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Nursing Practice > You Asked Us Online
Last modified June 10, 2005
Nursing Standards
Outreach Program
Discrimination against male nurses
Q
I am a male nurse on a medical-surgical unit in a small community hospital. We have male and female nurses on this unit. Recently, a female client requested that only female nurses provide her care. How should I approach this request to ensure the therapeutic relationship with the client is maintained while not permitting discrimination against male nurses?
A
If a client requests that only female nurses provide care, it is important to assess the situation by exploring the client’s perception and the meaning of the request.
Understanding the meaning behind the request will allow you to use your professional judgment to determine if the request is relevant to the therapeutic needs of the client. There may be cultural, religious or other reasons that prompted the client to request only female nurses, and these reasons need to be explored. By understanding the client’s reasons, you may be able to correct misperceptions, achieve a common understanding and discuss possible alternatives or solutions.
Refusing care only because a nurse is male, or because of misperceptions about the quality of care male nurses can provide, permits discrimination against a staff member.
In situations such as this, it is important to explain to the client that all nurses working on the unit are professionals and are appropriately qualified to provide care. It may also be necessary to inform the client that the hospital respects the diversity of caregivers and does not support discrimination on the basis of sex.
However, there may be circumstances in which a change of assignment would have a therapeutic benefit to the client. For example, if the client had a history of sexual abuse, the health care team may determine that it would be therapeutic to have female caregivers for this client.
Once the situation has been resolved, you should review the effectiveness of the decision and collaborate with others to plan strategies to manage similar situations in the future. Open discussion about these situations helps to identify the extent of the problem, possible contributing factors and solutions.
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