due to a lack of care. But at the same time, I think it’s really important for, for new providers coming in to prioritize the longevity of themselves in this career.

[00:15:49] Um, so, not working too much, taking smaller lines if you can, um, not doing shift swaps and, and overtime every week that you’re, you’re just no energy. And that’s sometimes easier said than done. Um, there’s a lot of pressure sometimes, even if It’s not overt pressure. There’s that feeling that we need to do that.

[00:16:12] Um, but you don’t. You don’t need to do it. You need to prioritize yourself because if you burn out in six months, then you’re just another nurse that’s not helping patients. 

[00:16:22] Sean Burke: And so COVID hits. Uh, you throw yourself into work, um, you’re navigating some of the challenges of your own transition. 

[00:16:32] Emily Wyatt: Yeah. Um, so around that same time, um, I got COVID a few times, um, which really did not, um, help my physical health very much.

[00:16:44] Especially. As I wasn’t eating super well, I was throwing myself into work, I was working more, um, and at this time I was waiting for gender affirming surgery in Montreal, uh, as well, which I had found out I was supposed to be getting in April of 2022, which I just, would be just after I finished doing my emergency nurse special specialization, so I’d be critically care trained at that point.

[00:17:10] Um, and, uh, halfway through that Uh, program. I got a phone call from them on my birthday, actually, February 17th. And, um, being told that that surgery would probably be on April and asked some questions. I get a call back like 30 minutes later, um, and it turns out they’re not actually sure if they can do the surgery because I had my colon removed and they’re not sure.

[00:17:35] They’ve never had a patient like that. They’re not sure how that would happen. So. In the midst of COVID, in the midst of doing this very compressed, very condensed, intense specialty care program, um, I got this terrible news that I might just not have this one surgery that, like, was the light at the end of the tunnel for me.

[00:17:54] Everything else was feeling so much better with my transition and I just needed this one more thing to feel comfortable. Um, and that was about to be taken from me. And I tried my best to do the same thing I’ve always done my entire life, um, to just hold it all together, um, and to just keep working through it.

[00:18:15] Um, my colleagues who I was in the, this educational program with, We’re like, you’re not okay. Uh, are you sure you don’t want to talk to our instructor? And I was like, no, no, it’s fine. Like, I’m just going to go back, um, after lunch and like, it’ll be fine. I’ll just get to work. As soon as I walked onto the floor, my instructor, who I’ve worked with in the Emerge for about a year and a half before doing the program, um, looks at me and she’s like, You’re not okay.

[00:18:42] Let’s go talk. Um, so she sends us to our education room, which was really just a closet with a stretcher in it. Okay. Some work to do there. Um, and so she’s like, just wait for me in there and I’ll come. So I’m sitting away down the stretcher and she finally comes and puts her arms around me. And just all of this, like multiple years of, um, the reason that I had my colon being removed.

[00:19:06] Um, Uh, and my mom passing away, and my sister also being, um, quite sick because of this, um, the surgery as well. Um, so all of these things that were taken from me, all of these opportunities that were taken from me, all just flooding back, all these things that I was just trying to push off to the periphery and like, kind of not.

[00:19:25] Um, and I’m really glad that I had a colleague and a friend that was there for me at that point, because it was, it was really probably the most, one of the most challenging points in my, in my very life at that point. 

[00:19:39] Sean Burke: What a powerful moment. I mean, I, I think too, hearing that story and listening to others, so much of that healing, so much of people’s ability to work through some of those moments really are the supports that they have in place.

[00:19:52] And it sounded like that was. It’s similar with you here. 

[00:19:55] Emily Wyatt: Absolutely was. There’s no way I would have gotten through that without, um, without the support of other people. The support of my partner, support of my friends, and support of the management who had brought cakes that day and awkwardly brought two into the room.

[00:20:09] Um, and we’re like, I don’t know, but I have cake for you. Um, and uh, so gave me a cake to take home, um, and my partner gave me a bit of time at home to just eat the cake alone in darkness. Yeah. And that was great, and then some friends came over, and we watched Moana, and I cried, um, through the entire thing.

[00:20:27] It was great. 

[00:20:29] Sean Burke: And what you needed. 

[00:20:30] Emily Wyatt: It’s what I needed. The next day, though, I woke up, and I was like, Okay, I, I have accepted where I’m at, and I’m gonna do everything in my power to try to make A, the healthcare journey that I want to, to happen, happen. Um, and also to continue helping people. So, thankfully, after a very Um, extraneous process that took until about, um, August, I finally, instead of April, finally got my surgery in August and everything went relatively okay, other than me finding out I was really malnourished, um, and getting quite sick in Montreal, um, but, uh, the, that sort of healing process and having that support allowed me to do that, because I think otherwise I would have just really, I really strongly felt like giving up in that moment.

[00:21:18] And just not trying to, what’s the point of any of this sort of thing. 

[00:21:22] Sean Burke: Were there any specific barriers that you had to overcome or anything that stands out in terms of like being more difficult than, than the others? 

[00:21:32] Emily Wyatt: Yeah. Um, I think that one, well, finding medical records from BC children’s, all of that stuff, but also just communication.

[00:21:41] So I think. From this population, what I identified is that whenever we’re accessing hormone therapy for trans people or, um, gender affirming surgeries, the reason why we’re so anxious about it, um, is because at every single moment, there’s always been something that feels like you’re just one step away from it being taken away from you.

[00:22:07] Whether that’s an unsupportive doctor in the emergency room, or, uh, a, politician who doesn’t like you receiving the care that you’re receiving, um, or just a past medical history that is slightly unusual and raises a lot of questions as to, to whether or not it’s safe to proceed with something. Cause we just don’t have any data for this population.

[00:22:33] Um, so yeah, I think that’s probably the biggest thing that I, that I came to terms with, even to the point that Montreal had us do COVID tests before, um, two days before the surgery. So I had to travel all the way to Montreal. Get a, um, COVID test and working in the emergency room was terrified that like even maybe I’d be asymptomatic.

[00:22:52] It’s just so anxious about it. Um, thankfully it was negative, but again, it was just that one thing that I get all the way into Montreal. Um, and there’s one more barrier to cross and none of it was real until I woke up in the recovery room from the surgery and it was done. Um, and, um, And so even though I got quite ill afterwards and it wasn’t the most ideal circumstances, I know that I would go do that again any day of the week knowing what could be.

[00:23:21] And I know that most of my community probably would do the same thing. And I think that’s how we end up in this situation where I’ve seen a number of my own, um, my community become quite ill or take their lives or attempt to take their lives or substance use or. Many different sort of effects and then they end up in our care in the emergency department and a lot of the times even with amazing nurses and doctors who do care There’s just not the resources to actually support them and that becomes a traumatic experience Whether we want it to be or not.

[00:23:56] Mm hmm and a traumatic experience for the providers, too 

[00:24:00] Sean Burke: And so when it comes to getting those supports You know the different the different health authorities, they have benefits, they have supports and resources. While they might not necessarily have been adequate, um, they still existed. And I’m curious if there was any of those that helped you along your journey, or was it more of a case of, you know, you looked externally to different communities, to different safe spaces, um, and took that more ownership and initiative on your, by yourself.

[00:24:30] Emily Wyatt: Yeah, um, I definitely, for myself, found much more support from my community, um, through reaching out to different organizations within my area of Victoria, um, and also just attending events. In Victoria, a lot of events for the queer community aren’t put on by, um, bigger organizations. They’re usually just like individuals doing things.

[00:24:56] And so through that, I found just more support. structures, people who were, um, in similar places as me, and even a few other nurses who were awaiting surgery or had had just had surgery. So it was really helpful. Um, I think where the benefits provided, because there are certainly like our employee, uh, family assistance programs and, um, uh, and such.

[00:25:22] The problem with that is that they’re not really, There’s nobody from our community that we’re ever going to be talking to for the most part, or no guarantee that you’re going to be. Um, and it’s the same sort of thing that I find with my liaison nurse role with patients, is that it doesn’t matter how supportive you are as an ally, Your barrier to someone feeling safe with you is a lot higher.

[00:25:47] And that’s the same for me with a, with a therapist, because if I see somebody that looks like me, that’s from my community, I’m going to know that they have some background, some, some. shared understanding of what my experiences have been like, and that sets us ahead just so much further into being able to help heal, and there just isn’t enough support for that.

[00:26:09] The benefits that we have, if I wanted to pick my own provider to go to for, for therapy, maybe we’ll cover a few sessions sort of thing. Right. Um, so the rest of that’s mostly out of pocket. Unfortunately. 

[00:26:22] Sean Burke: So let’s talk a little bit about that, that transition into the role of the liaison. Um, how did that come about?

[00:26:30] And you said it was one of, you know, the first in Canada. So obviously again, very innovative role, uh, definitely needed. Can you walk me through how this role comes about? 

[00:26:42] Emily Wyatt: Yeah. Um, so it was an idea that I had when I was in, um, university around first year, actually, it was something that kind of started forming in my brain.

[00:26:52] Very vaguely, and I wasn’t really sure what that actually meant for, um, for my community, but I felt like there was something there. I had started to see and work with, like, the Indigenous liaison nurses that we have at Island Health, and thought that was an amazing program. Saw the work they did, and the advocacy that they did for the Indigenous community, and I knew that there was something similar that was needed.

[00:27:15] But it wasn’t until I had that break to step back after I was off work for a bit from my surgery in Montreal, um, recovered from some of the complications that I had dealt with and on a slower return to work where I was working with another nurse, I didn’t have to take a full load of patients. I was able to actually just evaluate.

[00:27:36] the environment that I was in. And so I kept seeing those patients that I talked about earlier where they’d come in multiple times from the, the queer community. And eventually we were resuscitating them. Unfortunately, one of those days I, I wasn’t actually in the trauma room with them, but I’d saw them come in through triage and I saw them, you know, die in our trauma room.

[00:27:58] And unfortunately, like, being misgendered, not having, like, connection to their family or anything, like, it was just a really traumatic experience, even though we all did the best we could have. And so that’s where this idea started coming back again. So I started just picking little tasks I could around our emergency department to try to make things just a little bit better.

[00:28:15] And then one of my co workers said, well, wouldn’t it be cool if we had a liaison nurse for this community? And I was like, Yeah, I had an idea about that before, actually, and so I just kind of took that and ran, and I had the support to write a proposal, a briefing proposal, and all of that. The right people at the right time that allowed that to start happening really pulled together, and so we did extensive literature review, my colleagues, that are at UVic recently just did a huge scoping review and pretty confident at this point that we can say that there’s not likely anywhere else in the world actually that’s done a position like this yet.

[00:28:56] Um, and the outcomes that we’ve seen have been just, you know, Massive, um, the stats off the top of my head, I can’t remember exactly, but like, we’re talking like 40 percent more likeliness of being willing to come into the hospital for any appropriate reason. And like 70 percent higher reported quality of care with us being involved in their, in their case versus now.

[00:29:19] So like, not, not small. 

[00:29:21] Sean Burke: No. And also too, like when you’re talking about meaningful work, I mean, here is, is, you know, an area that you’re really making a difference. It doesn’t come without. You know, taking a toll on yourself. Um, you talked about trauma, you talked about, you know, a specific case here. How does that impact how you do this work?

[00:29:42] Emily Wyatt: Yeah. I mean, it’s hard with my own experiences, which are both kind of a, a bit of a blessing and a curse where, um, You know, we all have biases, and the experiences I’ve had are going to play into that. So trying to manage, like, for one, is the situation, am I getting concerned about this because it’s hitting on a bias that I have, or is there actually something concerning happening here?

[00:30:05] Um, and I think the other sort of aspect of that is sometimes things just hit really close to home. Um, I’d be listening to a patient’s story, I’d be listening to them talk about what has happened to a friend, or to themselves throughout the healthcare system. And those same things have happened to me and my peers and my colleagues.

[00:30:25] And so in the moment, having to be that supporting person, whilst all of my own feelings around the subject are being brought up as well, um, and trying to manage that. So usually in the moment it’s, okay, we’re going to focus on the patient, but I’m also going to acknowledge that I have these feelings and, and I’m going to tap into my support network, um, when these things arise.

[00:30:50] So that I can care for myself 

[00:30:52] Sean Burke: to really, again, leaning on that network of support, um, and making sure that you provide that space for you to be able to process whatever it is that may have come up. Um, uh, yeah, that’s, 

[00:31:04] Emily Wyatt: uh, it’s tough because I know when I’m not doing that very well, there’s definitely been times and like, I’m not, it’s like this balance, um, trying to, trying to come back to center all the time.

[00:31:16] And it’s a, It’s a process and I’ve gotten better at it over time. It’s like flexing a muscle sort of thing But it very much is not just an on or off feeling and so when I don’t pick up on that when I should to reach out to my support network. I do. I start feeling those things come back where I’m irritable.

[00:31:39] I’m exhausted. I don’t want to interact with anything. And again, I’m very lucky that my partner has really gotten a sense for when that’s happening. Both of my bosses that I work with in this role are from the queer community, and so they’re really in tune with that. And so, all of these people also really try to keep tabs on me to make sure that if I’m not reaching out that they can intervene.

[00:32:04] Um, which again is a huge privilege that I have. most of the patients that I see, um, and colleagues that are struggling for that matter. It’s a lack of community. And a part of that is because, um, the, there’s like a systemic sort of effort throughout history and we’re sort of just recovering from it where, where queer spaces and queer communities have been dismantled intentionally by the powers that be.

[00:32:33] And we haven’t had safe open spaces to do that. To exist. Fortunately, that’s changing, but it’s still, there’s a lot of people that, that don’t have community. 

[00:32:44] Sean Burke: Right. And knowing exactly coming back to what you said earlier, you know, it’s potentially. One, one layer removed where maybe that is repealed, or maybe there’s those spaces, you know, aren’t in public spaces.

[00:32:59] And so I really just applaud the work that you’re doing to continue to lift it up, to give a space and a place where everybody can see it and it can be heard. When it comes to your future aspirations, um, for the work that you’re doing, what do you hope to see? What is, you know, five, 10 years ideal scenario look for you?

[00:33:20] Um, maybe realistic scenario too, 

[00:33:22] Emily Wyatt: but you know, vision is great. Yeah. Um, my like super ideal dream scenario would be that nobody’s having to, to fight tooth and nail just to get the bare minimum of care. Um, one thing that I. I had a conversation, this is just with a friend of mine, but we were talking about, um, their care that was being provided to them, and I sort of made some comments, I’m like, oh, I don’t know if that’s like up to like the standard of what we usually do for hormone therapy, and we got into it, and they’re like, well, I’m just happy that I have any care at all, and I was like, see, that’s the issue, though, is that you’re saying that we’re all saying that because we’re just happy to have a shred of care, but really, we should be asking for our care.

[00:34:07] goals to be met, not just anything at all. Um, so that’s, that’s definitely a big part of it. that I would love to see. Um, I don’t know if that’s realistic. For me, personally, I want this role to just exist. I want it to, um, it is successful. It’s been very successful for patients. So, um, I would like to see it expand across BC, across the country.

[00:34:34] Um, to other regions in the world, um, for myself, once it sort of like exists, I want to continue, I want to fill that role at the hospital so that I can work with my UVic team and we can do some of that bigger research so we can expand it. I want to do my nurse practitioner, so my master’s degree and, um, yeah.

[00:34:55] My research colleagues are really pushing me towards doing my PhD, which I will probably do at some point as well. 

[00:35:01] Sean Burke: What a story. Um, and lots more work on the horizon. It sounds like there’s 

[00:35:05] Emily Wyatt: never, never a shortage of work for me to do. It seems 

[00:35:09] Sean Burke: that’s awesome. Well, you know, it’s certainly been a pleasure to have you on the show today to learn a little bit more about who you are.

[00:35:15] Um, you know, where you come from and looking forward to where you, where you’re going to head and go. Absolutely. So I appreciate you taking the time. But before we jump off, I’m curious, is there any one thing, um, you know, if there’s one thing you could leave our listeners with today, what might that be? 

[00:35:33] Emily Wyatt: I think that no matter what community you’re from, what your background is, um, both seeking out community, because even if you don’t need it right now, having those, those structures, that resilience, um, beyond just your network of friends can be so helpful.

[00:35:50] Um, and if you have the privilege of having that already, find ways to, to connect with other people. Um, other individuals that are in your community and pull them in and give them that same benefit that you have. 

[00:36:05] Sean Burke: Absolutely. Such an important words of advice. Emily, it’s been great to have you on the show today.

[00:36:10] Really appreciate all your contributions that you’ve made. Thank you. The path that you’re forging when it comes to supporting, uh, all members of the 2SLGBTQIA plus community. Um, and to continue the good work that you’re doing. So thanks for coming on the show. Thanks so much for having me. It was awesome.

[00:36:28] Thanks for listening to this episode. Be sure to visit the links in the show notes for resources and supports from the Care for Caregivers program. If you’re interested in sharing your story on the Care to Listen podcast, please reach out to us at careforcaregivers. ca forward slash podcasts. And don’t forget to follow us on your favorite podcast platform to be notified when new episodes are released.

[00:36:48] Thanks again for joining us and see you next month.