Male physios with female patients

This post does not only refer to my experiences at a paediatric placement, but also in the adult sector of the rural outpatient physiotherapy.

What i found eye-opening throughout this year was the lengths that we are taught to go to to ensure we minimise the risks of sexual harassment claims. Through both of these clinics i was taught extra steps that must be taken to make sure that i was not treating female patients individually.

When entering the clinical year i thought myself to be a very professional student with the only objective being to treat people and make them better. I never thought myself to be sexually deviant and thus when all this information was handed to me, i was somewhat confronted. I was informed that even with adult patients, i was not to be in a room with a female patient alone and needed someone else there to supervise in that situation. I can understand the relevence in the paediatric setting, but i thought these measures were somewhat overzealous in the adult sector. On speaking to my supervisor about this she informed me that they are extra careful with young male students in the rural sectors and that these measures would not stay once we are graduates and working full-time.

I was wondering if any others had any rules imposed that were confronting or have any situations were these measures were beneficial?