how many use the line when giving shots to women?

i do this at a pt gig i have. the nurse (female, she basically runs the place) that trained me says it to everyone, she's been a nurse 40+ yrs. it all started by accident, i had never said it b4, b/c i figured it would be improper b/c i was a male, but after hearing her and others (female) there say it all the time it slipped a few times and i had neutral or positive feedback from patients, so i figured go with it. however, i've had some rare patients that don't like it at all, so they've gone to the old mule (stubborn) nurse that trained me and she basically tells them the only reason they have a problem with it is b/c i'm a male. she tells them that's what she and others there always say (or some varient) and will continue to say (she's given some of these folks shots b4 with no prob), so she's not going to make me stop b/c i'm a male and that she probably couldn't do so legally anyways. the issue is usually smoothed over right there. of course, some then take their complaint to one of the docs, but nothing changes.

well, i talked to the senior nurse's husband the other day, he's a lawyer. he basically said, there isn't much legally the employer or the state can do, given the situation. females there are allowed to say it and do say it , that's where i picked it up. i guess a male could be offended by it if a female nurse said it to them, but it's never been an issue with the females there saying it to anyone.

he did say the employer is n the best position to stop it and probably should from a business prospective (keep customers/patients happy), if they wanted to, but the employer would have to stop/enforce it in a gender neutral bases. he said the state might be able to stop it if they had a gender neutral policy in place and it was enforced in a gender neutral manner, but it would be subject to constitutional constraints, which the employer isn't subject to.

as for patient's that might be offended, he couldn't think of a legal theory they could successfully win with either. sexual harassment laws generally apply to the employer-employee relationship, not the employee-customer/patient relationship.