How do the male nurses feel about perineal care?

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Do male nurses actually wash the male and female genitalia? I'm sure this question has been around for ages, but I can't find an answer anywhere... I just find it hard to believe that a male patient would want or even allow a male nurse to do those things.

Please don't respond with rude comments.

Specializes in Hospice.
Some people sure do take pride in feeling affronted.I'm jus' saying:uhoh3:.

I wasn't insulted, particularly, but my eyebrows went up, too, when I read the op. He/she has a point. Why would it be more of an issue for a man than for a woman to do peri care on a person of opposite gender? Many of the posts from the guys here make the same point, in a way ... it's part of nursing and they just do it.

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Kind of insulted you would even ask. How do female nurses feel about perineal care? How do female patients feel about getting care from a female? I guess it's just nurses taking care of patients.

It was just a question. If you think that question is insulting you need to a) grow some thick skin or b) NOT RESPOND to my question...

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are you a nsg student, johnny?

to be quite honest, i was petrified (as a new nsg student) at the thought of a male pt getting an erection if i washed him.

not saying there was anything rational about my fear, but it was there.

and sure enough, my very first male pt, was a male pt in his 50's, who was the prototype of a dirty old man...

and got an erection.

now...i understand that erections happen inadvertently, all the time...but this particular pt was a creep.

anyways, if you're a nsg student, time to put your "macho" aside and focus on the role of being a nurse.

you're not washing a man or woman...you're washing your pt (after you've assessed they are unable to do it themselves- my first mistake.)

you need to concentrate on your goals w/pt- to keep them clean, free of infection, comfortable, dignified, etc.

there are sev'l aspects of nsg that i got cold feet about...

i discovered i just had to "do it".

put aside your personal feelings....it's the only way to become a true professional.

it's all good, and you'll do fine.

let us know how it goes.

leslie

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Specializes in Hospice.
Some people sure do take pride in feeling affronted.I'm jus' saying:uhoh3:.

It was just a question. If you think that question is insulting you need to a) grow some thick skin or b) NOT RESPOND to my question...

You ask, on a public forum, How do the male nurses feel about perineal care?

What did you think was going to happen?

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Hey, johnny, when I was just a student nurse, back in the Jurrasic Age, we had orderlies to do heavy lifting and certain other tasks. One of those was placing foleys in male patients.

Female nurses did foley and straight caths only on the neuro floor, where pts were cathed multiple times a day. And the instructors had to get 'permission' for male nursing students to be in the delivery and post-partum areas.

We've come a long way, and if patients truly object we try to accomadate. Not always possible, but we will always have some barriers thrown up at us.

Why does no one ask why there are so many men that go into OB-GYN? And that women rarely object to male docs examining them, regardless of how intimate that may be?

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Specializes in ICU.

(I'm male) Once we had a male pt with a penile implant. The tent was always up. :rolleyes: I draw the line when the pt ( I don't care how sick he is ), says "scratch my balls". I'll just glove up and prop. 'em on a wash cloth. If they need cleaning, fine, but other than that - uh, no. Get physical therapy to help you work on that problem. :cool:

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Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.
You ask, on a public forum, How do the male nurses feel about perineal care?

What did you think was going to happen?

The OP did not ask how male nurses feel. That was another poster who made that conclusion.

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Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.

Male CNA's and nurses do perineal care as a part of their job. It's a part of the nursing profession.

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You ask, on a public forum, How do the male nurses feel about perineal care?

What did you think was going to happen?

The question was going to be answered straight forward...maybe?Or maybe not.

In a profession dominated by females, I did not consider the question so far-fetched or out of place.

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Specializes in Hospice.
The OP did not ask how male nurses feel. That was another poster who made that conclusion.

Did you read the title of the thread?

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you're not washing a man or woman...you're washing your pt (after you've assessed they are unable to do it themselves- my first mistake.)
The instructor preparing my nursing class for our first clinical told us to tell the patient that we'd start at the top of the body and wash down as far as possible. Then we'd start again at the feet and wash up as far as possible. Then we'd give them a washcloth and have them wash "possible."

If "possible" care is impossible for the patient, that task falls to the nurse.

Some patients will want a member of one sex or the other to wash them, but many will take their cue from the nurse. If you're okay with what could be an awkward situation, they will be, too. Conversely, if you are giving off vibes of discomfort and embarrassment, that can also have an influence.

Washing the perineum should be a non-sexual, non-social procedure that restores patient cleanliness and keeps their skin intact. When a patient is so ill or incapacitated that they need assistance with this kind of hygiene, the kindest thing we can do for them is provide it skillfully and without any sign discomfort from us.

Nurses either learn to perform this part of the job without discomfort or they find ways to keep their feelings under wraps. For most of us it's a combination of the two. Either way, the patient gets what they need, and we have the satisfaction of knowing we met their needs.

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Specializes in ICU.

I think the question is more about how the patients feel about the male cleaning them. I could be wrong. How a male pt might feel about another guy washing his goods. Because men could be funny about that. I could be wrong. I have done mostly ICU and these people can't wash themselves. And the ones that can, I let them do it for themselves (I am a female)

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