r/Nurses • u/No_Performer_63 • 7h ago
Other Country Male nurse from Mexico dealing with female patients (and female staff) refusing care/procedures. How do you deal with this?
Hola, enfermero mexicano aquí, sucede que aquí donde trabajo pasa mucho que las mujeres no permiten que un enfermero realice procedimientos específicos para mujeres (revisión de mamas, Papanicolaou, colocación de DIU, etc) incluso entre las mismas enfermeras y médicas mujeres no te dejan hacerlo, aunque como profesional sabes hacerlo, lo conoces y eres ético.
Mi pregunta es como lo sobrellevan? Y que opinan al respecto? Yo me siento bastante limitado pero a la vez satisfecho pues, cómo están las cosas sobre las falsas acusaciones, no quisiera que me acusaran de que hice algo indebido cuando no es así.
También quisiera saber la opinión de las mujeres, porque hacen esto? Dejarías que un hombre profesional ejerciera su labor en ti?/
Hey everyone, male nurse from Mexico here.
Where I work, it’s very common for female patients to refuse specific procedures performed by a male nurse (breast exams, Pap smears, IUD insertions, etc.). What’s more, even female nurses and female doctors often step in and don't allow male nurses to do them, even though as professionals we are fully trained, knowledgeable, and ethical.
My question for other male nurses is: How do you cope with or handle this? What are your thoughts on it?
On one hand, I feel pretty limited in my practice. But on the other hand, given how things are regarding false accusations nowadays, part of me feels relieved not having to put myself in a vulnerable spot where someone could make an unfair claim.
I’d also love to hear from women here: Why does this happen so frequently? Would you let a male professional perform these procedures on you?