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Fatwa CenterA male doctor treating female patients without necessity
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. Please answer this question because the answers that I was given are not accurate for my situation. I want to know whether I can become a physician working in an emergency department or urgent care center? I am male. In these fields, I am randomly assigned patients, female or male, even if there is a female physician present. Also, in such fields, we often see patients come in for non-emergency reasons (ex: a cough or cold), but we still are required to do a physical exam. Am I allowed to go into this field? It is not like they will allow me to see male patients only.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, we praise your keenness on abiding by the Islamic conditions in working as a doctor. Indeed, a believer should be like this. So we ask Allaah to enable you to do good and benefit the nation by you and make people like you abundant in number. May Allaah reward you.
The basic principle is that a male doctor treats a male patient and a female doctor treats a female patient, except in case of necessity, as we have already highlighted in fataawa 81316 and 85492.
If you cannot observe these Islamic conditions in the field of your work in this hospital, in a way that you are forced to treat women even if there is no necessity or need, then in our view you should not join this hospital, regardless of whether that is in the emergency room, intensive care, or others sections.
We advise you to leave it, and we hope that Allaah may grant you a better job. If a person leaves something for the sake of Allaah, then Allaah will recompense him with something better than it, as He has promised; Allaah says (what means): {And whoever fears Allaah - He will make for him a way out and will provide for him from where he does not expect.} [Quran 65:2-3]
Besides, the Prophet said, “You do not leave anything out of fear of Allaah except that Allaah gives you something better.” [Ahmad]
Allaah knows best.
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