Treating the Muslim patient

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm still in my nursing prerequsite phase of college, but I have some concerns about treating Muslim patients and would like some clarification. I'm very eager to make sure my patients are comfortable with the level of care I provide and are comfortable with my role as a MALE nurse.

Now, my first concern is that Muslims do not believe males should handle the role of the nurse and thus refuse to be treated by male nurses. Is this true? If so, how can I handle such a situation should it present itself?

Should the above statement be false and Muslims do appreciate male nurses, what are their strict standards for giving them intimate care such as sponge baths and foley catheters? Do male and female Muslims have different requirements for their care?

What other situations involve carefulness so as to avoid disrespecting their sensitive beliefs? Anything particular involving pediatric Muslim patients?

I hope you can see that I want to come off as culturally competent and do not want to cause embarrassment or disrespect to any of my future patients. Part of the reason I'm taking a class on ASL and deaf culture.

As a former CNA, and as a patient ... I just need to ask why culture or religion is what has you asking this question. I am not muslim, but I am a modest woman who has NEVER had a male other than my father (when I was small) and my husband see intimate parts of my body.

My body ... my choice.

Those that say 'in an emergency, modesty goes out the window'. I say not for me. Same gender care should be the standard for all situations that require exposure of private regions. NOTE: I say REQUIRE.

There are way too many situations that cause exposure due to the lack of concern or care on the part of the caregiver and sometimes the patient. This is so often due to the FACT that nudity or near-nudity is required for care when there is no legitimate need for it.

As a CNA, I dealt with many situations where patients were amazed & very thankful that I raised the question of whether they would prefer someone of their own gender. It was nearly always a huge sigh of relief, and then thankfulness. I totally understood that it had nothing to do with me, it had to do with the fact that no woman 'has a right' to see or handle any man's member.

Just as no man (doctor, nurse, technician, anesthesiologist, or whatever 'professional') has a 'right' to see my various parts.

It is always the choice of an individual, and having a license or medical degree DOES NOT suddenly grant these rights upon you to violate the personal choices of another person.

My first supervisor was shocked, but then impressed that I would ask each patient about their preferences right away. She just didn't think about it. I have also spent time with outpatient surgery patients before prep explaining that a catheter might need to be placed before/during surgery and would they care about who did this. I spent quite a few mornings showing up for work early & unpaid in order to actually show patients (both male & female) how to catheterize THEMSELVES. Why is it such a shock? If you or I can learn to do this to another person, why can't they do it themselves? Answer - they can. Many people have to due to functional issues, so why not offer this to patients who are uncomfortable with someone else 'handling' them.

This is often the ONLY part of a surgery that would require access to their private areas. Show them how, let them decide if they want to try it and if they are unable to do it - have a same gender nurse/CNA to assist.

We had a popular location for both men & women as word got around that patients could do this themselves. So patients were able to even wear their own undergarments after placing a cath themselves. They could go into surgery not fearing that they would be exposed in any way - because there was no need.

When I graduated & decided to go into computer stuff full-time ... the practice dwindled cause many of the nurses & CNAs (mostly female) refused to participate in this. I think that many nurses & doctors (both male & female) feel that just because this is what their chosen profession is, they should have total access to do whatever they deem necessary. This is not true for any other professionals, why should it be for these?

So to the originator of this thread I say 'great job' in thinking about being 'culturally aware' ... now just expand that wonderful idea to include everyone. We are all very different and should be given the same kindness. :)

Here we go again with a comment like this: "If there is a sensitive issue, the person can have someone of the same sex be present. However, I don't think the patient should get to pick the sex of their nurse anymore than they should get to pick the race, religion or age of their care provider, at least not in the hospital setting."

I've had to explain this on other threads. Again -- Equating choice of same gender nurse for intimate procedures and exams DOES NOT equate to racial or sexual discrimination. This kind of request tends to be contextual. That is, most men and women don't care whether a male or female, takes their blood pressure, their oral temperature, looks down their throat or into their ears. But when it comes to sexual organs, they may feel differently. People like that are not sexist. They're not saying that one gender or the other isn't competent. If in a rare situation a patient says he (or she) just doesn't want a female nurse (or male nurse) because all females (or males) are incompetent -- that's sexist. Same with race or age. It's about stereotyping a whole gender or race or age for ALL exams and procedures.

Those who don't understand this need to take a step back and really think about what they're saying. Hospitals are not (or shouldn't be) what sociologists call "total institutions" where one's body is completely taken over. There is the concept of patient autonomy which needs to be practiced. Patients should have as much control over their bodies as is possible and reasonable. Request, expecting, demanding a same sex provider for an intimate exam or procedure is not unreasonable in most circumstances. Hospitals can accommodate if the decide this is an important value. If the hospital decides it isn't an important value, any excuse in the book can be used to prevent it.

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care, Public Health.
If you are going to start worrying about muslim customs, you better start learning nursing considerations for sikhs, buddhists, shinto, scientologists, wiccans, the nation of yahweh, followers of the prince philip movement, the flying spaghetti monster (my personal favorite) and nuwaubians. Well, at least nuwaubianism has its roots in muslim culture so not too much to learn there. Start studying dude, there are a lot of sensitive people out there!

I don't see anything wrong with knowing/understanding something about these different cultures. Its called being able to provide culturally competent care. Nurses treat the whole patient and have to be cognizant of body mind and spirit.

I am an American Muslim and registered nurse. Men are very common in the nursing field in the middle east. In fact some years there are more men than women in nursing programs in Jordan. The reason for this has to do with the cultural preference for same sex nurses. It is not necessarily a religious preference and some cultures will be less tolerant of personal care given by the opposite sex. Muslims are very modest about their bodies and if you notice even the men in these countries cover most of their bodies in public. When they are in this country they are more apt to conform to the cultural standard here. In general, however, if you see a Muslim woman wearing a hijab (head covering) you can be sure that she will be most uncomfortable being touched by a man for personal care. This is something that you will explore in your sociocultural assessment. I think it will be acceptable to do vital signs and to get a history and things like that but EKGs and the like should be done by female staff if they are available. If you have an opportunity to care for a Muslim patient, man or woman, feel free to ask them about their religion. They will be glad to talk about it if they are not too sick. Use your good judgement about what is best for these patients (as you do for all your patients) and let that be your guide in caring for Muslim patients. Also don't forget that most Muslims are not Arabs.

Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.

I think it's important to respect peoples cultural preferences, however there are going to be times when you simply can't provide gender preferences. There are less male nurses than female in my hospital and it's not uncommon for the entire ward to have all female nurses on the one shift. A request for a male nurse may not be possible. And don't get me started on all gender operating teams-you want a liver transplant? Sorry all the surgeons who do these in my state are male.

"There are less male nurses than female in my hospital and it's not uncommon for the entire ward to have all female nurses on the one shift. A request for a male nurse may not be possible".

Yes this does describe the problem, but yet again does not deliver a solution. Whether we want to accept it or not, people are becoming savvy enough to want to choose who may or may not have "full" access to their bodies.

Quite frankly, we have this choice everywhere else in our lives, it is only rational to expect it in a medical setting.

Going to school and learning a skill is simply a personal choice. Wanting to undress in front of opposite gender strangers is also a personal choice. There are no automatic entitlements to people's bodies regardless of gender.

Let's not make this more complicated than it really is. People should be assured of private decency expectations ( choices) no matter what building they happen to be in or who the person is standing in front of them.

This equates to hospital standards that are difficult to change, but not impossible. And it does require that most agree that the basic legal right to choose who you want to expose yourself to is a standard we all share in all situations of life. Simple.

From Muslim to Wican, we are a modest society. Look outside....how many naked people do you see?

How do you propose to come up with the necessary staff members to allow for same-gender care? Seems like there won't be a practical solution to this problem for many years down the road.

In the meantime, yes, patients do have a choice about who sees them in the buff. But they may end up choosing between same-gender care and having a long wait on elective procedures. This may have less to do with discrimination and more to do with the fact that there are not enough male nurses to go around and even fewer female neurosurgeons. Hospitals can offer what they don't possess, and that's simple mathematics.

For a thread related to the above comments, see the one I started.

I do agree that social changes take time, but there are ways to make

things move faster,strategies to get more men into nursing.

The End of Men - Nursing for Nurses

Muslim protoplasm is the same as any other human being. Treat them like you would any other patient. If they refuse your care....fine, let someone else pick up the slack. This is not something you encounter in the real world that often. Usually it is just an unlikely scenario nursing instructors enjoy wasting time on instead of teaching students useful information that actually improves care.

If you are going to start worrying about muslim customs, you better start learning nursing considerations for sikhs, buddhists, shinto, scientologists, wiccans, the nation of yahweh, followers of the prince philip movement, the flying spaghetti monster (my personal favorite) and nuwaubians. Well, at least nuwaubianism has its roots in muslim culture so not too much to learn there. Start studying dude, there are a lot of sensitive people out there![i

It's nice to be sensitive when you can, but REALLY, it's what you can do with what you are given; and I don't see alot of staffing assignments or ratios based on religious beliefs of patients. Now. if a complaint is filed, then it will be only you on the hot seat,; so file your ADO ASAP.

Specializes in CVICU, Obs/Gyn, Derm, NICU.

I believe it's important to be aware of individual cultural and religious preferences ...plus ask the p't if their needs are being met.

We don't always do this where I work. I know many elderly women would prefer not to have a male nurse aide do pericare etc....but sometimes there is no female aide and the nurses are busy with tx.

I have had surgery and have been pleased to have female nurses do my intimate stuff. Am not a particularly conservative person but would prefer not to have a male nurse insert my foley or have a male aide toilet me

I think the complexities that have come up with providing culturally competent care are really just an outgrowth of this hole switch to a "customer focused" health care paradigm. The hole thing is nonsense really! I think wherever possible guide your actions with respect. But having said that, we are highly trained health care professionals providing life or death skills to patients; we are not diplomats. I wish that just for once the PhD's that develop these so called "theories" would remember the reality of their bedside nursing days/experiences. There just simply isn't time for this kind of concerns when you are spending 50%+ of your shift doing paper charting when your hospital probably should have made the switch to more efficient electronic charting years ago!!!

I just think health care has become so dysfunctional in general; particularly because of this "customer" crap! Nurse managers are really glorified puppets for MDs and PhDs above them. Its sad really. Lord help me if I ever become one of them if I pursue further graduate studies; in fact, one of the things stopping me is that I don't want to walk around with the "head in the sand (or up my ...)" attitude that they all seem to exude, forever ignoring the very real concerns of the bedside nurse.

Specializes in Med Surg, Home Health.

For a story of the ways that culturally unaware care can negatively impact the patient, the medical practitioners, and the family, see: Amazon.com: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (9780374525644): Anne Fadiman: Books

There are many ways to be American, IMHO. And consenting patients, who feel respected in their interactions with you, will come back to you happily and do the best long-term job of caring for their own health in teamwork with you. Health care doesn't allow the time to be taken for consent-building sometimes. That's a systemic problem, which leads, in the short term, to us being able to do our jobs more quickly, but in the long term, it leads to reduced patient trust and compliance, which in turn wastes health care practitioner hours, thus creating a huge hidden cost. This is all IMHO - anyone know of any studies that back this up OR refute it?

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