Nursing etiquette when catheterizing a patient? Is it okay to comment about an erection?

Question

I am a paraplegic. When I was 15 years old, I was in the hospital for back surgery. I had a specific nurse to take care of me when I was in recovery. She would give me ice cubes to suck on because I wasn't allowed to have a glass of water (I would've died for a glass of water). She seemed to be very protective of me. If I had a lot of company she would ask me if I wanted them to leave.

After I was moved to the floor, this same nurse would periodically take care of me. One day my mom was there visiting me; sitting in a chair by my bed. While my mom was there, this specific nurse came in to catheterize me. She was an older woman, so I'm assuming she had been a nurse for a long time.

After she came in, she pulled the sheet back and spread my legs in a spread eagle like fashion; exposing me. She placed the supplies for the procedure between my legs. As she started to cath me, I began to get an erection. With a concerned look on her face, she asked me -"Do you always get an erection when you cath?" I was shocked, to say the least. I have had to be in the hospital at various times before in my life and during those times I have had nurses take care of me; sponge baths, cathing...etc. I have gotten an erection in front of a nurse before during different times as well and in none of those instances did a nurse ever ask me such a thing.

Like I said, I was shocked and didn't know what to say. I looked at my mom and my mom looked at me and said, "I don't know, do you?" I simply shook my head yes and replied with a "uh huh". The nurse replied, "Don't worry, I know you can't help it."

I'm a full grown man now but for some reason I can't help but to think of this experience and wonder why that nurse said that to me? I suppose I would like to get feedback and comments from other nurses concerning this. Was this proper etiquette? Did she do anything wrong or am I overreacting? Do nurses ever get excited when cathing a patient? Do you think she was simply curious? Do you think she may have been uncomfortable per a taboo factor?

Any serious commentary is much appreciated.

Thank you,

Answer 1

Cathing a male with an erection is far more difficult. She may have asked if was a normal occurrence for you because if it wasn't,she may have decided to come back a little later after you have relaxed some. If it was a common occurrence,she may have chosen to use a smaller size catheter to make the procedure more comfortable for you.

Since she was on good terms with you,she probably felt comfortable asking you the question. I'm sure she didn't ask to embarrass you.

Trust me,this was not the first or the last time this nurse dealt with this same issue with others.

I went to nursing school in the 70's.Our instructor gave us instructions on what to do when we came across this situation. You wouldn't want to know what they were.

She was not shocked by what happened. Don't worry about it,it wasn't personal.

Answer 2

There may have been a medical reason for her question, but she definitely should have been a little bit more considerate in front of your mother.  She should have offered to "let" her step out before even doing the procedure.  At any rate, I'm sure your mom wasn't too upset by it, and there really is nothing to be embarrassed about, so I hope you can let it go.  But yes, she was rude to make a comment like that in front of your mom.

Answer 3

It was inappropriate for the nurse to comment on your erection.  There was no reason for her to point it out.  She should have simply ignored it, unless it caused some kind of problem in the procedure.  (Though I don't think it would....)  

Answer 4

I worked with men, and I don't think she

should have done the preciser in front of

your mother, or made the comment.

Answer 5

Easy stuff first---bit of low-level humor:  >>>Do nurses ever get excited when cathing a patient? Do you think she was simply curious?<<<<  

     The only time I ever got excited cathing a male patient was when the pt. was quite drunk, very big, very aggressive, and REALLY NOT wanting to have a Foley placed.....  Excited, yes!-----thought he was going to try and kill me.  Sexually aroused or turned on, no.

(When someone threatens you like that, your hands tend to shake just TERRIBLY when you're trying to do a delicate task.  You'd think a patient would kinda realize that, even drunk or stoned....(s)  

    

And we tend to get awfully BORED with "average nekkid skin" pretty quickly, just like we get used to p**p, pee, pus, and puke.

     (I dunno how the idea of "wild hospital s*x" ***ever*** took off in the p**n films, considering how sick and wiped out the average hospital pt. is, and how worn out the staff is.)

Uncomfortable/taboo factor?--probably not, esp. if the nurse was older and/or had more than a year of experience under her belt.  You have to realize, nursing is an occupation where you go up to COMPLETE, UTTER STRANGERS and ask them outrageously personal and intimate questions that would normally get you clobbered....("Last bowel movement?...Soft, hard, runny, painful?  How much alcohol do you drink daily?  What street drugs have you used in the past year?")

On more significant matters:  the timing of her comment was a bit ill-advised in my opinion, given the awkwardness of "teenage boy" plus "parent in room", but NOT necessarily malicious.  

     Think Jan is dead on the mark re: possible need for a smaller cath, esp. to reduce possible trauma/pain in a pt. who's already high risk for urinary infections.

Little out of nursing practice here on this part--working from memory here: Other nurses, please jump in & help, PRN!         Given you were having back surgery and were already a para (duration, not reported), COULD she have been concerned that an erection might indicate something going wonky with the surgery in terms of complications?  And picked an awkward way to ask "typical reaction during routine care"?