Originally Posted by Marie_LPN
A separate forum does not convey this at all to me. It seems one-sided. Perhaps because i do not see nursing or anything for that matter as "female" this or "male" that.
Flame away, please.
You mean because we voice our comments anyway without the new male forum? That's true. You and I have discussed this before and as a man I definitely think that the media and some people in general make way too big a deal out of men going into nursing.
We're still the minority by far but it's hardly anything new.
I think that female input is still quite valuable in whatever issues get discussed here.
For instance, I'm no longer an LPN but I still visit and participate in LPN threads because I'm interested and concerned about issues that affect LPN practice and employment and I think that my previous LPN experience has something valuable to offer in these discussions.
I also no longer work in Med/Surg (thank God) but still interested in Med/Surg issues and still like to stay in touch with what's happening on those awful Med/Surg floors these days and what those poor nurses endure on a daily basis. (Not that ICU is any picnic either but better for me)
I guess I don't have any issues about being a male RN right now because I don't feel that I get treated any differently by my female colleagues and there are a lot of men working on my unit.
But I have had jobs in the past where I was treated differently because I was the only guy on the floor and was used as a mule to be worked and received the heaviest lifting patients (or most combative patients) and even if I wasn't assigned to them I was called out of my patient's rooms to do their heavy work for them. Often from out of shape RN's who obviously got paid more than I did as an LPN but seemed to think that it was my job to take care of their patients for them.
I'm 5'8" and weigh 140-145 lbs yet was supposed to somehow keep the combative patients in check and get 250-300 lb patients out of bed because "you're the man on the floor."
This happened to me at more than one facility so I know that it goes on elsewhere and I'm not alone in this.
And perhaps because you're a female you can't see this because you haven't experienced it or it never went on anywhere you worked so you never saw it.
That's just one example of male specific issues that I think are important to be discussed here.
But we do agree that there is way to much hype out there about men in nursing.
Would you like to comment?
