How
Urologists Can Be More Sensitive to Men’s Modesty?
By: Misty Roberts
By: Misty Roberts
Most urology practices in the United States do not employ
male nurses or assistants, even in larger cities. This is a serious problem
because approximately 75% of urology patients are male.
Often people wrongly assume that men don't care about their
modesty. In many cases, this is simply not true. Societal norms say men are not
supposed to be modest; that this is a sign of weakness. From childhood males
are socialized to “man up”—make believe it doesn’t bother them—when faced with
an embarrassing medical exam or procedure; to acknowledge embarrassment only
serves to amplify it.
Many urologists may not realize that countless male
patients forego medical care or stop coming to appointments because male nurses
or assistants aren’t available and these patients feel they cannot speak up for
fear of being labeled weak or crazy.
All-male staffed urology clinics in the United States are
nearly non-existent. Nowadays, women
have the option of going to an all-female ob/gyn practice; men should also have
this option. Every major city in the United States should have at least one
all-male staffed urology clinic specifically for men. These male-specific
clinics could be very lucrative because male patients who avoided or delayed
medical care would consider traveling to them.
We encourage all urologists to work on being more sensitive
to male patients. Below are some tips to use as a guide.
Tips
for Urologists:
1.) Hire
at least one male nurse and a male assistant for the urologic clinic. Recruit
male nurses, ultrasound technicians, and assistants at the local community
college if necessary.
2.) If no male nurses or
assistants are available do as many procedures such as vasectomy as possible
without assistance.
3.)
Encourage office staff to respect male patients’ privacy. Educate female staff
about patient sensitivity and health issues. For instance: a male patient may
not want to talk to the female receptionist about his health issue.
4.)
Always give a male patient the option of having his wife present for
procedures.
5.)
Consider putting a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the exam door so other medical
personnel do not randomly enter during intimate exams.
6.)
Consider starting a private all-male staffed urology clinic geared to special
interest in male patients, especially getting them to see a doctor more often.
Perhaps add a male gastroenterologist to the practice. Advertise the clinic as
being all-male staffed and sensitive to men’s modesty.
7.) Many
men care about their modesty during surgical procedures, especially if they are
under general anesthesia. For these modest patients who require surgery at a
hospital or an outpatient surgery center commit to helping them get an all-male
surgical team. Be open to using local or regional anesthesia whenever possible
which allows the patient to be awake and alert during a procedure. It would
give that modest patient peace of mind.
Misty
Roberts is the president / founder of Medical Patient Modesty (www.patientmodesty.org),
a 501c3 non-profit organization that works to educate patients about their
rights to modesty in medical settings.
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ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you for this post!!! I hope my past urologists read and take heed. I am male and have no problem finding male urologist (also prostate oncologists...even worse situations) but their staffs are all female. Many of my issues require ongoing visits and I’m not OK having casual relationships, however professional with multiple female nurses and techs regularly providing intimate care....plus the “unnecessary” casual observers, some of which just seem curious. I have severe anxiety and panic attacks before, during and after the care...so no more care or limited to those who can and will deliver same-gender intimate care, of which there are very few. Beware, many promise and then switch on you, often with a degree of hostile abuse for your “problem.” It’s truly horrible.
ReplyDeleteFantastic article! This kind of gender-based analysis is really needed, and long overdue! It is important to remember that patriarchy oppresses men as well as women - it just does so in different ways. By noting the social conditioning that causes men to be 'embarrassed about being embarrassed', the article really illustrates this.
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