Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

My real question in my previous post was why do male nurses need to worry so much, while females don't?

As in the point, most males go into the Hospital, or wherever knowing they will most likely have a female nurse, while most females do the same. Why is it that there is so much tension for a male RN? Why would it not just be that the individual knows when they go to the Hospital, or wherver they could have either male, or female. As you all have been saying, it is wise to have a witness when doing something to a female as a male RN. Why is it not wise for a female RN to have a male witness while doing something to a male?


*Do understand I am not taking sides, but trying to understand why their is so much tension for male RN's."

Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

Originally Posted by WannabeOrthoSurgeon

My real question in my previous post was why do male nurses need to worry so much, while females don't?

As in the point, most males go into the Hospital, or wherever knowing they will most likely have a female nurse, while most females do the same. Why is it that there is so much tension for a male RN? Why would it not just be that the individual knows when they go to the Hospital, or wherver they could have either male, or female. As you all have been saying, it is wise to have a witness when doing something to a female as a male RN. Why is it not wise for a female RN to have a male witness while doing something to a male?


*Do understand I am not taking sides, but trying to understand why their is so much tension for male RN's."

Perhaps this sobering account will shed some light on the justifiable tension that male RN's must feel:

http://allnurses.com/forums/f195/for...ed-162668.html

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14806562.htm

Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

I worked in an ALF where a few of the ladies did prefer that peri care or showering/dressing be done by a female not a male, and some that didn't care at all saying "heck, men have to have females all the time and you don't see them complaining as much...heck I had 5 kids by male MD's! Not like it is a mystery down there!" (I so laughed when I heard that because that is how I feel!).

Most of the male nurses I know are quite okay with that when it comes to the elderly...different time, different ideas...and lets face it...a little less to do..LOL!

But then again...who is it we call for heavy lifting and other 'man' type jobs..LOL! My poor hubby is a paramedic and the nurses in the ER are always asking him to help with heavy stuff, transfer, or helping with a psych pt (he is a large man with huge muscular shoulders!). So he always says...he understands what a male nurse would have to go through there! LOL!

And I have quite a few male nurses that help me with males, and I help them with females if it comes to emotions or such. We are a team, and best to explore what is best for the patient...sometimes that may differ between the sexes.

But bottom line, we are all...black, white, tan, green, male, female, whatever...NURSES! Weather a pt knows it or not...it is up to us all to inform them and let them choose.

Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

i think we let males be discriminated against. i would like to know that if a male pt. did not want a male nurse to take care of him b/c he may be gay, would the charge nurse change the assignment (what if the white pt did not want the black nurse). no i don't think the assignment would be changed, but let a female pt say she doesn't want a male nurse and it's "no problem, it's your choice!"

pt's are in the hospital to get better and nurses are their to help them get that way. we can not allow men to be discriminated against without probable cause (and by the way, just being male is NOT probable cause).

as a male cna/student nurse, i HATE to have to go to a female cna because a female pt does not want me to assist her with a bath or getting dress. i don't like being treated as some kind of animal when i haven't done anything to lead someone to believe i was with the exception of being born male. i believe that the assignment should be made and IF the pt does not want me to bath her then she just gets family to assist or wait until someone more suitable to her comes along. i can still take her v/s, wt., transfer to chair, assist feeding, give fluids, turn q2h, etc. as a cna, and future RN, i do not feel it would be appropriate for me to refuse to take care of a prisoner pt., drug addict, non compliant diabetic, etc...no, i believe i have an obligation to not pass judgement and to give the best possible care that i can give. and as far as the pt...they can refuse my care, but i think that we are going down a bad path if they can refuse the nurse based on gender, race, religion, age, etc.

Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

as a case in point, the other day i was paged to a room, "pt ready for bath." so, i go to the room. the pt was in a chair and daughter was in room. i changed the sheets on the bed, got basin of water, set in front of pt with towels, washcloths, soap, new gown....and the daughter says she does not want a man to assist her mom with a bath. i asked if she was going to assit her mother with the bath and she said "she is not prepared for that" (what?). anyway, i had to go get a female cna. the daughter would have been in the room the whole time while i gave the bath, but she refused because as she stated "she has a right to refuse a male!"

and as far as males taking advantage of things like this...i get called all the time to lift the heavy pts to head of bed, transfer from bed to chair/chair to bed, pts going into dt's, male pt needs a shave, prisoner pt needs care, confused pt is unruly, etc....yea, i think, as much as i hate to go have to get a female to assist a female pt of mine, that it ALL works out in the end (if it does not mean that I am called to assist MORE than the females are called by me!)

just a different take on things,
jay

Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

Originally Posted by jb2u

i think we let males be discriminated against. i would like to know that if a male pt. did not want a male nurse to take care of him b/c he may be gay, would the charge nurse change the assignment (what if the white pt did not want the black nurse). no i don't think the assignment would be changed, but let a female pt say she doesn't want a male nurse and it's "no problem, it's your choice!"

pt's are in the hospital to get better and nurses are their to help them get that way. we can not allow men to be discriminated against without probable cause (and by the way, just being male is NOT probable cause).

Many women - not just older women - don't want any man except the one they love and trust (their husband) to see them. As mentioned earlier, many women have religious beliefs about having a male doctor or nurse. And lets not forget that 1 in 4 women are victims of rape or molestation. Would you be the one to tell a rape victim who doesn't want you to touch her during a pelvic exam that she doesn't have a choice because you think it's discrimination? I'm a rape victim and if I was forced to have a man do my intimate exams there would be hell to pay. I'm sorry. I DON'T care about your feelings in this matter. I care about ME being comfortable in those already awkward and vulnerable exams.

Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

You want to hear something positive! I was just talking to my son...the next generation guys..and he doesn't seem to have much of a probelm with male or female nurses! He realizes that most nurses are female, but some are male and they are medical professionals...so they will care for him! I was very happy to see this!

Maybe we have to get over some sexist or generation gaps before things get better! I am sure this isn't new! Heck...try being a Female Doc when they first started...or a nurse that wasn't a nun? Not a new thing...and will continue in some sort in some way in every field of healthcare and other professions....

The trick is...who do we work for..the pts! So we have to constantly cater to their needs..it is what we signed on for..and as much as at times I hate to admit that....that is who we work for and care for despite whatever they are doing right or wrong....

So keep that in mind...some won't have a probelm..some will...not new and certainly with more knowledge about nursing slowly seeping in...it may just be a hurdle that the next generation will say "wow, remember when"....

Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

Originally Posted by ern91

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?

I think males should care for males and females for either gender whenever possible. I definitely think we should chaperone any colleague who requests it or do a little horsetrading when necessary. BUT - the males whose pts I'm going to care for had better be willing to help me with something if I need it. If they don't play tit for tat, it will be the last time I help them. I don't like being played for a fool.

Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

I worked with a male nurse one time that started out asking the females to do personal cares for his female patients, even just taking them to the BR because HE wasn't 'comfortable' with it.

I told him finally that he needed to get over it, or he would be asked to do all my male patient cares. It might be different if the patient insisted, but even then, the male nurse needs to try to educate his patients to accept that he is a medical professional. These patients accept a male DR. doing exams.

I see no problem with asking another staff member to be present. I had a female patient one time that was very inappropriate with me, making suggestive remarks, etc. After that I wouldn't go into her room to do cares without someone else present.

Re: Male Nurses/female Patients

A lot of good responses here. I'm still a student, but if the situation warrants, I'll ask the client if they are uncomfortable about me performing the cath. etc. If they do, I'll still perform it (afer all, I am their student nurse!), but I'll ask for a chaperone. A situation that may warrant this are some "older" pts, unaccustomed to being cared for by a male; I've not run into it yet, but I would definitely ask an adolescent. When I first started doing clinicals, I asked a guy nurse about chaperones, and he told me that 1) Many of the patients are quite used to being handled by different caregivers, and are usually over most embarrassment (I still ask, sometimes) and 2) If the unit is busy, the pt is stooling q 10 m, she needs to be cleaned up NOW, and you're not going to find a tech or nurse to accompnay you each time you clean her.

Steve