how many use the line when giving shots to women?

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"don't worry you're just gonna feel a xxxxx" or something similar. pretty good for breaking the ice, getting some laughs, etc. i don't say it to all women, just ones i think will be receptive, some are too receptive and it goes over the head of some. women 40+ seem to take it the best.

good for having fun and joking around at work.

Specializes in ER; CCT.

Are you kidding me? Is there not enough liability in your life? Are there not enough scum bag John Edwards-type ambulance chasing POS personal injury lawyers around your area--chomping at the bit for you and your collegues to make one misstep.

Life is short and legal landmines are plentiful. Don't go looking for trouble.

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Specializes in ER.
"don't worry you're just gonna feel a xxxxx" or something similar. pretty good for breaking the ice, getting some laughs, etc. i don't say it to all women, just ones i think will be receptive, some are too receptive and it goes over the head of some. women 40+ seem to take it the best.

good for having fun and joking around at work.

huh? I don't get it, apparently. What would you say to a female patient, that you wouldn't to a male?

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Specializes in ER.
i do this at a pt gig i have. the nurse (female, she basically runs the place) that trained me says it to everyone, she's been a nurse 40+ yrs. it all started by accident, i had never said it b4, b/c i figured it would be improper b/c i was a male, but after hearing her and others (female) there say it all the time it slipped a few times and i had neutral or positive feedback from patients, so i figured go with it. however, i've had some rare patients that don't like it at all, so they've gone to the old mule (stubborn) nurse that trained me and she basically tells them the only reason they have a problem with it is b/c i'm a male. she tells them that's what she and others there always say (or some varient) and will continue to say (she's given some of these folks shots b4 with no prob), so she's not going to make me stop b/c i'm a male and that she probably couldn't do so legally anyways. the issue is usually smoothed over right there. of course, some then take their complaint to one of the docs, but nothing changes.

could be b/c you're male and the other is female - some of us can get away w/ saying things that others cannot. It's life. It can be your delivery, tone, etc. Know your audience - what works for some, may not work for others. If it can be misconstrued, don't say it.

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Specializes in ER.
well, i talked to the senior nurse's husband the other day, he's a lawyer. he basically said, there isn't much legally the employer or the state can do, given the situation. females there are allowed to say it and do say it , that's where i picked it up. i guess a male could be offended by it if a female nurse said it to them, but it's never been an issue with the females there saying it to anyone.

he did say the employer is n the best position to stop it and probably should from a business prospective (keep customers/patients happy), if they wanted to, but the employer would have to stop/enforce it in a gender neutral bases. he said the state might be able to stop it if they had a gender neutral policy in place and it was enforced in a gender neutral manner, but it would be subject to constitutional constraints, which the employer isn't subject to.

as for patient's that might be offended, he couldn't think of a legal theory they could successfully win with either. sexual harassment laws generally apply to the employer-employee relationship, not the employee-customer/patient relationship.

a lawyer is not a nurse - what kind of lawyer, by the way? Does this lawyer abide by nursing ethics? (or ethics at all... snicker snicker) Seriously, why would you ask a "lawyer" if your actions or statements were in line with nursing practice???? Unless he was a healthcare attorney, or something along those lines... but still, if you have to ask someone if your behavior is questionable, then it is. Stop seeking attention over it already.

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I wouldn't say that to anyone. First of all, it's only marginally humorous. Secondly, eventually you're going to get in trouble when you say it to the wrong person.

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LOL................

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Wow. I am suprised this thread is still alive. Can someone just put it out of my misery

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Wow. That would make me so uncomfortable. The fact that your fellow nurses think it's fine for you to say doesn't change that, and you and the nurse who dismisses the "rare" patients' concern are *both* going to be in a lot of trouble when you get an offended patient who won't be brushed off.

I have a hard time believing that no one these patients have talked to cares about potential sexual harassment lawsuits. A really hard time.

Let me ask you this- even if it truly is only a minority of the patients you say this to that feel uncomfortable, is the fact that other people think it's funny sufficient justification to make some of your patients uncomfortable? Are the patients with a "good sense of humor" somehow entitled to better care from you?

Let me share a story with you. When DH was in paramedic school, one of his classmates told a woman in labor who was having trouble swallowing a pill that if she knew how to swallow she wouldn't be in that position. He was pulled off the floor immediately and dismissed from the program.

Drop the line. You're a nurse, not a comedian.

Just noticed this. Nooooooo!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Wow. I am suprised this thread is still alive. Can someone just put it out of my misery

I agree! But I just can't help feeling it will be revived on Saturday night, as these topics often are. Creepy.

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