Here is something I would not have predicted: it seems EASIER to get the nudity over with EARLIER in the caregiver/client relationship. I would have thought that it would be more comfortable for two people to get to know each other a little first. It seemed clear to me, when I was sent to a new client, that the client might prefer not to strip down on our first session together, but might instead want to wait until I’m more familiar.

But actually, getting to know each other first seems to make it MORE awkward. With the clients who needed help with a shower the very first day we met, our roles are so clear: I am the caregiver, and I help with showers. That’s my job. I’m still just a generic, polite set of scrubs to them. Whereas if we wait, because the client feels shy with a stranger, it feels MORE awkward with time. Now we know each other, almost in a SOCIAL way. We’ve chatted, many times. Now it’s one person taking off clothes in front of another person.

I can only speak for myself, of course, and only from the caregiver role. Maybe the clients are feeling completely different about it. On the other hand, I’m thinking back to when I was in the hospital after my c-sections, and nurses saw me naked. There was a hurdle to get over, but then it was over. And I think it worked mostly because one nurse was almost interchangeable with another: I wasn’t there long enough to get to know anyone.