TONI SLOTNES-O'BRIEN - TRANSGENDER AND GENDER DIVERSE HEALTHCARE NP
Chronic and complex care: Transgender and gender diverse healthcare including intersex variations.
Toni Slotnes- O'Brien is a Senior Lecturer at the University of South Australia Clinical and Health Sciences. She conducts a Transgender and gender-diverse clinic at the UniSA City West health clinic as an endorsed Nurse Practitioner. Toni brings deep compassion and a powerful desire to see all people, regardless of their circumstances access high-quality health care.
After becoming a Registered Nurse and delving deeper into the Diabetes specialty area, she decided to become a Diabetes NP, as the role enabled her to pursue her other passion besides nursing, which is educating and motivating people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
In 2023, Toni expanded her scope of practice into Transgender and gender-diverse healthcare including intersex variations. She runs a dedicated clinic 2 days a week and teaches in the Master of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner program) at UniSA.
Tell us a little bit about your nursing journey.
I became a Registered Nurse in 1994 and decided to choose Diabetes as my specialty area. I completed a Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Management and Education and then went on to complete the Master of Nurse Practitioner in 2013.
Throughout my nursing journey, I enjoy encouraging other nurses to enhance their careers with further education. I also believe in expanding or challenging your nursing area of focus to meet the needs of the community.
Tell us about your current role as a NP.
I developed and led a Nurse Practitioner-led Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) clinic for individuals aged 18 and over. The clinic, situated in a primary care general practice setting, is dedicated to delivering high-quality, safe, and inclusive healthcare in alignment with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care.
Nationally and internationally, there is an increasing number of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals accessing healthcare worldwide. Healthcare delivery for the TGD population needs to improve in Australia as they are one of the most medically and socially marginalised groups in our community. The physical and mental health of transgender and gender-diverse Australians continues to be poorer than the general population. Accessing healthcare is highly problematic. Many reasons exist for inequality including a fear of mistreatment and an inability to find a healthcare professional that understands the needs of gender diverse people.
My mission is to address the holistic needs of TGD individuals, encompassing their physical, mental, and social well-being. The clinic operates on an inclusive, interprofessional model of care designed to foster collaboration among healthcare professionals to better serve gender-diverse communities.
Key goals of the clinic include:
- Enhancing mental health support,
- Reducing suicide rates, and
- Providing best-practice, gender-affirming care.
Through coordinated care efforts, the clinic empowers TGD individuals to live authentically and without barriers to their well-being.
What are you hoping to achieve in the future as a Nurse Practitioner?
I am currently studying a Graduate Diploma in mental health and will commence a research project as a descriptive analysis of the clinic at UniSA. I hope to commence a PhD to address the mental health needs of people accessing healthcare as a gender-diverse person.
How do you think health consumers will benefit from seeing Nurse Practitioner?
NPs have a holistic approach to health care. I know that when a person walks through my door at work, they are not just an individual with gender diversity but a person who may have stress, who may suffer financial problems, job loss, divorce or grief. I believe that as a nurse practitioner we have skills in holistic assessment, listening skills and problem solving.
What advice do you have for anyone wanting to become a NP?
It is not an easy course to complete but it will be the most rewarding achievement in your career. Reach out to other NPs for support as I have found that NP’s are supportive of each other and proud of their achievements. It is an exciting time for nurses as we are enhancing our healthcare system in many ways with the growing numbers of NPs.