Guys, how should I handle this?

[jov]

This is a gal wanting male input: we had a "problem" in our last two semesters when we were watching videos of examinations. In one movie, the pretend doctor pulled up the gown of the pretend patient and one of the guys said "slow down the video!" There have been similar comments in that vein. Now, I'm not a prude--not after having been married 26 years LOL-- but I feel a patient is a person in a vulnerable position and it is of the utmost importance to make sure that patient does not feel ANYTHING sexual is going on.

When complaints were voiced, the guys replied, "the girls were laughing too" and brought up an instance where the girls giggled during a circumcision video. Now, I'm sure you guys would be the first to admit there's nothing sexual about circumcision and I think the giggles were from watching the guys squirm-- but I definitely felt the other comments made were sexual in nature and completely inappropriate. Any feedback?

[jov]

Great comments, guys...although my question was what should I do about it? My conclusion is... nothing?

[RebeccaJeanRN]

I'd say do nothing unless it really bothered you, in which case you can take it up privately with the instructor. Its the instructor's responsibility to address things like this when its annoying. But I do want to echo the sentiments of prior posters here: laughter can be a great stress reliever. (and some of your classmates may just be using humor/funny comments to hide a tiny bit of embarrassment)

[Psqrd]

Jov, my suggestion is to do nothing...in the big picture it doesn't really matter that much unless...it was so disruptive that you missed something in the video, then I would speak up.

[ZASHAGALKA, RN]

If you thought that it specifically and seriously affected YOUR learning environment, by all means, speak up to an instructor. You have the right to a comfortable learning environment and the person who made the comment's right to create a comfort zone from himself with humor ends when it intrudes upon yours.

If you just thought it was inappropriate in the abstract, I would let it go.

~faith,

Timothy.

[RebeccaJeanRN]

oops...'scuze me for fast fingers and slow brain...gave feedback a few posts back- didn't realize OP was seeking a 'guys' perspective on her class clown's comments!

[Dallas_RN, BSN, EMT-P]

Was it inappropriate? Yes.. Is it a big deal, not in my opinion. Hell, nursing school is difficult, much less being the odd ball of being a male in a female dominate program, it may have been his way of releasing some stress.

But I will say if you think that is out of line enough to go tell on him, you may be in a rude awakening what you will hear in the job setting from other Nurses or M.D.'s. Face it this is a highly stressful job and we deal with seeing things people can only imagine and comments inapproproate or not do occur.

[jov]

Interesting. Mostly what the guys are telling me is it is a way to release stress. Here's another slant on it though... what about their risk for a sexual harassment charge? I mean in the future on the job. The places where I have worked are very conscious of this. People are very careful to kind of detour around this stuff. I asked an attorney-friend (is there such a thing) about this and he steered me to some internet stuff. Sexual harassment includes telling off-color jokes, even if the girls laugh and go along with it. OR even if they start it. His "professional" advice was don't go there. ESPecially as a guy. Do you think somebody should **clue** them in, or should I just let them laugh all the way to a pink slip...

[MQ Edna]

I wouldn't let it bug you, first of all. I can say with some empathy that these things aren't personal in nature, and that you shouldn't let them fester into resentments that affect your perception of the class, your grades, or interpersonal relationships. I wouldn't laugh about the circumcision videos, either... that makes you as bad as they are. On a personal note, I can tell you that I've been in classes where males were the butt-ends of jokes, where the professor was even making sexually inappropriate/derogatory remarks about men. I tried to take the gender difference out of the picture... meaning, I didn't let the sexist put downs affect my perception of women in general.

[Dabuggy]

As I stated earlier I would have laughed. When the class was confronted that a person thought it was inappropriate, I would have stopped. The attorney should have mentioned that it takes more than one time to get a pink slip or get money from a law suite.

A person has to know that you find it offensive. As I mentioned earlier I was wondering if the instructor found it humorous or not. Did the instructor ask the class to make no more comments as some find them offensive? Have you followed up with an email to the instructor? Has this continued?

My solution to this is that your instructor should place this video and others that have controversial material in a room were people can view alone or with small groups. This will keep you from becoming uncomfortable. I hope you are a person who can find solutions to a dilemma and not just find faults. School is tough and should be fun for all at the same time.

If this is still an issue with your class your instructor needs to address this dilemma. Just think before you act as it may come back and bite you.

Dabuggy

P.S. Let it be known that I am not an attorney, play one on tv, or pretend to be one on the net. (Just so I don't get accused of practicing law w/o a license)

[dfarr]

Sounds like to me that someone needs to loosen up a bit. Making a comment about a video offends you? Give me a freakin break. You need to learn to take a joke and let stuff roll off like water on a duck. You're going to hear much worse from patients once you start working.

[jov]

Making a comment about a video offends you? Give me a freakin break.

whoa dfarr! looks like you jumped in on the end of these posts. As OP, I never said it offended me. In fact, I said I'm not a prude. The issue we were discussing was professionalism in the face of patient nudity and how to respond to those who make comments about it... so there's your freakin' break, my dear.

[treysdaddy08]

I guarantee if that happened in our school, the person would be either put on probation or immediately asked to leave the program. It could be viewed as sexual harrassment, and needs to be handled as such.