Health care for transpersons Essay Example

Health care for transpersons Essay Example Health care for transpersons Paper Health care for transpersons Paper Transgender healthcare is an emerging phenomenon because these lifestyles are evolving rapidly in today’s modern world. Unlike other people, transgender persons require specific health care due to their peculiar circumstance. In the United States of America, most people are covered by some form of health care plan. These plans cover only basic health care needs. Transgender persons are in need of various peculiar surgical procedures, namely: phalloplasty (the construction of a penis), metoidioplasty (enlarging the clitoris), hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), etc. Vitale (1) writes that there are various considerations which transgender persons need to take into account before embarking on a procedure like Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS). Top on the list of these considerations is funding. Where will they get the finance to pay for the surgery? Recently the struggle for coverage of transgender health by insurance companies has found its way to Facebook, where people are urged to register their protest against this denial of fundamental rights. On the page it is affirmed that corrective surgery is a necessity not just a cosmetic procedure. Many transgender people are denied coverage by insurance companies although their condition is a medical necessity. Most insurance companies refuse to cover transgender health because such surgery is considered cosmetic, therefore not a necessity. A refusal to grant insurance cover to transgender people can have disastrous effects. Lombardi and Van Servellen (291-296) find that a lack of health insurance and the financial difficulty which transgender people face can lead them to turn to non prescription drug. Thus it is important to assess insurance issues as they affect transgender health care. Problems associated with Transgender Health Care Firstly, the first problem with transgender health care is access. Finance determines access. In other words, the patient has to pay to have the specific surgical procedure performed. This is where insurance companies come in. They need to collaborate with employers in order to provide the needed insurance cover. In the study, â€Å"Serving the Health Care Needs of Transgender Students,† Beemyn (7-8) identifies three pressing concerns of transgender students namely: accommodation, bathrooms and healthcare. Of these three, Beemyn (8) notes that healthcare is the least addressed on most campuses in the US. The study finds that transgender students often have negative experiences at designated health centers where personnel do not address their needs. Thus, most of them turn to health care facilities off campus if they can afford it or go entirely without healthcare at all. Transgender people face a lot of health issues. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality (2) a partial list of transgender health issues includes the following: Violence, HIV/AIDS and other STD prevention and treatment, Substance abuse prevention and treatment, Depression suicide, Lack of health insurance, Lack of health insurance coverage for trans health services, Gender identity disorder (GID) as the principal diagnostic means determining access to trans health services, Lack of FDA approval for transgender hormonal therapy, Injection silicone use, The misclassification of sex reassignment surgery as experimental Furthermore, in their Schilder et al (1643, 1659) found that in a survey of 47 HIV positive men in Vancouver, all the transgender ones of the lot worked in the sex industry. Although this cannot be linked to lack of insurance cover on the face of it, there exists a remote relationship. As a vulnerable group, transgender people need support in order to live production lives. With adequate support, they will disprove stereotype. One of the vital support systems which transgender people need is health insurance that will give them access to quality health care. Comparisons are often drawn between transgender people and people from other groups who need essential medical treatment similar to what is denied to transgender people by insurance because it is considered cosmetic. The group, Transgender at Work argues that if Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is given to post menopausal women (under insurance cover), it is discriminatory to refuse insurance for the same HRT treatments to transgender people.

Quantum Numbers and Electron Orbitals

Quantum Numbers and Electron Orbitals Chemistry is mostly the study of electron interactions between atoms and molecules. Understanding the behavior of the electrons in an atom is an important part of understanding chemical reactions. Early atomic theories used the idea that an atoms electron followed the same rules as a mini solar system where the planets were electrons orbiting a center proton sun. Electric attractive forces are much stronger than gravitational forces, but follow the same basic inverse square rules for distance. Early observations showed the electrons were moving more like a cloud surrounding the nucleus rather than an individual planet. The shape of the cloud, or orbital, depended on the amount of energy, angular momentum and magnetic moment of the individual electron. The properties of an atoms electron configuration are described by four quantum numbers: n, â„“, m, and s. First Quantum Number The first is the energy level quantum number, n. In an orbit, lower energy orbits are close to the source of attraction. The more energy you give a body in orbit, the further out it goes. If you give the body enough energy, it will leave the system entirely. The same is true for an electron orbital. Higher values of n mean more energy for the electron and the corresponding radius of the electron cloud or orbital is further away from the nucleus. Values of n start at 1 and go up by integer amounts. The higher the value of n, the closer the corresponding energy levels are to each other. If enough energy is added to the electron, it will leave the atom and leave a positive ion behind. Second Quantum Number The second quantum number is the angular quantum number, â„“. Each value of n has multiple values of â„“ ranging in values from 0 to (n-1).This quantum number determines the shape of the electron cloud. In chemistry, there are names for each value of â„“. The first value, â„“ 0 called an s orbital. s orbitals are spherical, centered on the nucleus. The second, â„“ 1 is called a p orbital. p orbitals are usually polar and form a teardrop petal shape with the point towards the nucleus. â„“ 2 orbital is called a d orbital. These orbitals are similar to the p orbital shape, but with more petals like a cloverleaf. They can also have ring shapes around the base of the petals. The next orbital, â„“3 is called an f orbital. These orbitals tend to look similar to d orbitals, but with even more petals. Higher values of â„“ have names that follow in alphabetical order. Third Quantum Number The third quantum number is the magnetic quantum number, m. These numbers were first discovered in spectroscopy when the gaseous elements were exposed to a magnetic field. The spectral line corresponding to a particular orbit would split into multiple lines when a magnetic field would be introduced across the gas. The number of split lines would be related to the angular quantum number. This relationship shows for every value of â„“, a corresponding set of values of m ranging from -â„“ to â„“ is found. This number determines the orbitals orientation in space. For example, p orbitals correspond to â„“1, can have m values of -1,0,1. This would represent three different orientations in space for the twin petals of the p orbital shape. They are usually defined to be px, py, pz to represent the axes they align with. Fourth Quantum Number The fourth quantum number is the spin quantum number, s. There are only two values for s,  ½ and - ½. These are also referred to as spin up and spin down. This number is used to explain the behavior of individual electrons as if they were spinning in a clockwise or counterclockwise. The important part to orbitals is the fact that each value of m has two electrons and needed a way to distinguish them from one another. Relating Quantum Numbers to Electron Orbitals These four numbers, n, â„“, m, and s can be used to describe an electron in a stable atom. Each electrons quantum numbers are unique and cannot be shared by another electron in that atom. This property is called the Pauli Exclusion Principle. A stable atom has as many electrons as it does protons. The rules the electrons follow to orient themselves around their atom are simple once the rules governing the quantum numbers are understood. For Review n can have whole number values: 1, 2, 3, ...For every value of n, â„“ can have integer values from 0 to (n-1)m can have any whole number value, including zero, from -â„“ to â„“s can be either  ½ or - ½