The Great Double Standard?

Nurses Men

Published

I would like opinions from the rest of you guys. It seems everywhere I turn that there is this double standard that men nurses should not be providing care for any of women's intimate needs. I am still in nursing school, but it seems women nurses have no problem caring for either a male or female patient (students included), but men do not have that ability? I just don't quite understand this, when it is not even the patients perogative involved, just these female nurses who think they know "whats best". I would like this taboo to dissappear. Does anyone else see this? Any ideas who to remedy this issue and be able to call a nurse a nurse, and not a male or female nurse, each playing by different rules. I am pretty frustrated.

Hey Doog,

I am thinking this is more a corporate culture at your workplace and it would be worthwhile exploring it, in a neutral and professional fashion. I might guess that the women you work with are probably not as aware of what they are doing as you think. The old cliche "well, we ain't mind readers ya know so just tell me what you want" works in reverse here.

How this for an idea? Start documenting specific times, instances, nurses involved, situations, etc. in order to have some hard data to present. Then at the proper time at one of your meetings, bring this up. You might be able to teach them what is happening from your point of view and get some of this out into the open to explore what their perceptions are. If you don't get anywhere, perhaps try the next level of management.

It's a long slow road. I know, I've had experience as a woman trying to be a firefighter. Just keep educating...

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

i'm not a male nurse, but my husband is. i worked with him for 8 years before we married, and he consistently refused to take care of female patients "within my dating range." (roughly 10 years older than and 10 years younger than him.) if he did have to take care of a female in that age range or younger, he had a female nurse do the "intimate care" or had a female nurse, doctor, rt, cna or whoever present while he did it. he says it's just too easy to be accused of something inappropriate and too difficult defending against it.

it seems to be that males are less likely to accuse female nurse of inappropriate behavior -- and probably more likely to initiate the inappropriate behavior themselves, if my experience is any guide.

Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

In our ER the female nurses help the male nurses with intimate things so that there is no chance the male nurse can be accused of anything. This is a real problem that I am happy helping them with. And it can happen to anyone. The other day I and a female NP had to do a pelvic on a pt and she accused the 2 of us (can you imagine) of touching her innapropriately. Don't want that to happen to any of our guys if we can help it. Unfortunately we live in a real sick and sue happy society. The guys reciprocate by taking care of our mean drunks who try to feel us up.

Specializes in midwifery, ophthalmics, general practice.

we are nurses and yes, in a perfect world we would have equity. But we dont have a perfect world...........

some women are uncomfortable with the idea of a nurse who is a man.. and dont want a man anywhere near them when they are ill. Men dont seem to the same issues though I have met men who dont want a male nurse.. they seem to have other issues.

I do have a friend who was accused of rape by a patient who felt men should not be nurses and decided to 'get rid' of him by accusing him of rape. it was a very uncomfortable time ( it was fairly obvious what she was doing and we didnt ever believe her.. he was never in a postion to have done anything!) and he got suspended....he was cleared and she apologied but made me think.

as a female nurse practitioner I am expected to do all sorts of things.. but I dont tend to do 'mens stuff'.......mainly because men have a choice about who examines them and they choose not let me....... can be funny when they come in and see I am a woman. and then blush and talk about a mole on their neck......and ask who is the best person to see about 'downbelow'. But its a choice they have, and I am happy to allow that choice.

you need to be concious that there will be limitations on your practice as a nurse because of the patients we see and care for......thats what makes the job interesting. you need be aware of the need to protect yourself .. being accused of rape is not funny.

Karen

Every time I see this sort of thread open up, there is always opinion on what amounts to two different subjects.

Subject one: What the patient wants - yea, verily. If a patient is more comfortable with a nurse of the same sex, then by all means, accommodete the patient's needs. I don't think that I've seen too many responses that say that the patient doesn't get what they want in terms of the gender of the provider.

Subject two: Management's response to assignment of staff to patients based solely on gender. This is the area that is going to generate some issues. Unlike "subject one" this proclivity to single out men for perfroming (or not performing) a particular task in nursing based on their chromosomes would, in any other career field, would be grounds for a discrimination suit.

I think we can agree that the patient's desires come out on top regardless of how reasonable we (the nursing staff) might view that request. Even if it bucks the current zeit geist for gender relations, we are bound by "patient bill of rights" to respond accordingly to their request. Anyone disagree?

Where I get rubbed the wrong way is when coworkers, supervisors, managers make assignments, changes, etc. based solely on the gender of the people providing the care and nothing at all on what the stated preferences of the patient might be.

Don't shut me out of L&D for no other reason than I'm a man. And don't send all your heavy lifts either. It only takes about 50 lbs to blow a disk (according to my friends at OSHA) so don't think you can simply substitutes me for a lifting job that would otherwise take 2 lady nurses. Guess what.. the same lift would require 2 guys as well.

Making allowances for stated patient preferences is one thing. Making assignments or job offers based on hospital admin/unit manager/supervisor preferences is quite another.

As with any discriminatory practice, it is incumbent on those who are in a position to propagate such injustice to recognize and respond accordingly to any workplace practice that might be in error. It has really been an eye-opener for me, a person from a former male-dominated career field to watch how the "other half" reacts to the same pressures and preconceived notions that pervade the nursing profession. It is my fervent hope that the ladies, in this sense, prove to be the better half.

Every time I see this sort of thread open up, there is always opinion on what amounts to two different subjects.

Subject one: What the patient wants - yea, verily. If a patient is more comfortable with a nurse of the same sex, then by all means, accommodete the patient's needs. I don't think that I've seen too many responses that say that the patient doesn't get what they want in terms of the gender of the provider.

Subject two: Management's response to assignment of staff to patients based solely on gender. This is the area that is going to generate some issues. Unlike "subject one" this proclivity to single out men for perfroming (or not performing) a particular task in nursing based on their chromosomes would, in any other career field, would be grounds for a discrimination suit.

I think we can agree that the patient's desires come out on top regardless of how reasonable we (the nursing staff) might view that request. Even if it bucks the current zeit geist for gender relations, we are bound by "patient bill of rights" to respond accordingly to their request. Anyone disagree?

Where I get rubbed the wrong way is when coworkers, supervisors, managers make assignments, changes, etc. based solely on the gender of the people providing the care and nothing at all on what the stated preferences of the patient might be.

Don't shut me out of L&D for no other reason than I'm a man. And don't send all your heavy lifts either. It only takes about 50 lbs to blow a disk (according to my friends at OSHA) so don't think you can simply substitutes me for a lifting job that would otherwise take 2 lady nurses. Guess what.. the same lift would require 2 guys as well.

Making allowances for stated patient preferences is one thing. Making assignments or job offers based on hospital admin/unit manager/supervisor preferences is quite another.

As with any discriminatory practice, it is incumbent on those who are in a position to propagate such injustice to recognize and respond accordingly to any workplace practice that might be in error. It has really been an eye-opener for me, a person from a former male-dominated career field to watch how the "other half" reacts to the same pressures and preconceived notions that pervade the nursing profession. It is my fervent hope that the ladies, in this sense, prove to be the better half.

:yeahthat: Excellent post!

Specializes in Cardiac, med/surg, ICU, telemetry.

I agree. An RN in a Registered Nurse male or female. If the patient is uncomfortable thats one thing, or if you know the person and they prefer a stranger rather than a friend giving them thier enema, well, I for one, can completely understand that, I want the stranger! Ronna

I want to include all LPN's too, any quailified nursing staff

I do have a friend who was accused of rape by a patient who felt men should not be nurses and decided to 'get rid' of him by accusing him of rape. it was a very uncomfortable time ( it was fairly obvious what she was doing and we didnt ever believe her.. he was never in a postion to have done anything!) and he got suspended....he was cleared and she apologied

An apology !!!!!! She should have been prosecuted. :madface:

Specializes in psych, geriatric, foot care.
:twocents: I don't see any difference in the nursing care provided by male vs. female nurses and I'm not afraid to tell a co-worker the same if they hold that bias. A good nurse is a good nurse male or female.
Specializes in Psych.

I totally agree with everyone that the patients feeling are the priority, without a doubt. My concern lies with the biases which exist in nurses and nursing instructors in the field.

Oh My, this was what I was talking about in my post and got rude comments back. I loved the male OB nurse that had taken care of me before and after I had my child. I work in the ED and I wish you would come to work with me, we would love and cherish you

Cat

Specializes in Psych.

I must reply now that this post has resurfaced, that I haven't experienced any bias now that I am a new RN at a different hospital. I feel that I am treated equally amongst my peers, who are right in my same age range. Not saying that more mature nurses couldnt accept me as an equal peer, just that the situations I encountered were with more experienced-long timers.

Shawn

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