Dual Identity

By Keerat Bains

This is a special edition blog post presented in partnership with the Association of Out Surgeons & Allies (AOSA) in celebration of Pride Month.

In qualitative research, reflexivity and positionality statements allow for the authors to constantly reflect on their own biases and how they influence the research. My statement reads a little something like this: “KB is a cis-gendered, pansexual, first-generation South Asian woman who is an incoming general surgery resident. They are informed by a background in health equity, sexual health education, gender affirming care and street medicine.” At face value, I look like any other femme, heterosexual individual, especially in the hospital. I am even married to a cis, heterosexual man. However, if someone took the time to look more closely, they’d see my rainbow caduceus pin and my “she/they” pin on my white coat; they’d notice my pronouns permeating in every space where my name entered (after noticing the mother tongue that named me doesn’t translate well to English). Reflexivity provides a frame of reference, meeting people where they are at.

One of the many things I love about surgery is the ability to be seen without name, face, or perceived gender. To a certain extent, everyone looks the same under a surgical gown, sterile gloves and a mask. Where the uniformity ends is the skill of the surgeon wielding surgical instruments. I appreciate the ability to be anonymous yet seen in the spaces where it counts; this duality is a privilege, allowing me to be seen as both a professional and relatable to patients. While doing my trauma surgery rotation at a safety net hospital, I felt touched when female patients felt comfortable letting only me do their wound dressings after a lifetime of being trafficked or when patients in custody shared information about their crimes in confidence. It felt powerful to have the agency to let these individuals know that I was there solely to take care of them and my responsibility was to them. I could both see and feel patients become more comfortable when they saw my tattoos and piercings, some even matched theirs. There is power in community, solidarity, and representation. I hope to always create safe spaces for patients in my community, allowing the most marginalized access to surgical care they need and deserve. 

This Pride month it would be apt to remember that Black trans women are some of the most medically marginalized patient populations, yet have been crucial to the inception of pride itself. We must do better to provide equitable care to all patients regardless of their intersectional identities. One key aspect of this is provider congruence. When patients are taken care of by others who look like them or who have had shared experiences, it leads to better patient outcomes. As we know well (and a personal favorite of mine), female surgeons have better post-operative outcomes than their male counterparts. It is easier to build trust when there is a baseline level of shared understanding and empathy. This is similar to a positionality and reflexivity statement. Everyone may have different perspectives but when we acknowledge who we are at a core level and our biases, we are one step closer to interconnectedness. Humanity is what leads to better patient outcomes, always. 

Keerat Bains, MD PGY-1 (she/they) is an incoming general surgery intern at The Valley Health System in Las Vegas, NV. She recently graduated from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in May, 2026. Her future interests include trauma surgery, reconstructive surgery, and gender affirming care surgery. She enjoys powerlifting and relief printmaking in her free time.