Male catheters

Nurses Men

Published

Here's a problem I run into quite frequently- the female nurses come to me on a regular basis to insert indwelling foley catheters for their male pts.

I work in an ED as a float nurse, rarely taking pts of my own but primarily to act as a support team member with the largest scope of practice so as to assist during codes and other high acuity pts. So I always hate saying no when asked by a primary nurse who wants help. However, it's starting to become a real trend where many of the nurses are coming to me saying, "I think it would be less awkward for another male to do this". Yes. That is the exact, word for word quote I was provided.

What do you think? Is her, the primary nurse's argument valid? Or do you think she's just trying to put off an unsavory task?

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Generally (but not always) the awkwardness is unidirectional with women having a problem with males providing care, or with female care providers having issues doing male intimate care. As a rule, I think western men have less problems with this.

Other cultures are quite different.

My own thinking on the subject is that I am not turned on by putting tubes in sick people, regardless of their gender, and the idea that I might be is weird.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Progressive Care.

A male foley insertion usually takes all of about 10 minutes start to finish (unless there are major prostate issues) - its so quick and easy, why not do it for your coworkers?

As for me, I never put in a female cath without a female coworker in the room. I do this for the patients comfort and mine.

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Specializes in Trauma/ED.

When I worked in the ED we always tried to have same gender do the foley's and I was always happy to help my team members out if it was a guy--even if I was charge. The females had a lot more to do then the males with all the straight cath u/a's done in the ED. There may be some double standards as mentioned but I do not see this as a huge issue in this case.

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Without knowing me, many will probably misconstrue this, but...

I (RN/charge nurse) have never actually put a catheter into a male and only once by necessity have I put one in a female while working by myself and she was unconscious. Frankly, I'd rather aggressively avoid both, lol. The females I work with know I'd rather not (I can't really emphasize this adequately) be handling up on any patient's genitals so they typically offer. In place, I'm called upon to do things that don't bother me that many other nurses (male and female) shy away from, i.e. lifting folks, holding them down, fending off an assailant where necessary (it's happened), talking down aggressive and psychotic patients, standing in for security as we don't have dedicated security, and sometimes even playing the role of maintenance man, etc. I'd say it's a trade off. Scratch my back, and I'll scratch your's (with gloves on).

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A male foley insertion usually takes all of about 10 minutes start to finish (unless there are major prostate issues

Tell me you meant to say ten. SECONDS>?

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Specializes in FNP-BC, MedSurg, GeroPsych, ICU/Stepdown, clinic.

I wouldn't really see a problem with that. As long as they don't mind doing the caths for your female patients, you definitely have the better side of the deal. Male caths are generally a lot easier unless there are major prostate issues. I have to agree with FuturePsychNP, on the unit I worked on we tried to help each other out and do the procedures that we knew the other nurse wasn't comfortable with. I knew many nurses that hated to suction patients because of the noise or help the aides with changing patients because they thought it was below them (I guess). I never hesitated to jump in and help out when I could as I found that what comes around, goes around. Do unto others and all that.

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Specializes in ICU, psych.

I dont think that men want a man to do any kind of nursing on them.. I mean that they dont prefer a male over a female.

They may be just gettiung you to do their job with that as the excuse. A male foley is quite simple. Females can be a real pain to do.

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Specializes in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.

I ask guys to do male caths simply because they can't do female caths without female staff in the room (so they might as well not do it). I KNOW that I'll be doing their female caths later so why not get them to do my make caths.

I can't think of any guy refusing me to do their cath. I've purposely got a guy to do caths because of how inappropriate the pt was acting.

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I dont think that men want a man to do any kind of nursing on them.. I mean that they dont prefer a male over a female.

They may be just gettiung you to do their job with that as the excuse. A male foley is quite simple. Females can be a real pain to do.

Again, check out the several threads here of men protesting indignantly that they are being abused and traumatized by having female nurses and physicians provide any kind of intimate/personal care, and railing against the grotesque double standard that discriminates against men (that they are expected to tolerate this, while women get to insist upon only having female providers) ... Apparently, there is a population of US males that feel v. strongly about this.

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Specializes in Psych.

I am a male and I once had a patient request that I not care for him because he thought I was a "***". My female co-workers were not very supportive of the patient (perhaps they were over-supportive of me) until I suggested that perhaps this person had previous life experience that made him uncomfortable with men. I was offended at first as I am a professional, but that same professionalism led me to think about things from the patient's point of view.

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M

Many females have male physicians so I do not understand these same females who decline a nurse who happens to be male based simply on their gender. I don't understand what they are expecting -- when I help bathe a man, or catheterization him, I'm not looking at him in a sexual way and that's the same for my male coworkers when working with female patients.

Obviously nurses are not physicians, however we are professionals, even when, *gasp* performing personal care on a person of opposite gender.

I absolutely hate when I have to stop another CNA (because I just recently passed my NCLEX...so CNA for now)...to "wipe a female pt". Look, I've seen about a million butts and genital areas...your's are not something I'm interested in lady...

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Specializes in hospice.
I absolutely hate when I have to stop another CNA (because I just recently passed my NCLEX...so CNA for now)...to "wipe a female pt". Look, I've seen about a million butts and genital areas...your's are not something I'm interested in lady...

It's kind of funny how people think it means anything to us at all to see those parts. Plus we're wiping poop off you, so that's about the least romantic scenario I can think of.

There's that old joke about nurses having seen more **** than a ten dollar hooker. For male nurses, I guess it would be more hoo-hahs than a ten dollar gigolo. ;)

I wonder how many of these shrinking violets had male OBs and didn't think a thing of it? :rolleyes:

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