Men in home health - Page 2

I work with two male RNs, doing intermittent HH. To my knowledge, no one has ever complained about having them, and one of them has lol pts that freak out if he has to be replaced for a visit or two. I think you may have hit the nail on the head, the agency you spoke to is stuck in 1960.

Just when I thought I'd seen it all, I had a referral come across my desk a while back where the pt's family member requested "no male, black, or foreign caregivers." She wanted white females only. Since then, I've had two more with the same request. I have decided to start calling our team "Crackers R Us." I just can't get over the prejudice of people, it amazes me. I'd much rather have the smart, black, male nurse than the slovenly white old bag, ya know? What on earth does race have to do with anything?

The way I look at it is patients have the right to refuse medications, treatment and good care.

Please understand- I am making no accusation about you or any man in nursing- I am one. I could bet if this is primarily a pediatric agency, people are concerned about innapropriate contact from men with an un-natural attraction to children. In an acute care facillity I'm sure the concern is also there- but it is a less intimate enviornment than working one-on-one with a child in thier home. I have a granddaughter with special needs. In the future she may require intermittant home medical assistance. I would probably be fine with a man providing the care, but it would cross my mind, and I would want to make sure someone is always present when the care is performed until I feel confident of the care giver. Even with that, lots of alter boys have had the greatest trust in thier priest and ended up surprised. Think of how much easier this could occur in a relationship that requires disrobing, or peri care.

I fit into two of these categories. The way I look at it is patients have the right to refuse medications, treatment and good care.

I have worked with lots of male nurses and male CNAs in LTC facilities and quite often the male must have a female escort, not always an easy request to comply with. There is no way the agency can send a female nurse to chaperone the male nurse or HHA. If the agency tells the family they can't refuse male employees, they run the risk of losing the case to another agency that promises the family what they want.

We don't ask for their preference. Normally if someone feels that way, they will say so in the first conversation before the nurse even meets the family.

I have no idea why they would continue to call you to tell you nobody wants a male nurse. I've known many male nurses who are great with kids! I think if they actually met and/or talked with the families most of their fears would be gone. In one home I recall one female patient begrudgingly accepted a male nurse due to the alternative being no nurse and they hit it off very well.

I think you should ask to be interviewed. If the staffer/recruiter person meets you face to face and you make a positive impression, they will be more likely to go to bat for you with the families/adult patients. You might have a better chance of getting orientations that way and again, the real person isn't nearly as objectionable as their pre-conceived notions. Best wishes to you!

I'm a male bedside nurse who's moving to a home care job at the first of the year (Yay!) I agree with those upthread guessing that the problem lies with the agency. I might add that the agent rep's "warnings" may be coming awfully close to discriminatory hiring practice as well. (Google BFOQ)

I've only encountered resistance to care based on my gender once. My assigned pt told me she "has a problem with male nurses" and assessments. I asked her if she had a problem with male doctors and assessments. She thought about it a couple of seconds and we completed the following 12 hour shift together quite amicably. (Funny how physicians run into sex/gender issues less often than RN's, isn't it?)

I firmly believe in the principle of pt autonomy. I respect social/cultural mores regarding mixed-sex physical contact. However I do not think the right to choose health care interventions grants the pt the right to discriminate against me based on my sex/gender. At least not in 21st century American society - we're above that.