Male student enters OB room. What do you think?

[truckinusa]

I was doing my OB clinicals and entered a patient's room to deliver a food tray. Stupid move on my part, but it got me a complaint from the patient and kicked out of my OB class. I'm allowed to repeat next year.

[Soida]

I get so tired of the double standard, even now that I'm out of school and practicing.

During my L&D rotation I the nurse asked the Pt beforehand if they minded having a male student and EVERY one said no. It was by far the biggest waste of time as part of nursing school.

There are some details we are missing but I would put a little bit of responsibility on the OP. It sounds like he didn't ask the director what the reasons were for the dismissal. I know if I were being kicked out I would not only know why but I would appeal. I mean it's not like nursing school is fun enough to repeat even one semester :)

After the first few refusals I ended up sitting at the nurses station watching the nurse chart, and falling asleep in my chair.

I hope the OP can keep his head down and just get that part of school over with. Good Luck!!

[CamillusRN, BSN]

I agree with the overwhelming majority of the previous posters - challenge the decision and appeal. Take it straight to the dean, if need be! I had a handful of moms say they didn't want a male student, but the remainder that did allow me to provide care never had an issue with me doing the necessary assessments. Of course, I always introduced myself, asked permission, and explained the rationale for checking "down there". Always had another nurse present - CYA ya know.

[kristimarieSC]

The hospital is in the wrong for not backing you up. Your are going to be a NURSE! You need to see birth, that's why you are in an OB clinical. What good are you with a partial education, and they are a TEACHING HOSPITAL. I can understand mom being upset because it's unusual to see men in OB and she feels exposed. You can't exactly reason with a laboring mom. The school should have had a talk with you, then placed you in another clinical STAT. I don't know, if there is nothing more to the story, I feel you were wronged. But by reading your blasé response, maybe you weren't meant to be a nurse? Your ready to let it go so easily. I'd be spitting mad and fighting. Don't roll over if your feel nursing is where ou are meant to be.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

If you stood there with the tray in your hand gawping at her naked crotch for twenty seconds (the worst thing I can imagine ) I think the appropriate action would be to kick you out of the room, and have a sincere talk about appropriate behavior afterwards. But you said she was completely covered...

Either the instructor laid a really huge egg and overreacted, or there is a backstory we aren't privy to. If what you said is all that happened you deserve a better explanation IMO.

[PapaBearRN, BSN]

This is intense. I've only had one patient ever refuse to have me during my L&D rotation. Luckily I had great nurses that explained to patients I wasn't a male or female, I was a student there to learn. This story has a lot of holes. When you're dismissed you are told why and have to sign documents explaining what you did wrong.

[Red Kryptonite]

The OB doc, however, took me under his wing and helped me to understand how to assess a cervix and effacement, how to feel the presentation with my fingers and measure it against the pelvis to report "station".

I was immensely grateful.

I'm glad you had him there to help. think it sucks that male nurses (and CNAs too) face so much attitude from patients. Those shrinking violets don't throw their male OBs out, now do they? Frankly, once you reach the indignity of strangers sticking their fingers up your hoo-ha, gender and discipline don't matter a whole lot.

[nursel56]

All the answers are no. I've done intimate care alone many many times in the nursing home environment as a CNA. I don't really like doing it on females. I think it is probably a lawsuit waiting to happen. I just kinda decided after this that I don't need these kinds of headaches. I'm going to be an engineer or do something less noble.

I agree with annie.rn - you sound intelligent and thoughtful. Yes, there is a double standard and male nurses or students will face resistance owing to something unrelated to your potential to be a great nurse. Patients have a right to have their wishes respected. It's a relatively new phenomenon to see male OB nurses or students, making it necessary to tread lightly at first. No it isn't fair, but I would hate to see you bail out over this if you really do want to be a nurse.

Being at the vanguard of something new isn't easy, but each person who educates others by their behavior helps the next person have it easier and so on. there is nothing to be afraid of unless you really were a drooling maniac

[skylark, BSN, RN]

So glad I never gave birth in an American hospital!

Why the need to withhold food and start IVs instead?

Haven't you got energy drinks there? Sip on those to keep up the energy and keep the labor moving, and forget all those interventions.

And as regards the student who submitted an assignment via email (post 29), how did the instructor send the assignment to her in the first place? Did it have a confidentiality statement attached, alerting her to the fact it contained patient information?

[TooManyCats, ASN, BSN]

I didn't read all the comments, but it seems sort of ridiculous that you would be asked to leave the hospital and class simply because you're a male doing what you are supposed to do during your OB clinical? If they're not going to let you do clinical work, why even make male nursing students attempt the course? Seems like a waste of time and money in that case.

And for the record, I had a male OB/GYN deliver my first child, and a male nurse during my second. I had no problem with it because I respect that nurses come in both genders and as long as they're professional, it doesn't matter.

[Dranger]

I never had a problem in L&D although I had little interest in the area to be honest. No one refused me. All of the details are not known but it seems ridiculous for a mom to allow a male MD but not a male nursing student. L&D isn't the only area where you see female body parts...You should appeal the verdict and graduate. Then you can go where the cool kids go...critical care.

[kalycat, BSN, RN]

We had several males in my very small cohort. 2 absolutely rocked OB, but they were also paired with 2 amazing and experienced male OB nurses, were slightly older, and were fathers themselves. The other 4 had more refusals, more struggles, etc, but there was only one complaint....and the student actually said something highly inappropriate. (He had some social interaction issues.) He was counseled and had to do some remediation work, but wasn't kicked out of the program or made to repeat...and trust me when I tell you that he really pulled a major doozy. Even though the other guys had a few issues, they were all successful and active in OB and walked away feeling good about the experiences they had on the unit.

I hope things work out for you. Unless there is something more to this that you're not comfortable sharing, bringing a tray to the father and staring a bit too long while trying to assess what was happening in the room is hardly grounds for such drastic consequences. There are high maintenance patients out there...but in my experience (luckily) the faculty did all they could to facilitate a positive experience for both mom and student, and did a great job of advocating for both the patient and her students, male or female.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

I was so glad to be done with the OB clinical. The clinical instructor went with us when assessing the postpartum patient. The assessment was nowhere near a full postpartum assessment. Most of the postpartum were busy work (worthless) an the L&D clinical didn't have enough laboring patients for me to see a delivery. Luckily, one of my days was spent in Nursery and NICU. That is where I found my niche (NICU).