Hello all,
I am an Iranian-American and an Ob/Gyn. In our culture we are always taught that doctor is mahram so there is really never a religious issue when I have iranian patients and obviously i speak persian with them so they are more comfortable. I also have many patients from other majority Muslim cultures like Turkey or east African nations and have never had any issues. However I occasionally get patients from some cultures in levant or south asia or arabian peninsula that apparently do not feel that doctors are mahram and refuse to see me, or worse even talk to me, and even more worse the husband will interfere!! I understand this is their preference and culture but the nature of my work often has emergency and possible life-threatening situations, and if I am the only physician available then I am legally and ethically obligated to care for the patient if their life is in danger or if their baby's life is in danger. I am wondering if anyone has any advice for this kind of situation. i had a patient refuse an emergency c-section unless all OR staff was female, which is not possible at 3am (or any time really). Thank god it has only happened a handful of times in many years but every time it does happen it is very stressful for me and the nursing staff as there are literally lives at stake and once I had to phone my hospital's legal team at 3am to figure out what to do and I am hoping there is maybe something I could say or quote to these patients maybe something that is particular to their culture, to help them understand the situation so everyone can be safe and healthy.
thank you for your help and please let me know if more explanation is needed. again this is not to generalize any culture in particular as this is a rare issue, but scary enough that it has stuck in mind that i feel i should ask for help that isn't from a lawyer.
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