Male RN-assist with pelvic exams?

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I'm a male RN, who left ED nursing ten years ago, and just returned. When I left, male nurses had nothing to do with "intimate" procedures on female patients. At my new ER, I have been told that I am to insert foleys and assist male MDs with pelvic exams on female patients.

If anything, I think that all the sexual abuse news should make it even more imperative that I avoid doing these things. Some of the male MDs agree with me. Your opinions?

Specializes in Neuroscience, ED.

I am female and in our ER a female must be with the doctor during a pelvic. Both male and female nurses insert urinary catheters on both male and female patients.

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I am female and in our ER a female must be with the doctor during a pelvic. Both male and female nurses insert urinary catheters on both male and female patients.

Same for mine

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Specializes in Psych, ER, OB, M/S, teaching, FNP.

Very interesting and entertaining thread!!! I want to include rural facilities to the list of "If you want to pick who your care providers are, avoid-list" like the teaching facilities. We have 12 nurses total and we do everything ER, ICU. M/S, and L&D. Two of us are men and they are outstanding.

As far as them doing intimate care, they are professionals and they do what is needed to care for a patient, They would sh*%#t a brick if I asked them to do all the male foleys I have the pleasure of doing, as well as enemas (we have one ER doc that thinks everyone is FOS and needs a Mayo).

I have done quick caths on younger females (little girls) when one of the guys is doing ER for the day, but usually they do their own stuff as do we.

So if you come to my hospital and you don't like who (or what sex) your nurse is you are welcome to get in your car and drive 75 miles to the next facility!!

And for the poster that keeps yelling "sexual assault" in the previous posts.....my little psych nurse in me keeps asking to just give a little TLC (thorazine, lorazepam, and cogentin).......can you say paranoia??

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So, do you all have a special all female team for a rape patient that comes into O.R. as one nurse posted here hosp. does?

I hope this doesn't freak you out. In my career in a large city police department I was an evidence technician for 6 years of the 24 years I worked there. Among my duties were photographing injuries that were the result of criminal action. These included sexual assault/battery. Unlike the all female team that is mentioned by mwboswell, with my agency it was luck of the draw on who you got as far as an evidence tech was concerned. Of our 2 dozen or so evidence techs we only had 2 that were female, at that time.

Photographic evidence is crucial, you have to get it right, or the poor patient may have to endure it again. We used the best photo equipment available, ring flashes, ALS, and other stuff to bring out the best image. A common sexual battery injury is bitemarks. They frequently occur to the sexual parts of the body: breasts, buttocks, inner thigh, pubic mound, etc. Since a bite comparison may be made to a potential suspect, the photographic evidence has to be exact. The injury is likely to be transient, so it has to be done in a timely manner. The patient is still reeling from the experience, and has to be put through being photographed. It has to be done to insure a successful prosecution, which is often very important to the victim.

We trained with the SANE nurses. It irked some of them that most of the evidence techs were male. I never knew of an instance where a male evidence tech got a complaint. I was always exceptionally careful about how I went about photographing a female sex assault patient. With the help of the nurse, I only photographed the injury itself, draping the other areas not involved. When the nurse adjusted the drapes, I would turn around so as to not see any more than I needed to. As a sexual abuse victim myself, I could relate to what the victims were going through, though I never let that fact be known. The victims had their own problems.

Despite doing all I could to minimize the patient's discomfort, some of the SANE trained nurses weren't very compassionate. One time I was setting up to photograph a bitemark on a woman's breast, the nurse just lowered the woman's gown to her waist, exposing both breasts. I covered her back up and had the nurse exit the room with me and I explained the proper techniques for performing this task in a manner that would minimize the discomfort to the patient. :banghead:

The other extreme was nurses who didn't want us male evidence techs involved in any way with female victims. Sometimes they would make a scene when we showed up which made the interaction with the victims all the more difficult. One nurse was a girl I used to date in my single days. I've seen her post on this forum, at least I think it's her, (hi Dianne, guess who ? ).

I retired from the agency 6 years ago, at that time they were still using evidence techs from the police department for sex crimes photos. We had the best training, experience, and equipment.

flyer

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Specializes in ED staff.

I'm sure that in somewhere among the 16 pages of responses, I have replied at least once. However, I want to reply again. I am horrified at the number of male nurses replying that assisting with pelvic exams ruins their sex life. Can you imagine if all the women here replied to a post on putting a foley in a man ruin our libido? This is just retarded. Let me guess.... it hurt your sex life to see your children born too? I don't compare the guy I love with some stinky guy who hadn't taken a bath in 6 months and had smegma allover his member. Why would I? Why would I envision anything like that during sex? Men are weird.

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i'm sure that in somewhere among the 16 pages of responses, i have replied at least once. however, i want to reply again. i am horrified at the number of male nurses replying that assisting with pelvic exams ruins their sex life. can you imagine if all the women here replied to a post on putting a foley in a man ruin our libido? this is just retarded. let me guess.... it hurt your sex life to see your children born too? i don't compare the guy i love with some stinky guy who hadn't taken a bath in 6 months and had smegma allover his member. why would i? why would i envision anything like that during sex? men are weird.

i seriously have no respect for a male nurse who cannot do everything he was trained or expected to do in his scope of practice. i also think it's nasty that some male nurses equate (sexual thoughts) with a pelvic exam, insertion of a foley, ekg...etc....i find that discusting that they even feel that way.....just gross. ick!!!!!

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Specializes in ED, critical care, flight nursing, legal.
I'm sure that in somewhere among the 16 pages of responses, I have replied at least once. However, I want to reply again. I am horrified at the number of male nurses replying that assisting with pelvic exams ruins their sex life. Can you imagine if all the women here replied to a post on putting a foley in a man ruin our libido? This is just retarded. Let me guess.... it hurt your sex life to see your children born too? I don't compare the guy I love with some stinky guy who hadn't taken a bath in 6 months and had smegma allover his member. Why would I? Why would I envision anything like that during sex? Men are weird.

I have worked in EDs for over 20 years and I can tell you that women can be every bit as "bad" as men when it comes to sexually explicit comments, inuendos, and behaviors. I suspect that some of the posters you are railing against were trying to be humorous or witty and are not necessarily the unprofessional weirdos you want to portray them as. And yes, I have had a female nurse make a comment about how placing a foley on a patient made her happy her guy was a little more "blessed" than the patient.

I have had females make remarks about member size on occassions too numerous to count; I have been party to many a conversation about how hot the guy in room "x" is with the girls arguing over who would get to take care of them; I even had one woman tape tongue depresors togather to approximate the size of one well endowed patient she cared for so she could show the other girls on the unit. I could go on, but I would hope you get the point.

The one thing I have come to appreciate is that most healthcare providers are caring and compassionate people who frequently try to find humor in the tragedy and misfortune they are routinely asked to deal with. If you, as a seasoned veteran have not been so inclined to participate in this type gallows humor or witisims, congratulations! However, I think most of us that have been around long enough realize it is a common means of blowing off steam, especially when discussing things with our coworkers, from a stress filled job. The sad part of this is that the posters thought that they could do so here, in the presence of collegues and peers who were understanding and that they would be safe from ridicule, scorn, and harsh judgements. Apparently the understanding, compassion, and non-judgemental attitude so frequently advocated by those like yourself does not extend to your collegues.

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Specializes in Peds.

Hi,

Will this stupid thread ever die??!! :banghead::banghead::banghead:

thanks,

Matthew

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Specializes in Utilization Review/Case Management.

Not if people keep responding :typing ;)

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i am female and in our er a female must be with the doctor during a pelvic. both male and female nurses insert urinary catheters on both male and female patients.

in the ed where i work....there are a couple of male nurses that will do a pelvic exam with a female doctor. some will not do either. i was unable to get a foley for the life of me into one of my female patients, the nurse that was coming on for that night was male, he came in and in less than 1 minute had popped that foley in. (he is an awesome nurse.) he was actually a "seasoned" nurse and those are the one's that i have found that will not go there.

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Specializes in ER, PED'S, NICU, CLINICAL M., ONCO..

My actual job is at Sardá Hospital en Bs. As, although in the NICU, I can see mostly male nurses working in obstetrics. Most of the time without Md's, the same at delivery room.

Necessity creates by it self a wider way of approaching health.

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Specializes in ER,ICU,L+D,OR.
I hope I never have to do a PE - it kind of ruins one's sex life - don't you agree?:imbar[/quot

That is so sad

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