Male Nurses/female Patients

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Jul 16, 2006

You want to hear something positive! I was just talking to my son...the next generation guys..and he doesn't seem to have much of a probelm with male or female nurses! He realizes that most nurses are female, but some are male and they are medical professionals...so they will care for him! I was very happy to see this!

Maybe we have to get over some sexist or generation gaps before things get better! I am sure this isn't new! Heck...try being a Female Doc when they first started...or a nurse that wasn't a nun? Not a new thing...and will continue in some sort in some way in every field of healthcare and other professions....

The trick is...who do we work for..the pts! So we have to constantly cater to their needs..it is what we signed on for..and as much as at times I hate to admit that....that is who we work for and care for despite whatever they are doing right or wrong....

So keep that in mind...some won't have a probelm..some will...not new and certainly with more knowledge about nursing slowly seeping in...it may just be a hurdle that the next generation will say "wow, remember when"....

Gabie Baby · Jul 16, 2006

I'm interested in knowing if anyone has the issue of male nurses refusing to perform certain nursing functions simply because they are male. Having worked in a large teaching hospital and smaller community hospitals, there seems to be a huge difference. In the teaching hospital, male nurses did everything a patient needed, regardless of gender. In the smaller community hospitals, the male nurses sought out female nurses to take care of all manner of female patient's hygiene, all gyn exams ,and anything else a female patient needed. Have we become such a litigous society that we base our practice on gender? Do you find yourself taking care of your male colleagues patients as well as your own simply because they are afraid to touch their female patients?

I think males should care for males and females for either gender whenever possible. I definitely think we should chaperone any colleague who requests it or do a little horsetrading when necessary. BUT - the males whose pts I'm going to care for had better be willing to help me with something if I need it. If they don't play tit for tat, it will be the last time I help them. I don't like being played for a fool.

banditrn · Jul 17, 2006

I worked with a male nurse one time that started out asking the females to do personal cares for his female patients, even just taking them to the BR because HE wasn't 'comfortable' with it.

I told him finally that he needed to get over it, or he would be asked to do all my male patient cares. It might be different if the patient insisted, but even then, the male nurse needs to try to educate his patients to accept that he is a medical professional. These patients accept a male DR. doing exams.

I see no problem with asking another staff member to be present. I had a female patient one time that was very inappropriate with me, making suggestive remarks, etc. After that I wouldn't go into her room to do cares without someone else present.

stevesf · Jul 17, 2006

A lot of good responses here. I'm still a student, but if the situation warrants, I'll ask the client if they are uncomfortable about me performing the cath. etc. If they do, I'll still perform it (afer all, I am their student nurse!), but I'll ask for a chaperone. A situation that may warrant this are some "older" pts, unaccustomed to being cared for by a male; I've not run into it yet, but I would definitely ask an adolescent. When I first started doing clinicals, I asked a guy nurse about chaperones, and he told me that 1) Many of the patients are quite used to being handled by different caregivers, and are usually over most embarrassment (I still ask, sometimes) and 2) If the unit is busy, the pt is stooling q 10 m, she needs to be cleaned up NOW, and you're not going to find a tech or nurse to accompnay you each time you clean her.

Steve

santhony44, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 17, 2006

Someone mentioned male doctors being "exempt" from the image of predator, and I assume from being unjustly accused; I don't see that at all. Most male physicians I know are very careful to have female chaperons, and/or have female providers perform pelvic or breast exams.

I am a female FNP and currently work with two male physicians. I do most, though not all, of the breast/pelvic exams. Usually this is per the patient's preference. I get the well-woman exams as well as most of the "female" problems.

There are a variety of reasons for this; some women do have issues of rape or sexual abuse, some women believe that another woman will do a gentler exam, some are modest, some are just plain uncomfortable with a man seeing that part of their bodies.

By the same token, I will offer a male patient the option to see the male provider for a genital or rectal exam.

We want the patients to be happy with their care, and at the same time prevent any accusations against the male providers.

I've been in health management in industry as well. We had a young male occupational health physician. When he saw female patients in our clinic, I made sure he was never for one second alone with a female employee; he had a female nurse, usually me, with him at all times. When I was in the room and he was examining a female employee, I positioned myself to see where his hands were at all times, particularly if he were examining places like the lower back. It wasn't that I mistrusted him; it was the employees I didn't necessarily trust. In fact, we had a couple complain about inappropriate remarks he had supposedly made- with me right there in the room!! That stopped when I started making noises to the union about considering those complaints to be defamation of my character. It was amazing how a perfectly innocent remark or question could be twisted!! I also had a male staff nurse there and tried to be super careful of him also, for the same reasons. When you've heard a female complain that "he told me I needed a man" but you were there to hear him ask her if she had a husband or someone at home who could give a good firm massage to her tight shoulder muscles (otherwise she'd need the company nurses to massage them just after work) then you don't have trouble understanding why a male nurse would be extra careful with "intimate" procedures on his female patients.

It's unfortunate, but I think the ligitiousness of our society, and the perception of males as predators, has gotten worse over my years in nursing, not better.

jb2u, ASN, RN · Jul 17, 2006

Many women - not just older women - don't want any man except the one they love and trust (their husband) to see them. As mentioned earlier, many women have religious beliefs about having a male doctor or nurse. And lets not forget that 1 in 4 women are victims of rape or molestation. Would you be the one to tell a rape victim who doesn't want you to touch her during a pelvic exam that she doesn't have a choice because you think it's discrimination? I'm a rape victim and if I was forced to have a man do my intimate exams there would be hell to pay. I'm sorry. I DON'T care about your feelings in this matter. I care about ME being comfortable in those already awkward and vulnerable exams.

for the record....i would NEVER force care on anyone (man or women)! i can understand certain situations, but as a rule to say "hey pts. pick which gender you want to care for you" is wrong and IS discrimination. let us not forget that males are also victims of rape/molestation and we should also be sensitive to their feelings also...right? we seem to have a habit of asking female pts if they mind having a male care provider, but we do not usually say to a male pt "MR. so and so you have a female care provider today, is that o.k. with you?"

also, there are women, who have male docs, but do not want a male nurse to care for them. they equate education with morality which are two completely different things. and i would also like to say that i am sorry you had to go through such a horrible experience in your life. i pray that you continue to heal internally.

sincerely,

jay

jb2u, ASN, RN · Jul 17, 2006

let us not forget....the problem with sexual predators is not that they are MEN, it is that they are PREDATORS! as we have seen lately in the news...women ARE predators too!!! and i am sure MANY go WAY under reported! and as i said in another post...i have heard female nurses at my work talking very inappropriately about the size of a male pts member as well as here on this site!

yes, i do expect females to understand how it makes me feal to be treated like a deviant when i haven't done anything wrong. i want to give the best care possible because i LOVE taking care of others. it brings me much joy, but to be treated like a deviant without cause brings me sadness. please, understand that!

sincerely,

jay

WannabeOrthoSurgeon · Jul 17, 2006

Many of you are not responding to me, and I am curious why.

Why is it that female nurses generally can assess both MALE, and FEMALE, but males cannot generally assess female, and women are embarassed about their "private" areas, but most of you female nurses feel like men are not embarassed about theirs. Why is it everyone is concerned for a male nurse having a witness, while hardly anyone is concerned for a female nurse having a witness?

Myself, I would just care for the patient like I am male, and female. Why should what I have on the lower portion of my body decide whether I care for you, or not. I could myself have a female organ down there.(Don't worry I DON'T!) Perfectly male here. But why is it so consentual with males, but not with females.

jb2u, ASN, RN · Jul 17, 2006

Many of you are not responding to me, and I am curious why.
Why is it that female nurses generally can assess both MALE, and FEMALE, but males cannot generally assess female, and women are embarassed about their "private" areas, but most of you female nurses feel like men are not embarassed about theirs. Why is it everyone is concerned for a male nurse having a witness, while hardly anyone is concerned for a female nurse having a witness?
Myself, I would just care for the patient like I am male, and female. Why should what I have on the lower portion of my body decide whether I care for you, or not. I could myself have a female organ down there.(Don't worry I DON'T!) Perfectly male here. But why is it so consentual with males, but not with females.

the answer is males are easy to discriminate against and there is a HUGE HUGE double standard!

58flyer · Jul 17, 2006

and as i said in another post...i have heard female nurses at my work talking very inappropriately about the size of a male pts member as well as here on this site!sincerely,jay

You got that right Jay! I have noticed that too on this site, unfortunately. Over the years I have heard LOTS of female nurses make inappropriate comments about their male patients. I have also known many male nurses and doctors and have never once heard any inappropriate comment about female patients come from them, not on this site either, unless I missed it.

58flyer · Jul 17, 2006

Many women - not just older women - don't want any man except the one they love and trust (their husband) to see them. As mentioned earlier, many women have religious beliefs about having a male doctor or nurse. And lets not forget that 1 in 4 women are victims of rape or molestation. Would you be the one to tell a rape victim who doesn't want you to touch her during a pelvic exam that she doesn't have a choice because you think it's discrimination? I'm a rape victim and if I was forced to have a man do my intimate exams there would be hell to pay. I'm sorry. I DON'T care about your feelings in this matter. I care about ME being comfortable in those already awkward and vulnerable exams.

Men can also be rape/molestation victims as well. Sometimes the perpetrators are female. Hopefully you can understand why these men would be uncomfortable with intimate care by female medical personnel. There is a lot of unreported sexually inappropriate behavior commited by female providers against male patients. I have been on the receiving end of that myself. I have also been the victim of an egregious act of sexual abuse by a female nurse as a vulnerable young male patient. My knowledge of this is first hand. I agree that patients should have the choice in the sex of their provider when it comes to intimate care, without offense being taken. I don't think it's the least bit discriminatory.

dragonflyRN · Jul 17, 2006

Just recently....a male coworker was assigned a pt. The lady more or less told him to get lost. She was not comfortable with it. I admitted the pt. Not long later,,,,I got my own admit with zip for help