ob-gyne wards...

LovingNurse, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2008

I'm very modest also, and I'm just not comfortable with male nurses or doctors for OB/GYN related issues. I'm barely comfortable with females and didn't have anybody in the delivery room for the births of my children except there father.

:yeahthat:

I've had lots of GYN surgeries and only had a male once and it was very uncomfortable. I was tempted to refuse but didn't --- (I had to have packing removed & was mortified!) Yes, he was professional, but I was not comfortable at all and the patient's comfort DOES matter & should be honored and respected whenever possible.

*LadyJane* · Dec 15, 2008

A nurse is a nurse. A doctor is a doctor. To me anyway. I wouldn't care if they were a purple elephant from Zamuba, as long as they have the epidural!
But I do know women who prefer female medical professionals for their female situations. I was always confused why women would go to a male OBGYN but then want a female nurse? Uh, isn't that a tad ridiculous?

Actually it's not ridiculous. Many patients have a long, long relationship with one doctor/surgeon. That's a big difference between a relationship with someone for an eight hour shift.

moongirl · Dec 15, 2008

I think alot of it boils down to how much time a pt actually spends with the OB nurse compared to the doc. It may not bother a pt to have a male doc swoop in for the 15 minutes it takes him to deliver the baby, do a repair, pat the mom on the hand, say good job and leave.

We L&D girls are the ones with the hands all up in the business end of things. we are the ones helping clean up the peri area after the delivery. We are the ones squatted down at va jay jay level while the pt sits on the potty trying to help her get her pad and undies on. We are the ones helping with breastfeeding, which more often than not finds me grabbing the breasts and helping with positioning. Some women just may not feel comfortable with a male RN doing all of that.