I am not a nurse but have been an CNA for about four years off and on and have spent two full years working in the hospital environment. I have worked extensivley with male nurses, however they had been nurses for quite a long time. My husband will graduate nursing school in about 3 more weeks and he has worked in the ED as a tech during his last year of school. All of that being said here are my two cents (these are generalizations based on my exp, what other male nurses have said, and my husband)...
*Geriatric patients tend to (not in every instance but most often) prefer someone of the same gender to perform their bathing, EKG's (female pts primarily), catheterizations, and basically any exam that involves exposure of private parts/areas. It was just "how they were raised" is what I am often told.
Yes I have been told by older male pts that they would prefer to have a male aid or nurse give them a bath ect. That is okay it is there choice. I am certianly not upset about situations like that. Other times I have refused to care for certian male pt's b/c they were vulgar and nasty. I would go get a male nurse (or aid) to perform care and that usually straightened them right up no more nasty talk from them! They usually never told the male nurses how big their you know whats were.
*the spouse of a pt may prefer a same gendered care giver due to afore mentioned reasons.
*People in their 20's,30's,40's, & 50's tend to not really care, some do, but the vast majority don't.
*People in their teens and "tweens" very often prefer to have someone of the same gender perform any procedures in which the private areas of the body are exposed. And if an option to have their parents with them usually mom.
*New male grads who have little clinical exp may feel very uncomfortable performing procedures on women in which private areas are exposed, and that is okay. If they are nervous and uncomfortable the pts will sense this and also become uncomfortable. My opinion better to have someone who can be a comfort to the patient do the procedure.
My husband worked as a CNA for about two years before nursing school and it took him quite a long time to get used to seeing and touching women (geriatric pts) in areas that are usually hidden. He went through this again in clinicals during nursing when he had to deal with women his age (20's-30's) and younger. He is now fine with performing procedures, ect. on female pts. However, that came with time and the practice of learning how to handle yourself, and getting use to touching and observing the body of female patients.
*Other reasons for wanting a same gendered care giver are usually religious reasons, this includes male nurses not wanting to do certian procedures on female pts.
All in all there are a multiplicity of reasons that patients prefer what they do. All you can do is try your very best to accomodate them. Furthermore it has been my exp that male nurses don't take adavatage of women not wanting a male nurse the male nurses I have seen are very hard working. It could just be your facility. Anyhoo I hope this gives you a little more insight, sorry I got so long winded. Good luck!
P.S. I know my spelling is horrible!
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I'm interested in knowing if anyone has the issue of male nurses refusing to perform certain nursing functions simply because they are male. Having worked in a large teaching hospital and smaller community hospitals, there seems to be a huge difference. In the teaching hospital, male nurses did everything a patient needed, regardless of gender. In the smaller community hospitals, the male nurses sought out female nurses to take care of all manner of female patient's hygiene, all gyn exams ,and anything else a female patient needed. Have we become such a litigous society that we base our practice on gender? Do you find yourself taking care of your male colleagues patients as well as your own simply because they are afraid to touch their female patients?
