Male Nurses: Why no escort?

Nurses General Nursing

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I've been a nurse for 25 years and a man for 48 years and I always wondered why male physicians require an escort when examining a female patient but male nurses can spend hours on end, on attended, with female patients. It seems like once a week a nurse is accused of assault. Are changes needed? Are men in nursing puttting themselves at risk by caring for female patients without another female staff member present?

P

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.

Physicians only require an escort when doing a GYN exam. Outside of L&D I don't see a staff nurse doing a GYN exam.

Once a week a male nurse is accused of assault seems GREATLY exaggerated.

There is no staffing to support escorting a nurse who happens to be a man taking care of a female patient.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

Our male nurses ask a female RN when the pt needs a foley or something very personal like that. We are only to happy to help and there is always something they can help us with. Male nurses must be very careful as they care for female pts.

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Physicians only require an escort when doing a GYN exam. Outside of L&D I don't see a staff nurse doing a GYN exam.

Once a week a male nurse is accused of assault seems GREATLY exaggerated.

There is no staffing to support escorting a nurse who happens to be a man taking care of a female patient.[/quote ]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/15419764.htm

http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_242153602.html

http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5352007&nav=15MV

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060808/NEWS01/60808011/1008

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/KTVKLNews20060815_hospital-sexual-assault.13add0b.html

That just August 2006

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Male nurses must be very careful as they care for female pts.

That's the sad truth.

It shouldn't be that way, but it is in today's world.

We do have to be careful because all it takes is one female patient claiming that a male nurse was sexually inappropriate and we're basically convicted.

In today's political climate, it's very uncool to not believe a "victim" once they've come forward. If we don't believe them, then we're told that we're "victimizing" them once again by not believing them.

I personally watched a male colleague's career go down the toilet because of this. 10 years of nursing experience with no complaints.

A female patient had a big crush on him, he turned her down as was appropriate for a nurse/patient relationship. She looked him up and called him at home after discharge saying that she was no longer a patient so that they now could date. Turning her down again, she called the hospital saying that she was molested/fondled by him during care.

He was cleared and everything eventually it was unfounded (even though the stigma lasts), but it's a shame how an upstanding nurse of 10 years (who is now an MD) can become so powerless if any female off the street who comes into the ER decides to get even with him for turning her down.

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We always have male RN's and male docs chaperoned by a female staff member, ANYTIME they go behind closed doors, whther it's an eye exam or a GYN exam. Not to have a witness in a closed room is just begging for trouble.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
Physicians only require an escort when doing a GYN exam. Outside of L&D I don't see a staff nurse doing a GYN exam.

Once a week a male nurse is accused of assault seems GREATLY exaggerated.

There is no staffing to support escorting a nurse who happens to be a man taking care of a female patient. ]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/15419764.htm

http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_242153602.html

http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5352007&nav=15MV

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060808/NEWS01/60808011/1008

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/KTVKLNews20060815_hospital-sexual-assault.13add0b.html

That just August 2006

Of the 5 cases you listed, 2 of the nurses were sex offenders with prior history and one of them admitted to his crime. Of the remaining 3, one was accused by another man who was coming out of sedation. So that leaves 2 instances in which the male nurse might have benefitted from a female escort. So it's not quite an epidemic of male nurses being unjustly accused by females as you seemed to suggest.

While I do believe that male nurses do need escorts in some instances, it is not always possible for them to have female escorts all the time. I worked on one med-surg floor where on one shift, 5 of the 8 nurses working were men and one of the techs was a male. I was charge at the time and I had one lady who asked about changing to a female and to be perfectly honest I gave her a hard time about it. In fact, every time I had some female wringing her hands at the prospect of having a male nurse I couldn't conceal my intolerance for that type of attitude. And don't worry, for the protection of my male coworkers I changed the assignment.

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i know many women who have male pcps and they always have a female present during exams.

while it's not always realistic to have someone of the opposite sex present during invasive procedures, i think it's certainly desirable.

leslie

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Specializes in healthcare12 years.

well If the patient is uncomfortable with a male nurse they should speak up and then a female can change patients, where I work I dont see to much of that, women are accepting, I see more males refusing other males, but I agree with the nurse about putting foleys in, or personal things especially doing a rape case then be better off female nurse or doctor take care of that patient

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We always have male RN's and male docs chaperoned by a female staff member, ANYTIME they go behind closed doors, whther it's an eye exam or a GYN exam. Not to have a witness in a closed room is just begging for trouble.

Are you sure about that? Thats insane, and I cant believe a hospital could function that way. That would require you to have DOUBLE the staff just to handle all the "escort" issues.

I have no problem with escorts if its a pelvic exam or foley or something, but its absolutely STUPID to have an escort for a routine physical.

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Specializes in nursery, L and D.

Kinda the same discussion (actually two) going on the OB board. Of course it relates to male nurses in L and D, but still the same question. Here are the links.

https://allnurses.com/forums/f35/student-male-nurse-today-l-d-233067.html

https://allnurses.com/forums/f35/how-will-our-new-grad-male-rn-work-l-d-230862.html

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Our male nurses ask a female RN when the pt needs a foley or something very personal like that. We are only to happy to help and there is always something they can help us with. Male nurses must be very careful as they care for female pts.

I am a new nurse, and a male. I find this to be very offensive. Men have never felt that a man needed to catheterize them, and I refuse to accept the reverse. That is just wrong. I will be no more or less careful in providing care than my female counterparts.

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