I feel so embarrased and feel like harrased...

[neeke816]

Hello fellow nurse sisters

I feel so embarrased to share this story, but I can't stop thinking.

I was helping a young male patient to take a shower. He was washing himself, and I was just helping his back, but suddenly he grabbed the towel, covered the area, and told me that he has something. I didn't see or realize anything until he told me so.

I just told him that it's okay and will bring a male nurse to help. I left the shower and brought the male nurse to finish the job. I took care of him until the end of my shift.

I know that it was out of his control, and he was apologetic, but I feel like I got harrased somehow and can't stop thinking about my behavior. I try to be nice and sweet to my patients, but I don't do anything special to male patients. I'm not sure and kinda feel down...

Any thoughts or sharing???

[NurseCard, ADN]

Oh c'mon, give the girl a break here. She's young, she sounds like she's from another, more modest culture. She was

embarrassed, she didn't know how to react or what to do. Hopefully lesson learned here; this is something that is going

to happen and maybe from this thread she has learned how to deal with it more appropriately.

I don't know if it's just ME... but I've NEVER had a patient get an erection when I've been providing care. The only erection

I've encountered was a diabetic man who had an implant.

It's probably just me.

[wearyLPN]

He was probably mortified. I do not see you as being harassed in this situation.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

"I don't know if it's just ME... but I've NEVER had a patient get an erection when I've been providing care. The only erection

I've encountered was a diabetic man who had an implant.

It's probably just me. "

:lol2:

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Oh c'mon, give the girl a break here. She's young, she sounds like she's from another, more modest culture. She was

embarrassed, she didn't know how to react or what to do. Hopefully lesson learned here; this is something that is going

to happen and maybe from this thread she has learned how to deal with it more appropriately.

From reading the title of the thread and the OP, I got the impression that there were some cultural issues at work here. However, I think the people who have already responded to this thread were totally appropriate. While we should not tell the OP what emotions she should have, I think posters were correct in telling her that she should not use such an emotionally charged word as "harassed." Embarassed is her emotion. I don't think she should feel that way, but if she does, well, that was an emotion that she had, and we can't (nor should we) try to control that feeling. However, as a male, I have an issue with someone saying that in this situation the pt 'harassed' her.

[MomRN0913]

Harassed? The poor embarrassed young male with normal male reactions did what he could do by grabbing the towel and covering it so you DIDN"T feel harassed.

I certainly didn't feel harassed when the almost brain dead young man got an erection while I was giving him AM care in the ICU. It's a reflex.

If he decided to "do" something about his erection in front of you, then you can feel harassed, but he was enough of a gentleman to cover himself up.

Poor guy, he probably felt like crap.

[mazy]

On a lighter note, this whole thread makes me think about what happens to women when they shop in the frozen food section of the supermarket wearing a T-shirt.

We all have our involuntary protuberances, it's not always about sex.

[Sparrowhawk]

I wanna know where the poor OP went???

[goats'r'us, ASN, RN]

I wanna know where the poor OP went???

probably feels to harrassed to return and respond!

i feel a bit sorry for her, i too got the feeling that she's from a more modest culture, and an inexperienced nurse, and felt embarrassed and probably wondered if she'd done something to encourage him.

at the same time, i feel sorry for the patient. that was probably his most regretted erection ever, and i feel that automatically sending a male nurse in just concretes for him that he's done something shameful and should be embarrassed.

if it was me, i'd offer to give him a few minutes to right himself, and ask if he'd prefer a male nurse to come help him finish up (oh gosh, i just couldn't find a way to say that last bit without it sounding dirty!).

OP, if you're lurking and reading, it doesn't sound like he was trying to harrass you, it sounds like he was just as embarrassed as you, and really neither of you need to feel embarrassed, so next time it happens (and chances are, there'll be a next time), don't feel like you've done something wrong, just remind yourself and your patient that it happens, and deal with it (again, sounds rude, but thats not the way i mean it).

[TalleRN]

I'm sure the poor guy was extremely embarassed. I think if he intended to harass you, he would have made some innuendo instead of covering himself up. I have had my fair share of patients who exposed themselves. Some were confused patients and some were not but in the nursing field we definitely have to have a thick skin. I'm by no means saying you deserve to be harassed by a patient but in this particular case I don't think he did anything to you, or there might be more to the story you didn't share. Sounds like he was extremely embarassed.