Male/Female learning experience in clincal

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I have a question for students (since I don't start until Sept). I have read that there are times when males are excluded or not allowed to participate in particular rotations or with certain procedures (more specifically when it involves a female). Does this same standard hold true for female student nurses when the procedure involves a male?

Honestly, I am ok without seeing a lady partsl birth. LOL I helped to deliver my first son and I will be doing the same for my next ( in October). Being that close up and personal with my own wife during that process was good enough for me!:):):)

The things that I am concerned with are things like caths. I heard that it is much more difficult with a woman than it is a man. I really wouldn't want the first patient that I have to perform this procedure on when I'm on my own to be my first experience with the procedure outside of pamphlets and books. I really don't want to hurt someone while I am trying to help them. That would kind of defeat the purpose.:):):)

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I've read all that on here too. I start murse school (yes, I said murse) in a couple weeks. I will never protest not seeing and experiencing certain things. I've delivered a placenta before. It wasn't that big of a deal, but yeah it's gross. The baby slipped out right as I walked in the front door of the house. I looked to my right, saw the bathroom, saw mom on the pot with a baby on the way out, and I thought "if I hadn't stopped to open that pack of Certs I could've probably been here to deliver that thing." All was well with mom and baby. That said, I'm really not interested in being subjected to diseased lady partss and more births. I've seen a c-section and anyone watching Discovery has too. Frankly, I think television guts are always nastier than real life guts. I guess because in real life there's more to do than passively look at body junk.

I think being the professional is easier than being a student. As a student you've got a preceptor looking over your shoulder and a patient that's questioning your abilities based on your student status. Likely, if you mess up a little and keep a straight face the patient won't know so just redo it. Some things you never get to practice but just do. I got the opportunity to do a surgical airway once and had never even seen a video of such a thing, but we got it done. He was effectively unrevivable, but we got that airway...along with some very funky chest rise upon bagging him.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

I live in a pretty conservative town and I have only been asked to leave the room once and that was with inserting a cath into a 90 year old female. She didnt like the idea of any man other than her husband looking at her "down there" as she put it. Since then though it has never happened again and I have been able to boat loads of caths on female pts.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Progressive Care.

A student may, at the request of the patient, be asked not to participate in any part of their care for any reason.

Faculty and preceptors should not exclude you from any part of the curriculum - unless it is at the patients request.

I am glad you dont want to hurt anybody. Don't worry, you will learn how to insert a foley properly and you will observe it being done before you attempt it (while being closely supervised). You are right, a foley is harder to do in women because it is harder to visualize the meatus of the urethra. A flashlight and a steady hand helps. Frankly, learning to do IV starts with competence is much more difficult.

The first time I inserted a foley into a woman she was in the middle of a STEMI. Me putting her foley in was the least of her worries. And the first time I inserted a foley in a man it was in the OR prior to surgery. He was under general anesthesia. Sweet.

As for L&D - this a very female dominated world. I just kept to the background and brought my birthing mothers pillows, ice, whatever they wanted, doting on them. When it came time to deliver, all of them pretty much insisted that I be IN the room with them. On time my preceptor asked the woman "Do you want a male student in the room while you deliver." She said "No." My preceptor said "OK, Czyja, find something else to do.' The mother said "Oh, no, no,no. I want Czyja here." Hah.

And if a pt asks for a same gendered nurse, accept it with dignity. This is not about you, it is about the patient.

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I'm wondering if there's a good way to get out of any of it. :D;):clown:

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Thank you all for your responses. czyja, I totally agree with your statement that it is all about the patient. If a patient feels more comfortable with a woman I can certainly appreciate and respect that.:)

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Specializes in Emergency, Critical Care, Trauma.

Unless there's a cultural reason for a male caretaker to not be in the room, just be professional. I've seen numerous threads with similar topics on here, and it all boils down to this: your clinical experience is what you make of it. In the real world you don't get to pick and choose who receives your care, and if you have a professional, confident aire about you, you'll rarely, if ever, be turned away.

"Hi, my name is X, and I'm the student nurse working with nurse Y today. Is there anything I can do for you right now?" works a lot better than, "Hi, I'm a guy and I know you're a girl, and this weird double standard exists that it's ok for a male physician to be in the room but not a male nurse, but I just want to see if you're ok with having me squirm around the room during my time in clinical today." The patient always has the right to refuse, but you don't need to give it to them on a silver platter.

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

on time my preceptor asked the woman "do you want a male student in the room while you deliver." she said "no." my preceptor said "ok, czyja, find something else to do.' the mother said "oh, no, no,no. i want czyja here." hah.

and if a pt asks for a same gendered nurse, accept it with dignity. this is not about you, it is about the patient.

slghtly ot - but i had to share a memory this quotation trggered.

i was a college student living in the dorm and my dad, who was in the city on business, stopped when he was finished to pick me up and take me home for the weekend.

he got off the elevator, was spotted, and someone immediately yelled, "man on the floor!!":eek:

someone else yelled right back, "oh, that's no man. that's just kathy's father.":yawn:

he swore his hormones never quite got back to normal again.:lol2:

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Unless there's a cultural reason for a male caretaker to not be in the room, just be professional. I've seen numerous threads with similar topics on here, and it all boils down to this: your clinical experience is what you make of it. In the real world you don't get to pick and choose who receives your care, and if you have a professional, confident aire about you, you'll rarely, if ever, be turned away.

"Hi, my name is X, and I'm the student nurse working with nurse Y today. Is there anything I can do for you right now?" works a lot better than, "Hi, I'm a guy and I know you're a girl, and this weird double standard exists that it's ok for a male physician to be in the room but not a male nurse, but I just want to see if you're ok with having me squirm around the room during my time in clinical today." The patient always has the right to refuse, but you don't need to give it to them on a silver platter.

I'm thinking saying, "Hi, do you mind if I look at your genitals today" works better.

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slghtly ot - but i had to share a memory this quotation trggered.

i was a college student living in the dorm and my dad, who was in the city on business, stopped when he was finished to pick me up and take me home for the weekend.

he got off the elevator, was spotted, and someone immediately yelled, "man on the floor!!":eek:

someone else yelled right back, "oh, that's no man. that's just kathy's father.":yawn:

he swore his hormones never quite got back to normal again.:lol2:

hahahaha your poor dad! :)

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Specializes in mental health.

The only two times I've been asked to step aside during clinical...

1. Muslim woman, because her husband was going to be there soon. She was OK with a male nurse.

2. Little old lady...said she was too old to have a young man looking at her(embarrassed).

I've been asked to step into the room. Male doctors do not want to be alone with female patients when examining genitals.

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I am in my last semester of nursing school. When I did my OB rotation the nurse I was with that day asked the patient if she was ok with me being in the room for the birth. That is the only time that there was anything said about me being a male nurse. I have inserted foleys on females and given them suppositories. I haven't had any issues. My experience has been if you know what you are doing and can help them while they are sick, they could care less what sex you are. I have many positive experiences with women happy that I was a guy and that I was going to take care of them. I think it all depends on the patient. No school or clinical teacher should exclude you from anything because you are male, only a patient can exclude you.

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