Stop! I don't want someone like you touching me!

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Hey I was wondering if anyone has ever been in a situation in which a patient did not want to be treated by you because of your race, religion, culture, etc. and how you handled it. This hasn't happened to me but it has happened to a friend of mine who's an EMT and I figured this can happen to nurses as well.

Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

I've had it happen before, but I just view it as their right, and "hey, I'd rather take care of someone who wants my excellent care."

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

Unfortunately, we had a member of the local KKK contingent come to our hospital, and dayshift had assigned him the only black nurse on nightshift. I had a black patient who didn't want someone white looking after her. We switched, and the first thing my guy said was "I hope you sent that N..... home." I told my idiot that the only "N" word that better come out of his mouth was "nurse" or I'd call his doc and get him discharged -- even though I was the "right" color, this guy was an nasty, abusive jerk. I heard my friend telling her lovely patient that if she didn't keep a civil tongue in her head, she'd have her narcotics DC'd. Personally, I think we should have put both of them in the same room and locked the door. Sometimes we swap out when we've got dementia patients who feel uncomfortable with someone who doesn't look like them, but they're not deliberately mean about it like the dynamic duo were.

I recently had surgery, and I have to tell you, when this little male nursing student who might have been 20 came in and wanted to give me a bed bath (after I'd already had a shower the prior day and was going to shower again that day, off the PCA and doing laps in the hallway), I probably did sputter a bit. I mean, I didn't need a bed bath, and I would have felt like I was getting bathed by a junior high schooler (not that he wasn't cute, but god, my car's older than this kid is; it just felt weird). Had I really be incapacitated or immobile it would have been different, but when you're mobile? Nope!

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Hey I was wondering if anyone has ever been in a situation in which a patient did not want to be treated by you because of your race, religion, culture, etc. and how you handled it. This hasn't happened to me but it has happened to a friend of mine who's an EMT and I figured this can happen to nurses as well.

I'm male, and I've had a couple female Pts ask for a female to help them toilet, etc. No problem. I'll just switch assignments with one of my coworkers.

I'm not there to change the world, or even the comfort zone of one Pt.

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ontrol. The male doctor whipped out a bible and proceeds to tell me I'm going to go to hell and that I just want birth control to be a whore.

When people tell me I'm going to hell, I often respond with this: "Good, then we'll meet again."

Stops 'em dead most of the time. :lol2:

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[slightly off topic]

I will go to male doctors but if they have to go down under, the doctor has to be female. They seem to be more gentle with certain procedures too. I have faith in all races/sexes etc., it's just a matter of my preference for personal procedures like an OB/GYN visit. [/quote']

I've had male doctors who were gentle, female doctors who were *ahem* less than gentle, and vice versa. If I have a choice I'd prefer a female doctor because they've been through the procedures, and tend to use more appropriate language. If you've never had a pelvic exam, you can't know that the textbook phrase, "you might feel a little pressure," is completely inaccurate to describe the sensations associated with cervical cell collection. "This is going to be really uncomfortable," comes close; my favorite so far is, "this will probably hurt some, like a bad menstrual cramp, but it might not."

[/slightly offtopic]

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Specializes in CT stepdown, hospice, psych, ortho.

Just had a situation where patient refused a dialysis cath because the doctor was from a foreign country. The patient also refused virtually all care from any non-caucasian nurses on a floor where very few of us are caucasian. It was a very unpleasant situation.

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When people tell me I'm going to hell, I often respond with this: "Good, then we'll meet again."

Stops 'em dead most of the time. :lol2:

When people tell me I'm "going to hell", I get excited and say, "Yay! YOU bring the ice water... and I'LL bring the fan!"

Sorry, off topic. I know.

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Specializes in Med-surg; OB/Well baby; pulmonology; RTS.
I did have a patient refuse for me to take care of them one time because I "looked" too young and they wanted an adult to give them meds and not a high school kid. She actually thought that I was part of some high school shadow program. OMG!!!! I had been out of nursing school for a year at this time. I just had to laugh and let my charge nurse know so I could be switched!

That has happened to me too. I'd been out of school for a year and one day I had an elderly female refuse me because she thought I was too young.

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Just had a situation where patient refused a dialysis cath because the doctor was from a foreign country. The patient also refused virtually all care from any non-caucasian nurses on a floor where very few of us are caucasian. It was a very unpleasant situation.

Leave the patient alone. Sorry, can't abide these things( short fuse on that).

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Specializes in MED SURG/GERIATRIC ADMIN/ CORRECTIONS.
Quit digging. She wanted a real nurse- she got a real nurse!Yup

this isn't digging, what this "supervisor" did is called abuse

really people....we need to go back and relearn our core values about nursing and how we are supposed to care for the whole person...including the ones that happen to have a buttholish streak :)

if she had been a supervisor in my facility...she would have been fired!

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Specializes in MED SURG/GERIATRIC ADMIN/ CORRECTIONS.
Unfortunately, we had a member of the local KKK contingent come to our hospital, and dayshift had assigned him the only black nurse on nightshift. I had a black patient who didn't want someone white looking after her. We switched, and the first thing my guy said was "I hope you sent that N..... home." I told my idiot that the only "N" word that better come out of his mouth was "nurse" or I'd call his doc and get him discharged -- even though I was the "right" color, this guy was an nasty, abusive jerk. I heard my friend telling her lovely patient that if she didn't keep a civil tongue in her head, she'd have her narcotics DC'd. Personally, I think we should have put both of them in the same room and locked the door. Sometimes we swap out when we've got dementia patients who feel uncomfortable with someone who doesn't look like them, but they're not deliberately mean about it like the dynamic duo were.

I recently had surgery, and I have to tell you, when this little male nursing student who might have been 20 came in and wanted to give me a bed bath (after I'd already had a shower the prior day and was going to shower again that day, off the PCA and doing laps in the hallway), I probably did sputter a bit. I mean, I didn't need a bed bath, and I would have felt like I was getting bathed by a junior high schooler (not that he wasn't cute, but god, my car's older than this kid is; it just felt weird). Had I really be incapacitated or immobile it would have been different, but when you're mobile? Nope!

wow...where ever you live i dont want to be a patient there....threatening a patient with retaliation is abuse, and may i add....IT IS ABUSE IN EVERY STATE!!!.....your friend doesnt deserve her nurses license...and if i knew who she was...id report her myself!

its sad this is what nursing has come to.....:mad::eek::confused::idea::mad:

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I was taken very good care of by a male LPN in the ICU of a local hospital in recent years. He even had to put me on the bedside commode ( I was connected everywhere by lines and IV's) and wipe my sorry butt. He was professional, concerned, patient, and respectful. It was a very good experience especially for me as the patient who was scared to death to be in ICU. The color and or ethnicity of the nurse, whatever kind...be it CNA, Student, LPN/LVN, RN doesn't matter when you're really sick. I would not disrespect a patient for their request...and that has happened to me in the past. However, I don't think CNA's should be so sensitive that a request for a "real nurse" should upset them. I think sending in the male nurse to that poor older female patient was down right nasty...just sayin '. :twocents:

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