Now here's something I must share with you! (as reported by the Sun
newspaper).
A male student nurse in England won a 'landmark' ruling on Friday
against his employer (Barts and London NHS Trust) who banned him from
examining female Muslim patients without a chaperone. A judge ruled that
it was unfair for him to be excluded from performing intimate procedures
on women simply because they could have been offended by his sex. The
student (who is now a qualified nurse but works as a financial services
salesman) was apparently made to fell 'untrustworthy' after being
refused permission to carry out an ECG on an Asian woman; he was also
asked to leave the room when another patient was having a cervical
smear. He stated after the court ruling that 'finally male nurses have
the right to be treated equally with others in the profession'. Wendy
Irwin, head of diversity and equality at the Royal College of Nursing
said that the ruling was likely to have a huge impact on hospitals and
staff in the health service. She added that the decision marks a
watershed, it sends a clear message to employers that trainee nurses
qualify to do their jobs regardless of their sex and by discriminating
against men they are frustrating talent which is not good for staff or
patients.
And I thought we were working towards building a nursing force that
provided culturally appropriate and sensitive care! I am also wondering
as to what the Nursing and Midwifery Council has to say about this. Any
comment? And what about you? Where does this leave transcultural health
and nursing?
Regards
Rena.
Professor (I)Rena Papadopoulos,
Head of Research Centre for Transcultural Studies in Health,
Chair, School Ethics Committee,
Editor-in-Chief Journal of Health, Social and Environmental Issues,
Programme Leader, MSc in European Nursing,
School of Health and Social Sciences, Middlesex University,
10 Highgate Hill, London N19 5LW,
Tel: 02084116626 Fax: 02084116106
Why not visit our centre website on:
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/rctsh/
WHY NOT ENROL ON OUR NEW AND INNOVATIVE WEB-BASED (PARTLY) MASTERS IN
EUROPEAN NURSING. GO TO
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/rctsh/eu_masters_in_nursing.htm
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