Modesty Issues

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Looking for words of wisdom from those who are more experienced with prepping a pt for surgery or catheterizing adult male pts with modesty issues. It has only happened a few times in the past year but it's still something I need to be able to deal with better. I hold a pts dignity high on my list of priorities. What do you do or say prior and during the procedure to ease their anxiety...? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Tory

I am sorry ladies, you completely miss the point. Perhaps handling men all day doesn't bother you, but being exposed like that to the opposite gender is pretty humiliating. I guess you have become immune to being modest yourself or have not been in a similar situation.Being handled and on top and having something so invasive is not something I am going to take lightly. I an assure you I will do all I can to minimize the encounter-no offense.It's a human condition, completely out of my control, I have modesty issues and I am not afraid to say I do.I am glad Doctors are moving away from the proceeding-it can't happen fast enough as far as I am concerned lol. But I have to say, unless you have had it done I don't think you can appreciate what the pts go through. It doesn't get any more humilating in my humble opionyon.

Specializes in Operating Room.
I am sorry ladies, you completely miss the point. Perhaps handling men all day doesn't bother you, but being exposed like that to the opposite gender is pretty humiliating. I guess you have become immune to being modest yourself or have not been in a similar situation.Being handled and on top and having something so invasive is not something I am going to take lightly. I an assure you I will do all I can to minimize the encounter-no offense.It's a human condition, completely out of my control, I have modesty issues and I am not afraid to say I do.I am glad Doctors are moving away from the proceeding-it can't happen fast enough as far as I am concerned lol. But I have to say, unless you have had it done I don't think you can appreciate what the pts go through. It doesn't get any more humilating in my humble opionyon.

I have had it done..I had surgery, couldn't void afterward and a male nurse came to straight cath me. No biggie, I was so uncomfortable at that point, the janitor could have come in, and I wouldn't have cared.

I know having these things done can be embarrasing(women have to go through pelvic exams, you know)but there are times when you have to have a foley and in those instances while we try to recognize modesty, our first priority is your health. And most nurses are female. Some shifts in my OR have NO male nurses at all, so if you need emergency surgery, you will have a female nurse. Women have dealt with this for years,(since most OB-GYNs back in the day were male) so maybe I'm not very sympathetic

Then again, it's been my experience that many men aren't all that modest..I had a pt the other day that threw back his blankets and gown so that his member was exposed. He then looked at me and the PACU nurses as if to say BEHOLD!! We all rolled our eyes and covered him back up.:D:imbar

I am sorry Squirrel you even had to have surgery and I personally am outraged you were not given a choice for a female nurse-If I had been your husband rest assured that would not have happened.

I do understand that the first priority is ones health.I would have thought that with all the advances in medical technology and medical knowledge we still are in the dark ages on the mental, emotional well being of the PT. I don't understand "Try to recognize modesty". You either understand or you don't,I do understand that in ER things are what they are-saving people. But I have been in ER with friends and family and have been shocked at the cavalier treatment of men. Women are afforded every opportunity that is reasonable in those situations, but not the men. Seriously, what is up with that? They don't pull the curtains, they strip off or cut off their cloths with no regard to anyone else in the ER including people who are not nurses or Doctors. I mean tons of other people who should not be there! It is truly shocking! I know things are a tad hectic and your trying to save lives but it is really really weird how different women are cared for than men.

I don't get what you mean that in your experience that many men are not that modest. I can assure you that is not the case. I have talked to all of my male friends and associates and all of us hate going to Doctors and Hospitals because of the callused disregard for our modesty and privacy! If you have males in your life and wonder why we won't go get that check up or go to the doctor for those aches and pains, it is because of how we are treated. I actually have to lock the door in my Doctors patient room yea there are locks on his, because the nurses, other female Doctors and even the office personnel feel they can just walk in on whatever is going on. They pound on the door requesting admittance and I let them know, Hey!!! This is the patient talking-go away until were done!!! My doctor thought it was funny at first, now he is starting to understand and I have heard him telling the staff not to enter the rooms when he is with the patients. We are more modest that you realize-its just not a manly thing to talk about and women , just like you, just assume we are not predisposed to having modesty issues. Your dead wrong on that account.

Your may find it interesting to read a " Bioethics BLog by a Doctor Maurice from Los Angeles California on PT modesty-you may find it interesting. I will post it if you wish to look at it.

In closing , I have the highest regard for Nurses. Most don't understand the egregious work load, the stress you have, the unfathomable responsibility you shoulder, the long hours you work and the emotional drain you have daily and I understand that this issue may seem trivial to you-but in fact it is a big big deal for us men. I wish I could come up with something to compare this to-i am working on it lol.

Our patients are always put to sleep before putting Foleys in.

Just a comment ladies:

I realize that your all saying its clinical and all, but for the PT is is extremely embarrassing and all your explanations do not reflect the extreme discomfort , physically and emotionally, having someone you don't know see you when your the most vulnerable. I could care less if your offended that I may request a male nurse, or a lady requests a female nurse, it's already a nightmare being there without having to be put on public display " Just because you have seen it all" does not make us feel any better about it.It is just a simple request! Taking some extra time to make a PT comfortable is after all the civilized thing to do.

For the PT, many times it will be the first and last time they are in this situation and the lasting impressions one has can be traumatic, enough so that any further vistits to a Doctor can be curtailed or ignored. Emotional trauma is just as real as physical trauma. I know ther are several nurses that will say , well its the PT's choice if they want to leave or not, take it or leave i t, if that is the case you just may be in the wrong profession, after all, you are the PT's advocate after all, no matter what your personal feeling on the subject are.

Specializes in Peri-Op.

I'm a man and would prefer a decent looking under 30 y/o woman handing my unit. Just saying...... might as well have fun with the event...

Actually I don't care, I have put in hundreds if not thousands of Foley's and done awake possitioning/prep on women with just spinals.... no big deal, just drape it off and explain to them everything I'm doing before and during.....

Specializes in Operating Room.

Also, so many of my patients are trauma patients..so the last thing on their mind is modesty, poor things. The weather has gotten really nice the past few days, soon we'll start with the motorcycle accidents, MVAs etc.:(

I think you need to be very careful about what

you assume is on a patient's mind. The fact that

very few posters here mention as a standard

that you should ask the patient about their gender

choice in situations like this, is significant. I'm sure

that patients are asked more often

than is mentioned. But this is one of this "secret"

topics in medicine. The fact that not enough male

nurses are generally available to offer this

accommodation to men, has so many implications

that are disturbing within the profession -- political,

economic, social. This "gender neutral" -- "no big

deal" attitude may make this job easier for the nurse,

but it's not a patient-centered point of view, hardly

empathetic. Step outside your point of view for a

moment and consider basic human courtesy and

dignity. Don't assume you know what the patient is

thinking and feeling. Ask.

Specializes in LTC.

To the OP: just remain professional. Talk to the pt. throughout the procedure. Keep the pt. at covered as possible. And if the pt. asks for a nurse of the other gender do what you can to fulfill that request.

"The fact that

very few posters here mention as a standard

that you should ask the patient about their gender

choice in situations like this, is significant."

I often don't ask my pt.'s if they'd prefer a male or female. To me that's making it seem like a female inserting a cahether is something to be ashamed of and it's not. If the pt. is truly uncomfortable then they should ask and it should be put in their medical records what gender they prefer.

I've had invasive things done by the opposite sex. Heck when I was in labor my daughters HR dropped VERY low and so I had to male dr.'s hands up my lady parts trying to feel for a cord around the baby's neck. I was very reserved and didn't like males doing private procedures on me until I was pregnant for awhile. Then I just got used to intimate procedures being done.

Specializes in Operating Room.
I think you need to be very careful about what

you assume is on a patient's mind. The fact that

very few posters here mention as a standard

that you should ask the patient about their gender

choice in situations like this, is significant. I'm sure

that patients are asked more often

than is mentioned. But this is one of this "secret"

topics in medicine. The fact that not enough male

nurses are generally available to offer this

accommodation to men, has so many implications

that are disturbing within the profession -- political,

economic, social. This "gender neutral" -- "no big

deal" attitude may make this job easier for the nurse,

but it's not a patient-centered point of view, hardly

empathetic. Step outside your point of view for a

moment and consider basic human courtesy and

dignity. Don't assume you know what the patient is

thinking and feeling. Ask.

This might fly ok on the floors, not so much in the OR. Sorry, but when someone has a gunshot wound and is crashing, the last thing out of my mouth is going to be question on what gender the pt prefers. :rolleyes: I may be "assuming" here but I'm guessing you don't work in the OR. Are you even a nurse?

The people I work with are top notch..I'm proud to call them my coworkers, and I resent the implication that we aren't respecting their dignity. We keep our patients covered as much as possible. Staffing wise, we work with what we have and that's how it's going to be. There are priorities in a crisis situation. You know, things like airway and making sure the patient doesn't bleed out.

I'm sure I sound ****** and I am- I'm so tired of people who don't work in the field or in our specialty getting on their high horse from a position of ignorance.:mad:

For the last time..you're assuming a lot yourself-you're assuming that anyone is all excited to see your naked body. Trust me... we're not.

Some good points. Nothing to be ashamed of? Shame isn't an objective status. It's subjective. Granted, how you approach a patient is essential and can make a difference, but whether a patient feels shame, embarrassment, humiliation is within the patient. Whether there's anything to be ashamed about may be connected to

the patient's culture, religion, sexual orientation, abuse history, etc.

If a patient has these modesty issues they should speak up and it should be put in their record? Certainly, put it in the chart. But we all know many of not most patients are often too anxious, nervous, embarrassed, vulnerable, frightened, stressed to speak up. Sometimes they're so unfamiliar with hospitals that they don't really know what's coming. What's not often spoken is this: A significant number of patients may feel that if they complain they'll be labeled a "bad" patient and that will affect their care. Now, we know that's not true the vast majority of the time. But that's how they may feel, whether it's rational or not. Finally, it is interesting how, when this modesty issue comes up, we always end up in the ER, as if this issue is only or mostly about emergencies. It's not. It's mostly about average, everyday non life threatening kinds of exams and procedures. The ER's and emergencies are different animals and most reasonable people will acknowledge that. And you must realize that the issue isn't, from most patient's perspective, whether you get "excited" about their body. It's not about you personally. You must know enough about psychology to realize this issue is much more complex that that. And these ignorant people on their high horses are the people you're working on. Patients are not somehow "outside" this issue. They're not disconnected from the situation -- they're an essential part of the situation.

Just making a general comment on Patient Modesty. Let me first say that i DO NOT work in the medical field. Why is this such a hard issue for medical professionals to understand? I am a healthy person so I have what I consider limited exposure to hospitals/doctors/clinics but in the limited visits I have experienced staff walking into the room unannounced,not knocking on doors,being asked intimate questions while standing in the hallway with other patients,staff just walking by.I have been in stirrups(FACING THE DOOR) and had someone unnannouced open the door.

I am personally sick of the "we see this all the time"attitude.

What I also find disturbing is the level of gossip about patients.Now obviously if this is your patient you must communicate with others concerning care.But I simply mean GOSSIP. For all the mouth service given to patient privacy and confidentiality I find it interesting that medical professionals dont seem to think that patients dont want ANYONE and EVERYONE IN THE HOSPITAL with the skills to clip on a name tag to know their business if they are not involved in their care.

In the medical field you have access to peoples personal, private information...who has cancer to who has been raped.

You are in this enviornment everyday so I can see how it is easy to run on automatic pilot but thing is If it was your daughter in stirrups would you want an assistant,intern,nurse just opening the door thinking nothing of it......if it were your already humiliated son with a vibrator stuck up his behind would you want his Xrays being passed around to everyone from the doctor down to the janitor for the soul purpose "wanting to see".

My guess is its not hard to understand basic modesty I just think when you work in the medical field the bottom line is that if its not YOUR BOTTOM on display it is easy to not care as much.

Exposure is neccesary for some proceudures/exams to be done pure and simple. I'm saying have basic courteousy KNOCK before entering a room,pull curtains, don't ambush patients with an unwanted audience.Identify yourselves are you a nurse,CNA,medical assistant,chaperone etc......

You are in this enviornment everyday THE PATIENT IS NOT.Things that you JUST DO is not the norm from the patients perspective. I have seen several statements about medical people saying ...we are not turned on or looking at you in a sexual way....I understand this ..it is part of your job....But what I am saying from a patient point of view you as the medical professional have your clothes ON the patient is laying down,genitals exposed surrounded by strangers,wearing a paper gown, has had a finger in the ass,****** in a cup, told strangers the most intimate part or their his/her lives PSYCHOLOGICALLY CAN'T YOU SEE THE DIFERENCE?

When I was walked in on Im sure the people walking in the room didnt give it a second thought (unfortunately) but from my point of view I am in stirrips,facing the door and even seeing visitors in the hallway.......So the fact the "you see this all the time" is even more disturbing to me this means you have become so use immune to seeing patients in a vulnerable position you more than likely have a hand in "actively humiliating" them weather you know it or not.

I am not so much talking about Life/death situations by all means if Im shot or in a traumatic car accident i'm not thinking about someone seeing my boob.I'm saying use common sense.....

I have respect for what people in this industry do. What is lacking seems to be basic respect for the patients body and the fact we are human beings with thoughts and feelings.I realize this is a job to you ....mammagrams to colonospys are IMPORTANT just remember we are STILL HUMAN beings . Just because I walk into a hospital doesnt mean I want stories about my orifice showing up on your facebook page(wow so much for "we're all professionals" line).

When all those people waked in on me unnannouced it was beyond degrading and humilating. I could have gotton more privacy and had my dignity respected more if i were being examined in the middle of a shopping mall.

I had a friend tell me about her son who was 11 at the time. He had an issue involving his member and had to go to the doctor. The son (11) started to cry because he wanted his mom to leave the room for obvious reasons.She and the male doctor also started to laugh. The son was at this time still crying...The mother was saying how it was silly and she has seen him nude countless times and used to change his diapers. The mother even as she was telling me this story was still laughing. I told her can she not see how an 11 year old boy wouldnt want his mother to see him exposed? Im only sharing this story to show medical people the they "see this all the time" attitude means nothing.The 11 year old was clearly embarrassed to be exposed in front of his mom. The fact the she used to change his diapers means nothing to him.He is crying and embarrassed while they doctor and mom laugh. This seems like what to me is happeneing in the medical field. I'm sure the mom/doctor didnt care about seeing the childs privates but for the kid this was a REAL ISSUE that should not have just been dismissed as trivial.

In closing like I stated earlier I do not work in the medical field and never will but those of who are medical professionals I PROMISE YOU you will at some point you will be a patient.The only advantage i can see is that you would have a better understanding of what to expect before it happens....an advantage that non-medical people dont have.

I often hear of medical people needing emotional "distance" from patients. I think this is needed as i can imagine you see some horrible tragic things but their is something to be said for becoming SO DISTANT that you take part in again "actively humiliting" them SO DISTANT that their gentials being on display mean nothing SO DISTANT that 4,5,6, people can just walk into a room the size of a shoebox without the patient knowing exactly who they are and why they are here and just gawking without uttering a single word. Thats just truly frightening to see so many people who dont even see it an issue.

My guess is they do when its them.......

Thanks

1 Votes
+ Add a Comment