Is it OK for male Dr. to ask female patient to undress in front of him?

hipab4hands · Jan 11, 2006

The docs I've worked with (both males and females) always have had a MA or RN present during any type of exam.

My own personal physician doesn't do this and I'm completely comfortable with it.

If you're friend was uncomfortable being examined without another female in the room, then she needed to speak up and let someone know. I don't know of any doc that would object.

Jasano · Jan 11, 2006

I think it is absolutely Okay for the male Dr. to ask the female patient to undress. You know, as a male nurse, it is in no means any great joy to view the female anatomy any more than it is to view the male anatomy. There really are few differences, and I don't look at my patients, male or female in anyway other than purely clinical.

If your friend is uncomfortable with a qualified medical professional examining her, because he is male then perhaps she needs to find a female doctor. Although personally, I think we all know as nurses, that when you've seen one you've seen them all and that a health professional sees things a lot differently than a lay person. All I see is more work :)

Jay Smith · May 9, 2012

A friend of mine went in for a check-up. She had complaints about calf pain, and the doc asked her to take off her pants so he could examine her legs. (she was wearing a gown, with a camisole and jeans under) He stayed in the room, not looking at her undress - he was writing in the chart - but there was no privacy screen or anything. There was no one else in the room when he examined her legs. He also had her lie down, and he checked the area around her hip joint. (she has stiffness and pain in her hip too.) After, he asked her to put her pants back on, and again he stayed in the room. Are there any rules about the doctor asking the patient to undress and dress without providing privacy? Also I was wondering if a male dr. can examine a female without another female in the room. I volunteered at a hospital, one of the things I was asked to do was to stand nearby while a male dr. examined a female patient, so I thought that was standard procedure. Honestly, my friend didn't mind, she feels comfortable with this doc. I was just wondering.

There are so many double standards in the medical society. Male doctors needs a female chaperone when with a female patient, but its ok for a female doctors to not have a male chaperone or not even have another chaperone in the room. So leaving the room so a patient can undress so the doctor can examine an area is a waste of time. I go to a female dermatologist and she does a complete skin exam on me while I am totally undressed. When I am taken back to the exam room she just says take it all off and she turns her back while I do so, then she gets started witht he exam. The use of a gown or modesty sheet is there if I want to have it, but she doesnt require it. Is this out of line? I dont think so becasue she is going to look at every inch of me from head to toe. She is going to have to touch me, and she is going to have move things around to look at everything. Thankfully she is very through with her exam and I leave the office knowing that I have no new melanomias or problems. I have had her nurse which is also female in the room during the exam and have been alone with her for the exam. I dont understnd why we in this society have thought that every male doctor is preverted when examining a female patient, and just remember that the chaperone is not for the patient but to protect the doctor for false statements from sue happy patients. Insurance companies require a chaperone and put pressure on the doctors. Even Female doctors have to have chaperones when they worry about law suits. Just remember there are as many preverted female doctors as there are male doctors, most go unreported or under reported becasue men are less vocal when it happens. Just think, if you, a male, have been told to drop your pants and underwear to get the dreaded exams. This is the procedure used by both male and female doctors that do those checks. If you trust your doctor, feel comfortable with them, and do not wish to change then why must you look at a female patient having to drop their pants to have their leg examined as a problem? If you are in a hospital, who is going to be taking care of you 95% of nurses are female, does this bother you? Most male nurses are barred from taking care of female patients not because they are unskilled, but because of fear of law suits. Males do not think that being cared for by female nurses is wrong. Yet the loudest complaints come from women in these cases. Women request all same gender staff in surgeries 9 times as often as men. If men request same gender care they are considered odd or are humilated into letting the female nurse do the care. I apologize for my rant, but the double standard has got to go.

Flare, ASN, BSN · May 9, 2012

oooh! Zombie thread!! out of the grave 6 years later!!

GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 9, 2012

but....in my 20's, i had a gynecologist who was in his 70's. he never had a female present when he did his exams. he was an absolute sweetheart except he was rough as hell. one time i had asked him if he was always this gentle w/his wife. dang, i swear he was trying to reach my lungs. leslie

this may be a zombie thread but leslie made me lol :rotfl: and for that i give her kudos, plus i conquer with most of the previous answers...aloha~

OncRNMichelle · May 9, 2012

[color=#ff00cc]it wouldn't bother me one bit to have him there. that's part of the dang job and something i understand as a patient. it sucks that doctors are put in the position of having to have witnesses. i know there are docs that have gotten themselves in trouble...but it also sucks that people are so lawsuit happy.

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN · May 9, 2012

So let's see: Your friend went to the doctor for calf pain and hip pain. On purpose.

You would think that she expected that this doctor would be examining her calf and hip without pants on. When she was admitted to the room and given a gown, you would also think someone would have told her (or she would have known herself), to remove her jeans so she could be examined.

When someone is wearing a hospital gown, it is quite easy to remove or put on a pair of jeans without exposing anything. When I was an aide, I got pretty good at using a gown to cover everything while completely dressing and undressing a female patient.

We would never have "volunteers" (HIPAA anyone) stand by while a doctor - or nurse - examines anyone. A patient may, at any time, say "I don't feel comfortable" or make any request they want for any reason.

brillohead, ADN, RN · May 9, 2012

oooh! Zombie thread!! out of the grave 6 years later!!

canned_bread · May 18, 2012

At our hospital if a male Dr is examining a patient's privates (or areas nearby) then a female health worker must be in the room (ie a nurse). This is to cover the dr's butt, but also the patients butt. Recently I went into another hospital for an appt, and needed the tail end of my breast to be looked at, and I said "its ok, I trust you, I don't need a female here", but the dr said it's protocol, it's needed. So had 2 people watching lol! So that's with dr's.

It's lucky it's not protocol for nurses, we sometimes simply do not have a male nurse on the ward, and also don't have time to wait for someone to get fetched.