Well-documented health research points to trans people’s vulnerability to health inequities that are linked to deeply embedded structural and social determinants of health. Gender and work, as social determinants of health for trans people, both shape and are shaped by multiple factors such as support networks, social environments, income and social status, shelter, and personal health practices. There is a gap in the nursing literature in regards to research on work and health for diverse trans people and a virtual silence on the particular issues of trans-identified health providers. This qualitative study used comparative life history methodology and purposeful sampling to examine links among work, career, and health for transmen who are health providers. Semistructured interviews were completed with four Canadian transmen involved in health care professional and/or practice contexts with diverse professions, age, work, and transitioning experiences. Critical gender analysis showed that unique and gender-related critical events and influences shape continuities and discontinuities in their careerlives. This strength-based approach foregrounds how resilience and growth emerged through participants’ articulation with everyday gender dynamics. These findings have implications for nursing research, education, and practice that include an understanding of how trans providers “do transgender work” and supporting them in that process. … should it really matter? You know, should gender presentation, the way you dress… what you choose to talk about or not talk about…? Does it really disrupt… the workforce… in such profound ways? (Transman (TM), page 7) 1. Introduction Despite greater public and professional awareness of sexual and gender diversity and more positive work climates in recent years, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people continue to encounter invisibility, overt and more subtle discrimination and violence, and other barriers to relevant, respectful care. According to the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO), “Sexual diversity relates to sexual orientation (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual) and gender diversity refers to gender identity (e.g., transgender) which refers to one’s sense of being male and/or female or neither” [1]. This last decade has brought greater attention to transgender health, the “T” in LGBTQ, in health care and research has shown that ethnicity, race, geography, age, education, and other social categories across genders influence how particular trans-identified individuals experience
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