Male Nurses/female Patients

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:banghead: 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?

My two sons and husband (as described in my previous post) are kind of 'wigged out' by the thought of being touched by a homosexual. I do not understand this AT ALL. I just don't get it!! :confused: If I were a patient, I wouldn't care less what the nurse's sexual orientation is!

We are all so PC that our brains are falling out (not meaning to be insulting). Let's be real about men (I've been one for 39 years). Men are predatory and voyeuristic by nature. That's why they go hunting and "read" girlie magazines. Men get sexually aroused by sight and there have be 12 gazillion playboy magazines sold (to men) to prove it. Men take advantage of the physically weaker and there have been 12 gazillion rapes and armed robberies (by men) to prove it.

Men understand that other men (gay or straight) have an aggressive sexual nature. The average male nurse might have his sexual nature under control, but it's still fundamentally different than the average female nurse's sexual nature and therefore her internal experience and external vibe is different when she encounters the nude privates of the opposite sex.

Might I suggest that your lack of understanding about the men in your life's "wigging out" over the idea of having there genitals handled by a male has to do with your lack of understanding about male sexuality. Women get sexually aroused by people. Men get sexually aroused by bodies and body parts. Ever heard of a "boob-man" or a "leg-man"? Imagine. A man can be defined (and indeed define themselves) by which female body part sexually arouses them. Stereotypes tend to have a basis in reality.

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Specializes in M.S.N.(ACNP/FNP), ICU/Flight, Paramedic.

At the hospital I do work with; ALL pelvic exams require an RN to be present.

It is just common sense to ask a female to do an exam on a female and a male to an exam on a male; however given certain circumstances(Packed ER's, Pt Drama, Code Heart, etc) this is not possible. All that matters is that you had

enough respect for your pt and their privacy to go out of your way to find another provider of the same sex to make it more comfortable for them.

In those situations where the pt claims they will make false accusations

of rape and molestation against a provider of the opposite sex; Don't even reply. Make sure the patient is safe, IMMEDIATELY leave the room, Report to your supervisor with COMPLETE details about what was said using the pt

EXACT words.

In today's world--lawsuits are worn by everyone..

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We are all so PC that our brains are falling out (not meaning to be insulting). Let's be real about men (I've been one for 39 years). Men are predatory and voyeuristic by nature. That's why they go hunting and "read" girlie magazines. Men get sexually aroused by sight and there have be 12 gazillion playboy magazines sold (to men) to prove it. Men take advantage of the physically weaker and there have been 12 gazillion rapes and armed robberies (by men) to prove it.

Men understand that other men (gay or straight) have an aggressive sexual nature. The average male nurse might have his sexual nature under control, but it's still fundamentally different than the average female nurse's sexual nature and therefore her internal experience and external vibe is different when she encounters the nude privates of the opposite sex.

Might I suggest that your lack of understanding about the men in your life's "wigging out" over the idea of having there genitals handled by a male has to do with your lack of understanding about male sexuality. Women get sexually aroused by people. Men get sexually aroused by bodies and body parts. Ever heard of a "boob-man" or a "leg-man"? Imagine. A man can be defined (and indeed define themselves) by which female body part sexually arouses them. Stereotypes tend to have a basis in reality.

I respectfully feel you have made some assumptions and generalizations here. Using your reasoning, there should be no men in any facet of healthcare whatsoever.

You are correct in your statement about men being responsible for the vast majority of violent crime. I would be curious to find exactly what percentage of the male population this involves and how many crimes are committed by repeat offenders; their level of education would be of interest also. Becoming a nurse is no easy task considering the extensive background checks and challenging educational requirements. Generally, these male nurses come into the field because they want to help people and don't fit the profile you have offered. We are not animals trying to suppress our deviance; we are (well, most of us) mature, caring professionals who are advocates for our patients.

And lastly, I beleive there are some women who are visually aroused if you check around on some other threads. Mine is when she looks at the 40% off tag at the mall (just mine, ladies....not a general indictment!). Us guys just have to roll with the punches, make sure we keep our end of the bargain on the teamwork front, and not take things personally.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, Hemodialysis.
We are all so PC that our brains are falling out (not meaning to be insulting). Let's be real about men (I've been one for 39 years). Men are predatory and voyeuristic by nature. That's why they go hunting and "read" girlie magazines. Men get sexually aroused by sight and there have be 12 gazillion playboy magazines sold (to men) to prove it. Men take advantage of the physically weaker and there have been 12 gazillion rapes and armed robberies (by men) to prove it.

Men understand that other men (gay or straight) have an aggressive sexual nature. The average male nurse might have his sexual nature under control, but it's still fundamentally different than the average female nurse's sexual nature and therefore her internal experience and external vibe is different when she encounters the nude privates of the opposite sex.

Might I suggest that your lack of understanding about the men in your life's "wigging out" over the idea of having there genitals handled by a male has to do with your lack of understanding about male sexuality. Women get sexually aroused by people. Men get sexually aroused by bodies and body parts. Ever heard of a "boob-man" or a "leg-man"? Imagine. A man can be defined (and indeed define themselves) by which female body part sexually arouses them. Stereotypes tend to have a basis in reality.

ok, first, i am a man and i don't go hunting and read girlie mags. second, i would venture to say that this male predatory problem has more to do with socialization and less to do with nature (yes, nature plays a part, but socialization plays a HUGE part). for example, studies show that a huge proportion of black males go to jail. does that mean that black males have NATURAL tendacies toward criminal activities? ABSOLUTELY NOT! it's because of socialization. would it be appropriate to refuse care from someone who is black just because the studies show the large proportion of blacks in jail? NO, and i don't think that pt would be accommodated when he/she asks for a nurse that is white.

also, we have seen a BIG rise of women being sexually aggresive. why? let's say it all at once...."socialization." that's right, women have been socialized to take control of their own sexuality, they flash their breast, they take control in the bedroom, they tell you exactly what THEY want, purchases of sex toys by women are way up...all this is because women have now been socialized to the fact that they too can be sexual creatures. and as i have said and another poster noted, i've heard many inappropriate comments from female nurses, but have never heard one inappropriate comment come out of a male nurses mouth.

men are NOT predators by nature, PLEASE do not suggest that we are!

jay

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:yeahthat: I was suspended once and I'm trying not to be that honest.

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i will do what i can for my coworkers. There are sometmes where the woman does not want a male nurse.

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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.

Because men and women are viewed differently in our society plain and simple. Societal attitudes towards sexuality and gender aren't things that simply get put aside when a person becomes a patient. It's a pain in the a$$, but that's life. You could go on about this forever. Why is it leg hair on a man is normal, but disgusting on a woman? Why is it that women are called sluts and men are called studs? Why is it that women wear makeup and men don't? Why can't men wear dresses, but women can? Blah, blah, blah... the answer is always the same.

Personally, I don't mind having male providers. My favorite doc was from back in Canada and happened to be a gay man. I went to him for everything, including pap smears. He always had a female nurse as a witness in the room and we actually joked about it (cause even if I was delusional enough to think that I was so attractive in stirrups that a man couldn't resist me, it shouldn't be too hard for him as a gay man to defend himself against any false accusations). When I worked L&D, we did have women request women providers. Whenever possible that was accomodated. But, we didn't make a big deal out of it either.

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Was the original question concern over whether guys are predatory, or whether we pull our weight?

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I fully agree with wannabee thata there should be nurse back nack both ways at all times

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Leslie61:

You should ask your family if its the possibility or being touched by a homosexual, or being touched by a man in general. I think youll find no matter the orientation of the male nurse involved, they wont even want to be touched by any man. Its because they are worried it could be seen as 'gay'. Not including their father of course. Pop culture atm is that with homosexuality becoming more ok (it is i find) (such as will a grace, queer eye) youll notice alot of movies, tv shows (any teen movie) etc that emphasize the macho man style, hell for example look at lesbian Media. Why do some men prefer lesbian Media? because there is no member involved. Being gay used to be kind of uncommon , whereas with media saturation it's more pronounced (well, openly) it makes men think/ behave almost like they have to prove they are not homosexual, and to make sure they dont do anything that could be seen as 'gay' rather than being assumed to not being homosexual. Since your kids are young its upto you and your significant other to instill values in them until they are able to make up their own minds.

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Specializes in M.S.N.(ACNP/FNP), ICU/Flight, Paramedic.

Well, let's look at it from another perspective:

If someone has been a victim of sexual abuse as a child; for instance

of a homosexual nature--first of all, they are not usually to eager to

volunteer that piece of information; second--they probably won't

want a male doing their exam. Likewise for female.

Always take into consideration that which you do not know.

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Specializes in ICU, Correctional Medicine, Adolescent.

Take advantage of being a male nurse when it comes to female patients, because when the next 350 lbs. plus patient hits the unit, you can bet your check that you will be taken advantage of!! So ride that female horse wherever she'll go. "Saddle up and lets go dancin!"

Just out of curiosity...would you feel 100% comfortable performing these tasks if you were a male nurse? I can understand why one would be frustrated at the hesitancy, but I suppose I can also understand the hesitancy.

I would imagine there are some male nurses who take advantage of the fact they are male (there are always these people in any group) and I am quite sure there are those who have legitimate concerns...doesn't the second group deserve a fair shake?

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