Male nurse giving bed bath to a female patient.?

[CaDad]

SoldierNurse
I apologize if I stepped on a few toes and Yes!!! I do have serious respect for the Profession.Ricu hit it on the head, I am only telling you what I observe and it is in fact out of proportion to the unfathomable , unselfish, incredible sacrifices that Nurses in fact make. IMHO, There are many a Doctor who is still in practice because of the watchful and caring eye of the Nurse protecting the PT. Like a lot of things in life, it is sometimes the little things that can make or break a profession, an industry , a product or an individual. I only want to inform and let you know what a significant amount of people on the other side sees and feels, and yes there is always 2 sides to every argument to.It is all about balance, at the end of the day , we can and do loose some of our patience, humanity, caring and common decency, your only human and not Godlike. With all that you have to contend with, with all the hard work and courage you exhibit in your daily work life, with all the incredible responsibility you shoulder, with all the emotional drama interacting with a diverse and sometimes disrespectful public, I do indeed am humbled by all you do, and YES, I do have the highest respect for you and your profession. It is not about you but about a small but vitally important of your profession I wanted to comment on, to bring to your attention the plight of the PT, to remind you of their experiences . After all, are we not all about the Pt, their recovery , saving their life and limbs?
I also get a lot of feedback from Doctors and Nurses and sometimes I do get the inevitable roasting, complaints, and I have to understand it is not in fact me, but what I am doing and what I represent that is being called into question, I hope I make sense.

[nursinghumor]

SoldierNurse
YES, I do have the highest respect for you and your profession. It is not about you but about a small but vitally important of your profession I wanted to comment on, to bring to your attention the plight of the PT, to remind you of their experiences . After all, are we not all about the Pt, their recovery , saving their life and limbs?

One thing we're constantly reminded of in practice is "to listen to your patient" especially when things are "not quite right"

You may get offended when I say "you are preaching to the choir."

There is much that goes on in hospitals and nursing homes that you don't know about, most don't want to know about, and that hospitals would fire us if we did let you know about.

In short, we do see exactly what you are talking about, in more explicit detail than you think. However, whistle blowing is not a well protected stance these days. Most healthcare professionals are reluctant to risk their jobs, licenses, livelihoods to bring more to light.

My two cents.

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly.com, A National Nursing & Consumer Health Directory

Facebook: http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

[SoldierNurse]

CaDad, your last post could have been included in your original post. I will not deny there are some nurses with no regard for the patient's privacy. My area is critical care nurse but have also worked in the OR. Even when patients were in the OR under anesthesia I respected their privacy. Takes very little effort to keep 'those' areas covered. LOL, I respected Iraqi detainee patient's privacy.

BTW, CaDad you should invite your daughter to this site.

[CaDad]

I have in fact invited her, she is in hematology and oncology and the dynamics are significantly different, she is looking over the board to see if she has an interest. She knows I am a radical lol, but understands. This last Friday I actually walked over to close the curtain on some poor guy getting a physical, he shouted out " Thanks man, I really appreciate that!!!!
It is too bad that the people doing all the work cannot speak up to make positive change, I never actually realized the profession was so hamstrung!!!!
Everyone I work with knows how I feel about pt privacy and they always smile when I am around, the sometimes call me the modcop lol.

[Modest Person]

1-Is it ethical for a male nurse to give bed bath or shower to a female patient who obviously refuses?
2-Is it ethical for a male nurse to stripped and give bath with his bare hand's even on the female patient's genital's?
3-Is it ethical not to seek permission from the female patient's spouse or family member's regarding male nurse giving bath to them?
4-Had anyone of your wife's,girfriend's or even mother who obviously is a patient been given bed bath or complete shower from a male nurse without your consent or even if against their will?

I personally don't think it is appropriate for male nurses to give bath to female patients period. I don't feel that male gynecologists are appropriate either so I am not biased about nurses. Male nurses also run the risk that they could get in trouble of being falsely accused of sexual misconduct even if they didn't do anything wrong.

One man was very upset that a male nurse cleaned after his elderly mother's bowel movement. She had Alzhemier's Diease, but she was aware enough about a male nurse cleaning after her that she was so terrified and upset.

I think it is best that a female family member or the husband of a woman gives her bath. If not, a female nurse should do it.

Male nurses are in demand so there definitely needs to be more nurses. You should look under male patient modesty on Google and you will find there is a big demand for male nurses by male patients. The truth is many men are very modest and don't want female nurses to do intimate procedures on them such as urinary catheterizations and baths. Some men have backed out of having surgeries such as vasectomy because they could not be assured that there would be no female nurses. I think that they should primarily assign male nurses to work with male patients for intimate procedures. Male nurses could work with female patients, but only do non-intimate procedures on them such as changing their IV bags, giving them shots, etc.

[cougarnurse]

With all respect in regards to ANY male doctor. Historically, women were NOT 'allowed' to do ANY work of this type, thus the dearth of MALE doctors.

There is two sides to this post: Male nurses taking care of FEMALE patients, and female nurses taking care of MALE patients. Staffing ratios may not be conducive, and the list can go on and on. Oh, and may I add the economy? hiring is pretty slow around here, if at all.

Thanks for not getting the thread closed, as I see everyone is civil. Let's keep it that way!

[Grandma-RN]

True and one could get the opposite sex nurse to enter the room, too.


[COLOR="green"There is two sides to this post: Male nurses taking care of FEMALE patients, and female nurses taking care of MALE patients. Staffing ratios may not be conducive, and the list can go on and on. Oh, and may I add the economy? hiring is pretty slow around here, if at all.][/COLOR]

[gracie1]

Speaking from the other side of the bed, I have to say that I have had male nurses care for me at times when it was necessary. I was in a car accident, and in the er they cut all my clothes off, put in a foley, rolled me around butt nekkid looking for injuries. Before a cast of thousands. Was I embarrassed, well yes, but I was more afraid I had suffered a serious injury. Another time I had a breast biopsy done. The CRNA and Circulating nurses were both guys. What the heck, I was going to be asleep, so what was the big deal? I have worked along side many men in nursing, and without exception, they are all professional to the nth degree. That being said, if a patient objects, you should find some alternative. I had one of my co-workers ask me if I would give a suppository to his patient, a 17 year old girl. He just felt the girl would be more comfortable with a mom-like person doing such a rude procedure. I was happy to help, not because I like giving suppositories, but I cared a lot about our young teen trauma patients. But really, we need to move away from the whole idea that only certain genders can do certain things.

[cougarnurse]

Thank you!

[gracie1]

Hi All:
I am not a nurse but someone who sells to the medical profession , more specifically Hospitals, so I see tons every day.
A few comments if I can;
I more often than not, agree with Murmer. I find it pretty ridiculous that The nursing profession desperately wants to portray how androgynous they are when it comes to patient modesty issues. It's not like the PT's are cars lined up in a mechanic's shop!!! For many, this is their first time in a hospital, vulnerable, scared, nervous and generally very modest. It doesn't help that " You have seen it all", the PT is the one being exposed here while you the professional remain clothed. I continually observe:
-Nurses ( both genders, although the female nurses are the most egregious)
bathing , undressing, cathing, their pt's in full view of everyone without any regard for the PT's modesty
-I have seen and overheard direst requests for same gender care and the pt was told it was not available, when in fact it was.
-Patients exposed on gurney's without any consideration from the nursing staff in full view of everyone on the floor-yesterday a male was wheeled nude into the shower area , dam I felt sorry for him!!!
-Physical exams being conducted by Doctors with the nursing staff present much to the discomfort and embarrassment of the PT, both genders tooo!!
( I have hard the Doctors actually tell the Pts we have seen it all and not to be childish about it, were " Professionals)"
-Especially in Er, no consideration is given the male PT there, with the exception of the females Pt's, who are given every opportunity to have their modesty protected. I have seen the double standard, it exists and it is pretty common!
-It's is the exception not the norm IMHO for a nurse to ask permission to do something. They pretty much just think because they are a nurse they have automatic permission to disrobe, wash, do peri care, cath, and inspect the Pt regardless of their modesty or preference for same gender care.
IMHO, when a PT says no, it means just that, no. Just because you have lost your modesty does not mean the PT has lol.
So please, stop with the whining already, people deserve their modesty if they want it, its the only thing they have left in most cases. And I gotta tell you, if a female nurse tried to force something on me it would not be a pretty sight either. If you cannot see things from the Pt's point of view, it may be time for you to try another profession.
It is not in fact , all about you, it is in fact, all about the Patient.
Having said that, I have nothing but respect for the Nursing profession!!!!

WOW! I have never seen any of what you are describing! I don't work in the ER, so I can't specifically address that, but in the areas I have worked if anyone wheeled a nude patient down the hall to the shower, or any other of the various things you described, boy they would have gotten an earful, if not written up. Now in regard to my previous post, I was in a car accident. I was airlifted to the trauma center. I had what they call a "hot belly". Always suspect a spinal injury until proven otherwise. So yeah, they do pretty much strip ya down to what God gave ya in the trauma room. Yes there are a lot of people in there. It is their job to identify any injury. If they don't, you could die, be paralyzed, etc. I suppose some people would rather be dead or paralyzed than have a dozen strangers see their you know what. I'm not one of them. I've never met anyone who was.