Creepy!!!!!!!

[huggietoes]

I had a male patient tonight whom I have taken care of for 2 nights now. He continuously says very lude remarks, and when I was bent over administering an IV med he started rubbing my back, telling me he had a crush on me and how his wife and him were over so him and I could date now. As if! The entire night he would find excuse after excuse, even going so far as to tug his IV out so I would have to go in and spend time with him to replace it, could come up with a million and one tasks that involved me bending over in front of him. How degrading and humiliating! I so wanted to tell him where to stick his totally unwelcome advances, however, this hospital as with many others thinks the patient is always right, even when you are being sexually harassed and degraded. How can I handle it tactfully, I pray he is discharged but I just do not have that kind of luck.

[live4today, RN]

Originally posted by Stargazer

...........I wanted to ask everyone a question, though--how many of you have been the subject of inappropriate remarks (or behavior) from patient's visitors and how did you handle it? What do YOU do?

A situation like this happened to me my first year as a nurse. I was caring for an elderly woman who was comatose the entire time she was in our care, and her one son (who looked to be in his late forties or early fifties) would flirt with me every time he came to visit his sick mother.

I would NOT respond to his flirts.....which angered him......so he

went to the nurses station, and asked to speak to the Nurse Manager. He told her he did not want me taking care of his comatose mother because I didn't spend enough time with her....that I just rushed in her room and out again. Of course, after telling the NM what had been going on with that dirty minded man, she had a talk with HIM. :chuckle Needless to say......I continued to care for his mother and his advances stopped because the NM had told him he would be removed by security if he ever tried anything with any of her staff...and he would NOT be allowed to be in his mother's room as long as staff was present to care for her. He got so he would rush out of his seat and exit the room when staff had to enter the room to care for his mother. His mother died a week later witout ever regaining consciousness. What a creep that guy was!

[pebbles, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by RNConnieF

What about the honest, blunt approach? " Your attentions are unwelcome and make me uncomfortable. Sexual advances are unacceptable in a professional relationship." I was actually "caught" saying this to a patient by my clinical instructor my last semester. She had me do a peer teaching-learning demonstration, she liked it so much. I don't mean to offend, but some of the responses sound like the old "female, passive" voice. What is wrong with stating, with force, EXACTLY what is acceptable behavior. If a male was the foucs of unwelcome advances he would not hesitate to make sure his message to back off was received. I hope no one takes offence. I guess you can tell I got an "A" in the "Assertiveness" class.

Agreed, Connie! :)

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a nurse who has NOT had some form of sexual harrassment at work....

I have experienced this several times, and used the approach you describe... in fact, this is how I was taught in school, and my managers have reinforced this concept of professional barriers and appropriate behaviour. The unit manager will even talk to the family herself if it continues to be a problem. It's nice to be backed up in this way, but that doesn't mean it isn't upsetting.