Can we have patient modesty ?

Men's health
1

I'm male, in 50s. Went for a urological procedure and had to take everything off and don gown. So far, so good. Lay on examination table, told doctor was coming and had gown pushed up to neck so am bare from shoulders down to everyone on my team- included 3 women- and everyone else in the large operating theatre- at least another half dozen women plus some blokes.

Doctor didn't come and I said to one of the women on my team that it was uncomfortable to have about nine women looking at my exposed genitals.. Oh we've seen it all before is the stock answer. Well it hasn't reduced your interest is what you think because they were looking at me very openly and obviously I thought.

So, what' importance is put on helping out patients who aren't used to casual baring of private parts in publlc ?v Why can't we have some screening or al least draping. Better things for NHS to spend money on? Medical staff- male & female- seem very casual about modesty. Perhaps they should try lying on a slab nude while the room looks at them !

2

Charlie,

If you are ever unfortunate enough to be in the urological ward of a hospital you will get over such notions pretty quickly. Having those pretty young nurses come by every few hours to suction blood clots out of my bladder made it a non issue after the first few days.

Bob

3

Well there were no “pretty young nurses.” They must all be in your urological ward !  “My” health assistants- no nurses there- were unqualified,,well into 50s and 60s I should think, and mainly on cleaning duties I think. I was publicly exposed nude “on the slab” waiting for the doc for about 5 minutes while the “staff”, cleaners included, studied me at their leisure. Not good enough- careless, thoughtless.

Hope all as well as can be with your blood clots treatment.

4

Charlie,

I guess the young and pretty may have made it all more palatable to me.  At my age, the urology ward is probably the only place that would happen!

I'm 5 months out from what turned into a week long stay and emergency surgery to cauterize 3 bleeders, resection the bladder neck and remove bladder stones.

Also needed 8 pints of whole blood to make up[ for what I lost. Final diagnosis on the hematuria was unknown causes. All's well that ends well. Regards,

Bob

5

Bob129,

Your account reminds me how well NHS still functions at the top level. Congratultions on recovering from a very major procedure, and trust all continues well. My concerns are at the lower levels of care, and how cost pressures have led to lower standards.

Wow, 8 pints of blood sounds a lot- you deserved the "pretty young nurses" !

Charlie.

6

I have had a number of procedures recently and whilst I agree that patient modesty is important I don't think it should get in the way of what is being done. Of course, no one hwo doesn't need to be present should be there and permission should be sought for students.

I recently had a bladder ultrasound and, in the interests of modesty, I was fully dressed. You have to attend with a very full bladder and the technician pushed the probe under the waistband of my trousers and moved it around pressing quite hard. The problem is that, with a full bladder, with ageing, and with possible bladder weakness which might cause 'leakage', it would have been better to lower one's lower clothing and have a towel or something to catch any leakage (rather than making one's clothes wet to go home in). This could be done easily with male/female modesty in mind and the more open access to the pubic bone area would make the whole procedure quicker, easier and more comfortable for the patient.

I have also had rectal examinations and a colonoscopy and whilst my modesty was protected as far as possible there really are some procedures where you just have to be exposed; but as I said above, with no one who does not need to be there.

There is a problem whereby a male doctor decides he needs a chaperone to do an intimate examination on a male and brings in a female; this should obviously be cleared with the patient first.

 

7

More than 40 years ago while on all fours on the examining table, having my doctor examine my colon through some sort of device that resembled a drainpipe snake, I started leaking, so he called for his attractive young receptionist to bring in a box of tissues!

Guess I was desensitized during military training. The only baracks lights in the morning were in the latrine and there were no doors on the toilet stalls. SO while having a BM in the morning you were likely close to eye level with someone sitting cross legged on the floor in front of you trying to get a spit shine on his shoes. 

8

Charlie14064,

It is terrible about one of the ladies responded to your concerns about patient modesty.  This response: "we've seen it all"  was very insensitive.  While it is true that medical professionals have seen many private parts, that does not matter for patients who value their modesty.

You have the right to an all-male team for urological procedures. Male patient modesty is not a weakness at all. Medical facilities should always respect patients' wishes for same gender intimate care.  I encourage you to check out Male Patient Modesty at http://www.patientmodesty.org/malemodesty.aspx and tips for urology patients at http://www.patientmodesty.org/urologypatients.aspx.

I am sure that many of those female medical professionals who were present for your urological procedure would hate to be nude in front of many people.

9

Your suggestion is ridiculous. Many men do not feel comfortable with female nurses or assistants no matter how pretty or compassionate they are.  The medical industry works hard to train patients to lose their modesty in medical settings.

10

It is ridiculous when a male doctor decides to bring in a female chaperone for a male patient. Many men would rather to just be alone with the male doctor and/or have his wife present.

I am not sure if you were aware that you can wear colonoscopy shorts or boxer shorts backwards to only expose your rear and not your genitals. Check out http://www.patientmodesty.org/colonoscopymodesty.aspx.

 

11

Some men are nudists. They feel quite comfortable disrobed in front onf anyone.

I'm not a nudist but when female nurses werere extracting blood clots from my bladder via my penis on an hourly basis, modesty was not even a remote thought. The same for when female doctors werere inserting a cath, and female nurses was injecting my penis with lidocaine. 

I had no thoughts of modesty whatever. I just wanted the pain to stop.

I would have gladly danced naked in the lobby for the pain to stop.

12

Hi;

For my colonoscopy I did have those awful blue shorts with the flap. For a recent sigmoidoscopy it was just a trousers down knees up job. As I have said previously the safest most comfortable way is THE most important thing; with my sigmoidoscopy I couldn't understand why there needed to be 4 nurses looking at my bum. If some were student nurses then persmission should be sort just as if they were medical students.

 

13

Hi Charlie, I do know exactly how you feel and my sympathies are with you. I had the same problem when in Emergency at my hospital. I was here after a groin hernia op left me in a mess - badly infected and swollen. I had to strip off everything and put a paper gown on to wait for the doc. When the doc arrived he removed the gown so thaa my whole body was naked for himself , two other docs, and 5 nurses watching. What made matters worse for me personally was the fact that my left testicle was swollen to the size of a tennis ball and the doc thoroughly examined this for what seemed an eternity.  But after 10 minutes of nakedness I felt comfortable lying there naked as I accepted the it was part and parcel of the docs job. My only concern was that it was relatively cold in the examination room and I must have been lying there for at least half an hour as the nurses had many questions and so on. I live in Spain by the way not the UK. I wish you good luck for the future. Michael

14

Charlie, it's no better here in the states for men.

My PCP (GP) wants me to get the colonoscopy but I won't go for it unless the facility give the patient colonoscopy shorts or I can have an all-male team do the procedure.

I don't think I'm asking for all the gold in Fort Knox.

Everywhere out east here in the states I've checked with doesn't use the shorts nor will they assure me of an all-male team for the procedure even when I'm willing to schedule it out two months in advance to give them time to get all the male tem members together.

One location told me they could assure of of an all female team no problem.

The healthcare system here in the states is stacked against the male patient.

And then they wonder why men aren't getting the care they need and are dying at such early ages.

The healthcare system here in the states doesn't care about male modesty only female. A woman can got to a hospital here in the states & they will bend over backwards to make sure her modesty needs are taken care of right away.

Not so for a man in 9 times out of 10..

It's really sad.

Raf.

15

its ok for some men but not me i had a high psa and was asked to see a urologist when i went in the 2 week wait there was a male consultant and a female nurse who ask me to get on the bed . consultant still at desk nurse told me pull trousers and pants down , full view . unfortnately iam a grower so was uneasy about this the consultant came ask me turn on side for finger exam , after he said i needed a tust biopsy , that meeting and seeing a ward full of women nurses made me not go . i thought alot before not going knowing i needed it , same might find me silly but for me i couldnt go throw it .

 

16

Bob120

The issue is not so much about modesty as it is about RESPECT. Those body parts that the nurses and doctors are touching are attached to a human being. Respect is and should never be a 'nonissue."

17

I would never consent to a FEMALE CHAPERONE. There is no reason a doctor should do that to a male patient unless the patient has consented. If the doctor surprises the patient and just shows up with a female chaperone then walk out and refuse to pay for the visit. That is totally disrespectful to a male patient.

18

I agree, we deserve respect but some hospitals provide it and some don't. There's a very large gap in the way some hospital staffs behave and others. I've experiened the gamut, from hospitals where it seemed the nurses were out to kill you, to those to where you were treated like a slab of meat, to those where you got really kind and compassionate care. If you survive the bad ones, and find a good one, you are way ahead of trhe game. Consider in the US, medical errors and hospital infections is the third leading cause of death, with about 400,000 deaths a year attributed to medical errors, lethal side effects from prescribed drugs, and hospital infections. But then back in 1952 I nearly bled to death after my tonsils were removed and no staff looked in on me. My aunt found me covered in blood and summoned the nurses. So maybe it's always been this way and now we just have the internet to inform us of it.

19

Hello Tron:

In the US there aren't many male ultrasound technicians. Most men, don't already know this fact & most doctors don't either & in turn don't relay this info to their male patients to warn them ahead of time as to what to expect when they send them for a scrotal ultrasound.

So he goes to the test without any prior knowledge thinking his doctor and the healthcare industry will respect his dignity then he comes to find out after he's told to strip from the waist down, put on a gown, and lay on the exam bed that the young lady that escorted him back to the exam room will be the one that preps him for the test and she's got a FEMALE chaperone with her for her & the facilities protection.

Mind you, it's not to protect you the patient, it's to protect the healthcare worker & their interests.

To keep you from balking about anything they will try to shame you into allowing them to do the test. They'll tell you not to worry as we've seen it all many times.

If you don't feel comfortable with having a strange woman seeing then handling your privates and another strange woman watching from the sidelines, this is the time to JUST SAY NO THANK YOU you want a male tech to perform the test. As you are still covered up at this point, you can ask them to leave so you can get dressed & leave also.

In the US it takes a little searching but you can find a male tech if that's what you really want. You may have to do some travelling but that's the cost of not just handing over your dignity to the healthcare industry.

Many men learn the hard way that you have to speakup before the process begins.

One way is to let your personal physican know ahead of time any male related tests and/or procedures must be done by and in the presence of only other males. You tell your physican you don't want any chaperones tagging along.

Then after the appointment is made & you are scheduled to go, call the facility ahead of time to verify your testing will be done by a male tech.

Then lastly, when you check in at the facility for the test verify when you check in that the male you requested is available as there might be times he's tied up & for their convenience, they will assign a female to do the testing. If this isn't what you want, ask how long the male tech will be & reschedule if need be.

Patients have to watch out for their own wellbeing as the healthcare industry has proven time and time again they sure aren't.

Regards,

Raffie

 

20

Hi Jon:

Did you ever go thru with the procedure? Were you able to get male nurses?

Regards,

Raffie