Should Male Nurse Work In L&D?

I've been a nurse about a year and work on a psychiatric unit. I thought this specialty was for me but now I don't think so. In school I really enjoyed L&D and women's health, I even did my preceptorship in school in L&D. I feel I would enjoy working in one of those areas but as a male I would feel out of place. Should I switch units ? Would patients be uncomfortable with a male nurse in these settings?

Specializes in Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health.
54 minutes ago, toomuchbaloney said:

The fact that he wrote the post makes me question his suitability for the work. That's assuming that the post is honest and not simply provocative. 

Would be interesting if he came back and gave us his thoughts now.

Specializes in PACU.

I would not have cared at all if my L&D nurse was male. My OB was male. Doesn't make any difference to me. Not everyone would feel that way I suppose.  If she has a female OB and no one other husband has "been there" it might be a situation 

Specializes in LPN.
Rate your pain said:

If I was a male provider, I surely would have a female in the room any time I got near any private area.

I find this statement interesting. When has a female nurse been required to have a chaperone? (Not saying it's never been suggested).

I have that a lot at my work site with specific female nurses stating that a male shouldn't do an ECG on a young female, while they put in a Foley in a young male without second thought.

I see/hear a lot of double standards in this industry. Would be nice to be treated the same (either way).

Specializes in Dialysis.
Fire Medic said:

I find this statement interesting. When has a female nurse been required to have a chaperone? (Not saying it's never been suggested).

I have that a lot at my work site with specific female nurses stating that a male shouldn't do an ECG on a young female, while they put in a Foley in a young male without second thought.

I see/hear a lot of double standards in this industry. Would be nice to be treated the same (either way).

I agree, it should be that way, but it's not. Men often need to protect themselves against claims, both true and untrue, of impropriety. Male Drs take a female MA or nurse to female appointments. Yes, the double standard is real

Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
toomuchbaloney said:

Do you think it's a safety standard that was born in historical truths? There was a good bit of harm before there was any bit of legal harassment on the record, IMV.

Good point, bologna.

More female care providers are bringing chaperones to exams nowadays as well. 

Specializes in Midwife, OBGYN.

I always go in with a trauma informed mindset.  I almost always bring in a chaperone but that isn't always possible.  We have a busy practice and both the RNs and MAs have other duties.  If I have a new patient I haven't met before and I am conducting a intimate exam, like a pap smear or cervical exam then I will always bring a chaperone in with me.  If I know the patient and have seen them for the majority of their pregancy then I will go ahead and conduct the exam if my RN or MAs are busy, if they are not I still have them chaperone with me.  If there is a patient with an abuse history, I note it and during their intial OB, I let them know that they are always welcome to switch to another provider and in fact I encourage them to rotate through all the providers during the first 2 trimesters to see if one is a good fit for them.  If they elect to stay with me as their provider, I check in every couple of visits to see if they are still comfortable with my care.   With these patients I almost always minimize SVEs and only check their cervix once towards the end of their pregnancy prior to scheduling an IOL.  In the hospital, I always have a RN come into the room with me during exams and procedures.

Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
EdieBrous said:

Don't a lot of these patients have male OB/GYNs?

52% of graduating MD's are female so no, most women no longer go to male OB/GYN's.

Specializes in Nurse Attorney.

Congrats on your retirement.  If your stats are correct, that means 48% of OB/GYNs are male.  They can't stay in business without patients so it doesn't make sense that "most" women no longer go to male OB/GYNs.  The number of graduates also doesn't necessarily translate to percentage of patients anyway.  And it if did, that would mean 48% of women go to male OB/GYNs.  That is still a lot of patients, which is what I asked.

Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

In general, being a male nurse in L&D should be fine with most patients.  There will be come expectant mothers that will not be comfortable with a male nurse for a variety of reasons:  religious rules, past trauma, or personal preference.  One of my ABSN male classmates became an L&D nurse and did very well.  There are a lot of male Ob/Gyn MDs, so plenty of women are fine with male providers.

A patient may just not like a certain RN, regardless of gender, and may request a different RN.  That just happens sometimes.  

I'd say if you want to work in L&D, go for it!

Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
EdieBrous said:

Congrats on your retirement.  If your stats are correct, that means 48% of OB/GYNs are male.  They can't stay in business without patients so it doesn't make sense that "most" women no longer go to male OB/GYNs.  The number of graduates also doesn't necessarily translate to percentage of patients anyway.  And it if did, that would mean 48% of women go to male OB/GYNs.  That is still a lot of patients, which is what I asked.

The male doctors decreasing proportionately.  In my experience, many of the male OB's are dropping the OB practice and sticking with the GYN.  The males tend to be older and will be leaving sooner.  The landscape is changing.  I think women prefer to go to women.  In the past, they had to go to males because they compromised a much larger number of physicians,  In the coming decades, women are going to change medicine as we know it now.

Specializes in OB.
subee said:

The male doctors decreasing proportionately.  In my experience, many of the male OB's are dropping the OB practice and sticking with the GYN.  The males tend to be older and will be leaving sooner.  The landscape is changing.  I think women prefer to go to women.  In the past, they had to go to males because they compromised a much larger number of physicians,  In the coming decades, women are going to change medicine as we know it now.

Strongly agree.  The number of males entering OB/GYN has dropped dramatically.  Every year at the large academic medical center with which my birth center is affiliated, the new class of residents typically has 6 new interns, 1 (and some years none!) of which is male.

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