Hi all ED nurses -
We have a problem that has cropped up on our night staff...all but 1 of the regular staff at night (7P-7A) is now male. What are other ED's doing with routine pelvic exams? Our staff is about 50/50 on whether a male nurse should be 2nd person on an exam. We are excluding sexual assaults as we have 4 female SANES that will come in for those, but for routine exams what are others doing?
Thanks!
I don't know what other places are doing but would it be out of the question to call a nurse from OB or the house supervisor to come for the few minutes the pelvic would take?
We actually do call OBS or the house super too. The problem is on busy nights we might do 4-6 pelvics and calling OBS is not always reliable (they are busy too sometimes).
As far as I'm concerned, I don't see why a male nurse can't be the 2nd person present... however, the patient herself may see this differently.
A little off subject... I know that some women prefer a male OB/GYN doc, and some don't ( This from personal experience with women in my family and in my practice. ) Furthermore, some even prefer male nurses over female nurses.
So I guess what I'm saying is, that it is up to the patient unless your facility has a policy regarding this.
I know this didn't solve your problem... it was just my two cents.
P.S. That sure sounds like a lot of pelvic exams for the night shift!
I do find it kind of funny sometimes when patients say they don't want a male nurse but the doc is male. I work OB and the nursing students have to do 10 hours of clinical time with active L&D patients just NST's don't work and the male students are finding it hard to get their hours because on the times they've signed up the patients say no male students (if they don't say no students at all)
It is our policy at this hospital that a female nurse assists the Dr. weather the Dr. is male or female. Although, I did work for Columbia at one time and I had to assist the MD only if the MD was a female. I did draw the line at putting in foleys which they said I had to do. I refused on the grounds of the crazy females that came in the ER for a pelvic at zero dark thirty in the morning.
Why does your facility do "routine" pelvic exams in the ER? If they're "routine" then they aren't an emergency. hehehe..
I would think as long as you weren't alone with the patient you'd be covered risk wise... patients are used to male doctors and they just need to get used to male nurses too.
Personally I'm more embarassed by a female nurse present during an exam than I am with males... but I wonder how many other females feel the way I do?
Hi Medi
Remember Dr's hospital, I worked there part time. The ER was the Little Rock PID clinic after 2400.
We had a GSW show up at the door. I asked him, "why did you come here?" His reply was, "My sister had her baby here." Ok UAMS was down the street. I do not under stand.
I did enjoy leaving Dr's, NO more pelvic duty.
Hi epi....
I'll never forget Doctor's Hospital! Remember I left the ER there to go work at UAMS. What does it tell you when an ER nurse prefers to go work in the combat zone than at Dr's? *lol* I do have wonderful memories of staff from there though... well, most of the staff.... (hopefully Dr Chuckie Mason's long gone?)
Dr. C. M. Was still their when I left. He would sit and doodle at night. One time I had the opportunity to look at it. That man was psychotic. He had stuff on there that said, "kill them all." with strange pictures. That man had a demented mined
We didn't call him "Chuckie" behind his back for nothing. One has to wonder how a guy like that made it through med school.... scary!
The generally accepted "rule" calls for a witness. There is no "legal" opinion on the gender of either the examiner or the witness....At least I cannot find one!
In some Er's they have used female secretary's and financial clerks to "stand-by". This becomes a touchy subject because I have had male nurses come to me and whine for me to do their foley on a female patient. If they have a female tech, EMT etc, to standby and assist I don't see what the problem is. I don't go to male nurses when I have to do a male foley. I understand if the patient requests a female...but I don't believe this ever happens. A professional nurse is a professional nurse.
