Why is it "legal" for patient to decline male nurses?

[carti]

I don't know if that is the right word I'm looking for. Why is it considered "ok" and acceptable for patients to decline male nurses caring for them or even just for procedures such as putting in a Foley?

Background: I'm a senior nursing student (male) and I've had about 3-4 patients my entire nursing school career who refused to have a male nurse come in. For example, today at clinicals, I had a female patient with an order for a Foley before discharge, and she told my preceptor for me to leave the room. Another example, during my 2nd semester, I experienced 2 different occasions where the patient refused to have any care by a male whatsoever.

I feel like that is literally like a White couple coming into a restaurant and refusing service from a Black/Latino server and requesting a white server.

Why can't the hospital just say, " If you don't want a male nurses, then leave?" I think it's crazy that in the year 2019, no one bats an eye if a patient refuses care by a male nurse, and the automatic response is " Don't worry! As a male nurse you have to get used to it! ? "

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Maybe it's just me but honestly, I don't really see the need for this thread to be re-opened. There are 11 pages of responses and it's pretty obvious that the OP is never going to accept that his point of view isn't shared. Many of his responses to posters that don't agree with him have been rude which of course generates an in kind response and sadly I don't see that changing.

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

22 hours ago, Cowboy96 said:

He stood for equal rights. And people laughed at him. Thought his ideas were stupid. Thought he was outrageous. And killed him.

You are twisting my words around. Where did I say I was going to touch someone against their will.[/quote]

You appear to be advocating if a patient doesnt want a male nurse then they should be transfered.

Big difference between a patient having the right to choose who provides care for them and someone being declined care based on the colour of their skin

One is patient autonomy

One is patient discrimination

22 hours ago, Cowboy96 said:

Please, I will delete my account on this website if you can find anywhere on this thread me saying I'm going to forcefully put a foley on a female's lady parts.

If you could comprehend the original post, if patient's don't want a certain race/gender nurse, the hospital should transfer them out. PLEASE READ. Thanks!

A patient exercising their right to have autonomy over their healthcare choice should be moved on because it offends your delicate sensibilities?

Patients have a right to choose who is involved in their healthcare treatment. Period.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

On 3/3/2019 at 8:36 PM, Cowboy96 said:

If you could comprehend the original post, if patient's don't want a certain race/gender nurse, the hospital should transfer them out. PLEASE READ. Thanks!

You don't transfer patients based on their need for a same sex nurse. You transfer patients based on the level of care required for the patient.

Your suggestion is nonsensical. According to you, each facility should transfer the patient who requires same sex nursing care.

Clearly, you don't mean that each hospital should actually transfer the patient. What you mean is to bully the patient into letting you touch her.

That's outrageous and why people on this thread have been angry with you.

[It's like a Vit C]

Simply put, this topic is about sexism. Sexism is discrimination and/or prejudice against another based solely on one's sex. Cowboy and/or James W, can you honestly tell me that you feel your fundamental rights are violated when a female refuses your care involving an intimate procedure? If so, what right is being infringed on?

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

10 minutes ago, It's like a Vit C said:

Simply put, this topic is about sexism. Sexism is discrimination and/or prejudice against another based solely on one's sex. Cowboy and/or James W, can you honestly tell me that you feel your fundamental rights are violated when a female refuses your care involving an intimate procedure? If so, what right is being infringed on?

The thing is, there is no "fundamental right" for any nurse, male or female, to perform an invasive procedure like a foley insertion on an unwilling patient. So whether the patient refuses because the nurse is a man, or because she is a woman, or because the patient doesn't like the expression or manner or the nurse, or whether the nurse simply gives her the creeps for a reason unknown to her, it doesn't matter, because no one has the fundamental right to touch another person without their permission.

If we were talking about hiring, or housing, or accessing medical care, or voting or buying property, etc., the "sexism" WOULD matter, because we do have rights to those things independent of our gender. But this is NOT about the nurse's "rights."

[It's like a Vit C]

1 minute ago, Horseshoe said:

The thing is, there is no fundamental right for anyone, male or female, to perform an invasive procedure like a foley insertion on an unwilling patient. So whether the patient refuses because the nurse is a man, or because she is a woman, or because the patient doesn't like the expression or manner or the nurse, or whether the nurse simply gives her the creeps for a reason unknown to her, it doesn't matter, because no one has the fundamental right to touch another person without their permission.

That's the point I'm trying to make. I just want the OP or other posters to come to this conclusion on their own.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

1 minute ago, It's like a Vit C said:

That's the point I'm trying to make. I just want the OP or other posters to come to this conclusion on their own.

Yeah, I knew you were. But they are not going to do that.

[Tacocat, ADN, RN]

Transfer them where, exactly? The mythical hospital that only employs same-sex personnel?

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

5 minutes ago, SamC1988 said:

Transfer them where, exactly? The mythical hospital that only employs same-sex personnel?

It seems that he actually means "evict" them.

Why can't the hospital just say, " If you don't want a male nurses, then

leave?"

[Tacocat, ADN, RN]

14 minutes ago, Horseshoe said:

It seems that he actually means "evict" them.

Gotcha. I will say, this has been an eye-opening example of male fragility. "Why should a woman be able to refuse giving a male access to her genital area?" It's almost like women have bodily autonomy and patients have rights. Yikes.

[0.9%NormalSarah, BSN, RN]

The hypothetical scenarios are getting tiring. Yes, when people are not competent to make healthcare decisions, or they are unconscious, or there's an emergency, obviously we are talking about something different. The question was: how come a female patient can legally "discriminate" against male nurses by refusing invasive care from them? The answer is the same no matter how many ways you ask the question. Patients have a right to choose who touches them, that is autonomy and we learn it as a nursing fundamental.