Underwear and patients

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I work on an acute pediatric inpatient mental health unit. Today we had an issue with a patient being denied access to his underwear. His underwear are womens "boy shorts" underwear. My boss and the patient advocate said no. I think this is just wrong. We have had female patients who wore mens boxers as underwear. And his underwear follow the no thong rule, so I thought we should give them to him. What do you guys think and how can I make them understand why he should be allowed to have them.?

Specializes in Psych..

As long as the underwear don't somehow tie in to the reasons why he is there on your unit, I don't see the problem. I wonder if the parents or caregivers have made this request? If so, the boss and the patient advocate have gone about the situation all wrong. If the parents are concerned with the choice of clothes, this should be brought up in a family meeting. Denying this patient his clothing has turned the situation into a power struggle, which I'm sure you know is not therapeutic. Instead of participating in treatment, he's going to be dwelling on why he can't wear his clothes.

And yes, in the adolescent setting, we are somewhat dictatorial. Most of these kids have had either no discipline or the wrong kind of discipline in their lives. We set rules, we are the adults, and what we say goes. It's amazing what a little structure will do for these kids. But we are fair, and if we had a male who wanted to wear female underwear, if he kept his undergarments private (as we expect with ANY kind of undergarment), and if it didn't interfere with treatment, he would wear his choice of underwear!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

And yes, in the adolescent setting, we are somewhat dictatorial. Most of these kids have had either no discipline or the wrong kind of discipline in their lives. We set rules, we are the adults, and what we say goes. It's amazing what a little structure will do for these kids.

i very much agree about structure, parameters, limit-setting...overall authority.

but the pts should have input, without being totally disregarded.

in one hospital, a male teen pt was sexually harrassing/groping a female pt.

she complained, and her complaint was ignored.

she ultimately ended up punching this guy out, and she was the one who lost a bunch of privileges.

in another hospital, the nurse would give out the meds...the girls were pocketing them, then dividing them amongst themselves later on...taking random meds that weren't intended for them.

i have more stories, but i'll stop.

i'd like to think these were isolated events, but since these took place in different hospitals, my overall impression isn't favorable.

i truly feel for this young man, and pray his life works out.

leslie

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
No correlation between why he is there and the underwear. He was very private about asking about them. The patient advocate said no unless he got loud about it then they would revisit the issue.

Wow. So the message is his choice of something so filled with implications about sexuality and acceptance is that "your preference is not acceptable but if you act out your anger about it enough we'll give in"? Broken down further it would seem to give the message that "you are not acceptable but a dysfunctional method of communicating your feelings will be reinforced at such time as we choose to give in". :confused: I understand in psych that simple appearing issues like eating dressing and bathing are more symbolic of deeper issues than would be the case in a non-psych unit but this hardly sounds like advocacy from the patient advocate.

But like Leslie my view is colored by personal experience in my case it was my niece who was harmed by her experiences in residential psych hospitals. I don't want to paint them with a broad brush, though. I'm sure some of them are excellent and families must turn to that type of treatment as the family environment is out of control and parents are overwhelmed.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
OR is this his parents idea?

That crossed my mind as well. If it is their idea the medical team should have told them it was a modesty issue and they have no right to hold his underwear based on his personal choice whether it be due to transgender issues or not. They should have set the parents straight not complied with the request.

Go ask questions, OP and then advocate away. Go up the ladder if need be. Sounds like someone sticking up for this teen could be the best thing for him. He doesn't deserve humiliation and it's really shameful that those who should be advocating for her are behind it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

He has his underwear! Took two days but I got it done. I now have a patient who is participating in groups and is smiling. We also have a new level of trust. Thanks guys!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
He has his underwear! Took two days but I got it done. I now have a patient who is participating in groups and is smiling. We also have a new level of trust. Thanks guys!

no no no...thank YOU!!

and awesome job, twinkerrs.:balloons:

leslie

Up Vote Up Vote ×

This is beyond ridiculous. How old is the boy? How do his parents feel?

I'm speechless at the idiocy of this situation.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
He has his underwear! Took two days but I got it done. I now have a patient who is participating in groups and is smiling. We also have a new level of trust. Thanks guys!

:hpygrp: GOOD JOB!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
This is beyond ridiculous. How old is the boy? How do his parents feel?

I'm speechless at the idiocy of this situation.

It's not about the actual situation, rather what this represents. It's not about whether it is girl underwear, boy underwear, a shirt, a scarf, whatever. The point is that as long as a patient's actions are not:

- harming themselves

- harming anyone else

it should not matter, and they should be allowed to do what they want. In this case, that includes wearing a particular type of underwear!!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
It's not about the actual situation, rather what this represents. It's not about whether it is girl underwear, boy underwear, a shirt, a scarf, whatever. The point is that as long as a patient's actions are not:

- harming themselves

- harming anyone else

it should not matter, and they should be allowed to do what they want. In this case, that includes wearing a particular type of underwear!!!!

That's pretty much what I was saying. Now that I re-read what I wrote, I see that my meaning was unclear.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment