Ever had a male nurse as a witness to your gyno exam?

I was wondering if any one had a complete gyno, rectal or invasive exam and the doctor called in a male nurse to be their witness. If so, was it in the ER or a regular physical or scheduled exam? And what happened?

The only time I've had a male witness for any type of exam was when I had a cystoscopy performed. The doctor was in the room, of course, as was his nurse. But there was also a male PA present. He was never introduced to me, nor was I told why he was there so before the exam started I turned and said "Excuse me, you are...?", hurried introductions were made and then the exam proceeded. Not a big deal.

I prefer not to have a chaperone during gynecological exams and it doesn't matter whether the doctor is male or female, I've had both. I feel that I can stand up for myself and would certainly call a halt to anything I felt was inappropriate, but that's never happened.

I agree with you Ladydoc.

I don't need or want a chaperone for the same reason. I also go to all my exams alone. The only time I would go with my husband is if there was a serious condition that needed treatment and I wanted a second set of ears there and/or someone to take notes for me during the discussion.

Actually, I went to a couple of OB-GYN exams with my husband when I was pregnant because it was exciting for both of us to see the sonograms and to hear what the doctor had to say. I am positive he didn't have any erections while I was being examined. He has seen several other men and women doing much more interesting things to me than a pregnancy pelvic exam.

The chaperone isn't there for YOUR protection, she's there for YOUR doctor's protection! Think about it. Your doctor is not going to hire someone to knowingly lie for him for molesting his patients, he's going to hire someone to be a witness if some crazy patient falsely accuses him or her of misconduct. In the case of an accusation , being tried in the court of public opinion the doctor is guilty until proven innocent, because we can't have dangerous doctors abusing their patients in the community! His or her career is either severely damaged or completely over. Having a nurse in the room eliminates the "he said/she said" situation about what went on behind closed doors.

So no, it's pretty unlikely that any doctor in his right mind is going to have a MALE nurse as a chaperone.

You have an interesting question and I think it brings up a bit of a double standard. Male doctors have female witnesses and female doctors have no witnesses?

I will freely admit I am pretty much a total perv, and I am a male. I have met many more male pervs that female pervs, but they certainly do exist.

I wonder if the day will ever come in our PC society when a female doctor has a token male in the room with her.

BTW, in all of the physical and gyno exams I have seen, there is not really need for a nurse. The other person really is a witness.

If that were to happen here in the UK it would be because they are training Student doctors and you would always be asked if you wished someone else to be present, which of course you can decline.

No way would anyone just "call in" a Male chaperone/nurse, it would not be ethical and boundaries would be crossed. It's certainly never happened to me, nor would I wish it to, a polite no thanks is the response I would give if asked.

The chaperone isn't there for YOUR protection, she's there for YOUR doctor's protection! ... he's going to hire someone to be a witness if some crazy patient falsely accuses him or her of misconduct.

This sounds like the sign of a society that is headed for a general breakdown in mutual trust. I understand the reasoning of course, but are things really so bad that this is becoming a necessary matter of routine?

In fact, if ever a physician brought in a chaperone for the reason of being a rebuttal witness to my supposed possible craziness and dishonesty, then what in the world should I think of that doctor? Perhaps that he's suffering from a mild form of paranoia? Would I ever wish to go back to that doctor again? I rather doubt it.

In play exam settings, it's something completely different of course, there is something nicely titillating in being observed.

But in real life? Rather not.

Male doctors have female witnesses and female doctors have no witnesses?

That may be true when it pertains to gynecological exams, but I'm male and it's not true for my exams. I've had female doctors that have a female chaperone. It's really a double standard -- but it is what it is.

That may be true when it pertains to gynecological exams, but I'm male and it's not true for my exams. I've had female doctors that have a female chaperone. It's really a double standard -- but it is what it is.

Just to be specific about your exams with a chaperone present: what exactly would be so potentially distressing that a doctor would feel it necessary to protect herself from false accusations on your part? What part of the exams you've had could possibly be construed as evolving into something that is perceived as being inappropriate?

Now don't understand me wrong. It's nice to have 2 females present during an exam, nice in a medfet way that is. And if it's medically or technically necessary, then it's nothing to give a second thought about. No one should be a prude when it comes to health and medicine.

But medical necessity aside, what part of an exam could be thought of as potentially inappropriate that would need a corroborating witness? And if doctors start to think that all their patients are potential slanderers and false accusers, well, why should they even take any of their medical complaints seriously then? By reasoning that too could just be a fantasy on the patient's part ... how can a patient trust a doctor who doesn't trust their patients?

And the next logical step in this process of distrust will be to consider a witness unreliable - after all it would be the typical he said/she said, word against word. So what is next? Video recordings of exam sessions to have proof of what happened?

This seems to me to be an archetypal slippery slope. Once a (medical) society starts on this path of distrust, there is no way to predict how it will end up.

Just found this on another thread. Post number 4 ...

To paraphrase something from the X-Files - why fight the future? It's already here.

http://www.zity.biz/index.php?mx=forum;ox=display;topic=73790.msg525567#msg525567

No not a male nurse, however I have had two male doctors examine me and with no nurses or either sex in the exam room.

My wife gets her gyno exams done at the Air Force clinics and hospitals where I am stationed and she has had male observers on multiple occasions. There is a sign on the wall of every exam room that reads "If you would like to have a chaperon, one will be provided for you." Then in a different sentence is says "If you prefer to have a same sex chaperone, you must request one and it will be provided if possible". So basically, they will "try" to provide a female observer but if there isn't one available, you will get a male and in the military, the guy to girl ratio is about 8 to 1. One time, the observer turned out to be a young male airman that she knew from gym. He got to see all of her. I have posted the story here on medfet in the past.

Never during an exam, but had pelvic surgery several years ago and had a great male nurse after. He removed my catheter, helped remove many yards of packing. Just really nice and caring. He was also very open and matter of fact. There was a weather crisis at the time and the hospital was mostly empty, so we had lots of time to visit.

I have never had a male nurse present during an exam as a witness. All of my witnesses have been female. However, once I was in a clinic and I was asked if it was okay if a male medical student observe my exam. They told me that he was in his second year of medical school. I was in my twenties at time and rather shy about such things, so I said, "No, I would not be comfortable with that".

Lady Teddy, who is no longer so shy in certain situations, but still ladylike and modest in real medical setting. Being a patient with a play Doc is different 😃.

I recently had a full pelvic exam plus ultrasound. The male doctor’s female nurse was present, as was the male ‘fellow’ on the team. He had a clear view of all the goings-on, and I was absolutely mortified. At our previous appointments with this doctor the fellow had been in the room but she was female and I didn’t care as much. Unfortunately I didn’t really feel as though I could ask for him to leave.

Interesting comment earlier in this thread...

"No way would anyone just "call in" a Male chaperone/nurse, it would not be ethical and boundaries would be crossed."

Would we ever consider it to "not be ethical" for a female chaperone/nurse to be present for a man's exam? So "boundaries would be crossed" in this case as well? Supposedly male nurses are professional, just as professional as their female counterparts. So what am I missing here?

Very interesting views expressed so far. As a male it really does not bother me but I have noticed that for males having a female present for certain exams or procedures is very common and I have wondered why when the reverse is not the case. I have had a female nurse present when my male gastroenterologist performed hemorrhoid banding on me 3 times. She was at the top part of the table and not where she could see anything or assist him so it seemed very strange to me. I am perfectly at ease with my doctor and completely trust him so it was odd why she was there. I also have had female nurse practitioners at the same office examine me a few times when the wait for my doctor was a few months which was too long. I have had rectal exams performed by them with no chaperone or anyone else present so there seems to be no real standard. The nurse practitioners did a good job, were caring, did a through exam and were gentle. No issues at all with only them in the room with me.

Nobody ever called a male nurse into one of my wife's gynecology exams, but when she was pregnant with our first child, she was working in a local hospital. She worked in the administrative side of the hospital and actually did admissions for labor and delivery. A a result she got to know a lot of the doctors and nurses. One of the nurses was a young man who she apparently knew quite well. So on the day my son was scheduled to be delivered my wife and I were in her delivery room waiting for her to dilate when the young male nurse came in. He had been assigned to help with her delivery. I think my wife was surprised to see him, but since she knew him quite well, they started up a conversation as he began to prepare some items on the counter. He snapped on an exam glove and said he wanted to check to see if she was dilating. I could tell my wife was a little shocked, but since she knew him so well she did not argue. He had her slide down in the bed and draw her knees back as he pulled down the sheet and then inserted his fingers in my wife's vagina. He said she wasn't dilated yet, so we had to keep waiting on the Pitosin (sp?). But then he said he needed to give her an enema and get a catheter started. He had my wife roll over and draw her knees up underneath her and stick her bare ass in the air as he administered an enema. When the enema was finally done (which took at least 5 or 10 minutes) and she had relieved herself in the bathroom, he had her lie on her back and open her legs again so he could smear what looked like iodine all over her vagina, before inserting a catheter in her urethra. The whole time, they were chatting away and laughing. When he was all done, he went to the closet and pulled out two large, padded leg stirrups from the shelf. He attached them to the foot of the labor and delivery bed and even told my wife he would be back to later to help with the delivery. My wife did not deliver for another 12 hours, and she actually had to have a C-Section, because she never dilated, so the male nurse never got to see her in the stirrups, but he got to see an awful lot of her anyway.

One of the nurses was a young man who she apparently knew quite well. So on the day my son was scheduled to be delivered my wife and I were in her delivery room waiting for her to dilate when the young male nurse came in. He had been assigned to help with her delivery. I think my wife was surprised to see him, but since she knew him quite well, they started up a conversation as he began to prepare some items on the counter. .

Wow, that's quite a story. That wouldn't happen where i work as a nurse. If someone comes in who we know, the patient goes to a nurse who doesn't know them... usually.

i was taken by ambulance to the hospital where i had only worked six months at the time. i was in the middle of a 'hot yoga' class and all i had on was what looks like a speedo, and it was wet with sweat. (Bikram yoga is practiced in a 105 degree room at 50% humidity, so no one wears much and everyone sweats). I knew all the nurses, so anonymity wasn't a choice for me, the nurse who got me joked that she needed to "assess my butt" (didn't happen). There have been several women nurses who have shown interest in me, i'm apparently not obviously gay and have to tell people, but it can be awkward having people you work with suddenly caring for you.

Where I go now for treatment, there have been male nurses taking my vitals before appointments and urgent care. I noticed this the past year because they were previously always female. None have come in with the doctor during my exams. If it's male doctor, another female will still come in to chaperone.

I've had male nurses on the floor after my surgeries. I didn't specifically ask for females to take me to the bathroom. I was just going to go with whomever was available. Only one male nurse showed up for one of my bathroom trips. I've had two male doctors check my incision after my hysterectomy.

I’ve never had a male nurse attending a gyno exam. Male doctors yes and male nurses in a hospital setting and At the dermatologist but not in a gyn office visit

Like @CassieST and @Nurse_Phillips my wife never had a male nurse present at one of her gynecology exams, but she did have male nurses taking care of her in the hospital after her surgeries. I believe that her urogynecologist may have had a male nurse who conducted one or two of her tests prior to a surgery.