I was medical director of psychiatry at a large health system in Iowa, recently divorced, and hiding my sexuality.

I was responsible for dealing with an impaired physician. He learned that I was gay and threatened to out me.

I went to the administrator who hired me, and she said, "Loren, we knew that when we hired you." She would not say how they knew. I thought no one knew.

It was a life-changing experience for me, personally and professionally. I was confident that I was hired for the job based on my merit, but I also began to believe that non-professionals would possibly accept me on my merits, too.

Thanks for a nice article.