I am a male nurse on an inpatient unit in a hospital who began a couple months ago. Recently I used the bathroom in the staff lounge, and after I left to sit down at the nurses station, an older female nurse came up to me grinning and whispering,
"Hi, I followed you after you used the bathroom, and used it next. I want you to know, the ladies here will be annoyed with you if you leave the toilet seat up after you use the toilet. We had a previous male nurse who the ladies became angry at because he didn't put the seat back down. I would put the seat back down if I were you."
I interpreted this to mean that really, she, rather than anyone else, wanted me to put the seat back down.
Is it really this person's job to be a toilet police? At least I actually put the damn seat up I can't count how many times I've found urine sprayed all over a toilet seat in the down position after a woman used it because she "hovered." I have to say, I found the comment sexist and condescending and am thinking of reporting it. What do you think?
This happened on my unit too only the nurse said it in front of all the nurses at the nurses station. Before the man could answer, I spun around in my chair and said, " Did you put it down?" The answer was "Of course". My response "Good for you!" No body hassled him again and I never heard about him leaving it up.
My point is she was trying to embarrass him in front of everybody and I don't play that.
No, not at all. However, it is, apparently, what this idiot woman wanted to "fight about." She raised the issue, not me. Try to read, if you can.
I can read and fully did read it. And given your rude response, I strongly suspect that your coworker(s) probably have other issues with you.
My comment has to do with you making a big deal about that sort of correction. If someone for example, commented that I left a small amt of blood on a seat or forgot to wrap a used hygiene product before putting it in the trash, I would be more careful in the future.
I would not be getting wrought up online and think it sexist.
Am I the only one here who saw that older woman nurse trying to be 'motherly' in a good way???
Maybe there were real issues with previous staff and she was trying to just give some friendly warning advice to save future conflict.
I could really imagine some unit out there with a bunch of picky picky clique of females giving some guy a hard time.
I don't read anything into this.
Do I have to make some popcorn???
That's the way I read it too. She was not being rude, sexist, or condescending.
I taught my 3 boys to always put the seat down. It is just common courtesy where I grew up.
"See, I put the seat down. But don't blame me for the saran wrap."
Love your input NOADLS
Not rude, sexist, or condescending. If this exchange had been over some other unit practice that didn't involve your bathroom habits, would you have been so butt hurt? If you're going to take a stand on this and escalate your complaint up the chain, be prepared for what will likely follow. At this point in your short-lived time on the unit, it would be in your best interest to foster some good will among your new coworkers rather than start a "pissing contest" (pun appropriately intended) with your peers.
Something must be wrong with me that I wasted about 15 minutes on a Saturday night, on my weekend off no less reading 8 pages of a thread on whether the toilet seat should be up or down!
I'm asking myself the same question LOL LOL. I'm in stitches here!!!! I really needed a good laugh.
I am a male nurse on an inpatient unit in a hospital who began a couple months ago. Recently I used the bathroom in the staff lounge, and after I left to sit down at the nurses station, an older female nurse came up to me grinning and whispering,
"Hi, I followed you after you used the bathroom, and used it next. I want you to know, the ladies here will be annoyed with you if you leave the toilet seat up after you use the toilet. We had a previous male nurse who the ladies became angry at because he didn't put the seat back down. I would put the seat back down if I were you."
I interpreted this to mean that really, she, rather than anyone else, wanted me to put the seat back down.
B
Is it really this person's job to be a toilet police? At least I actually put the damn seat up I can't count how many times I've found urine sprayed all over a toilet seat in the down position after a woman used it because she "hovered." I have to say, I found the comment sexist and condescending and am thinking of reporting it. What do you think?
I wouldn't report her based on this one little incident and who knows she may have been ribbing you a little bit. If a pattern of harassment ensues then yeah reporting may be justified. Maybe next time think of a clever one liner to respond. We shouldn't feel the need to report each other for every little offense. Everyone has their own personality some more grating than others but try not too take it personally. She's thte toilet police and feels compelled to enforce the toilet laws. At my job we have the refrigerator cop who needs to tidy up the fridge on each break and mistakenly throws out lunches regularly. What can you do people have flaws but this isn't a reportable event in my opinion.
Since many employee restrooms have a motion sensor on a timer for the lights, and they often don't function, it is common courtesy to leave the toilet seat down. If you want to aggravate your colleagues and create hostility, then don't.
If the rationale is that people using that bathroom sometimes have to use the toilet in the dark, that's actually a really good reason to leave the seat up. What do you think happens when a male goes pee in a dark bathroom?
So here's what has never made sense to me about the default 'seat must always be down' rule. If I'm going pee and the seat is down, I put it up, not for my benefit but so that women using the bathroom don't have to sit on a seat that I've pee'd on. And even though putting the seat up isn't for my benefit, I don't complain the person before me didn't leave it up for me, so why does it make sense to complain because I was kind enough to keep the seat from getting peed on?
FlyingScot, RN
2,016 Posts
OP it seems that this is something that really sticks in your craw.
https://allnurses.com/nurse-colleague-patient/should-male-nurses-946274-page5.html#post8111249