I have a friend who went to an ER the other day. She had fallen and hurt her leg and knee. She is a Muslim and wears a hijab (headscarf) and long dress. Her hijab covers her hair, neck and ears are but not her face.
She first asked for a female doctor. Anyway, there was no female doctor on duty, but she did not have a problem with seeing a male doctor as they offered her a female nurse in the room.
They asked her to take off all her clothes, including her headscarf and any underwear so they could examine the leg. Then they asked her to wait in a small waiting room as they might have to wheel her down to radiology
She had worn no bra or metal clothing, a pair of easy remove bike shorts and a flowing caftan so she would only have to lift up the hem and take off the shorts so she would be nude under her caftan. They could see all the way up to her pelvic bone or take x-rays if neeeded.
She said they did offer her a paper hospital gown, but when she asked for a second hospital gown and to keep on her headscarf to preserve her modest, the nurse told her they did not have any. She said she explained as best she could her need for modesty to the nurse and tech who first saw her, but they were not very nice. She left without being treated.
My Muslim girlfriend is a college educated American and was raised in the US. She was not raised a Muslim and reverted about ten years ago. Of course she is quite familiar with American culture and healthcare, so I do not think that was the problem.
Of course I understand and emergency is an emergency and if you have to cut the clothes of a trauma victim to save their life, you do what you must.
Curious, do hospitals have procedures to deal with members of very modest faiths like the Mennonite, Amish, Muslims or Orthodox Jews?
