[fairness]

I think we have a serous problem. Not enough men in the nursing profession. Way too much estrogen (which causes whining, back biting, gossiping about your co-workers). I just want a mixture of males and females who are competent and kind to thier patients and co-workers. It's been a really long time since I've seen teamwork at the hospital where I work. I've seen alot of new nurses who believe they know everything, have attitude problems and get by with it through management!! I also want to say that if you have poor leadership, NOTHING will ever work...

[natania]

I bet you are going to be roasted alive for saying it, but I generally agree: too much estrogen can be a very scary thing.

[Suesquatch]

I dunno, estrogen overload never leads to the violence of testosterone poisoning.

I have worked in all woman-groups in fields outside of nursing and have loved it. Nursing, with men or women, has a peculiar culture. I frankly believe that floor nurses become like caged animals. The inability to leave the floor for lunch or take a whiz when necessary does odd things to folks. Couple that with extreme responsibility, patient overload, mediocre pay, and lack of autonomy and you get a tense situation fraught with finger-pointing.

I like good nurses. Gender is irrelevant to me.

[TheCommuter]

I'd rather work with competent, helpful male nurses.

I'd also rather work with competent, helpful female nurses.

As long as we can set our personal differences aside and work together in harmony, I don't give a flying crap about any nurse's gender.

[bethin]

Originally Posted by fairness

I think we have a serous problem. Not enough men in the nursing profession. Way too much estrogen (which causes whining, back biting, gossiping about your co-workers).

Replace estrogen with testosterone and you get the same thing.

Personally, I have more fun with my male coworkers than female.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but can't we just forget gender for a minute and understand a nurse is a nurse? Gender has nothing to do with quality of care, IMO.

[nursemike]

I very much appreciate those female co-workers who go a little out of their way from time to time to make a new male nurse feel more welcome and comfortable in a role that can, at times, be a little uncertain for a guy. I'm lucky to work with quite a few of them. My instructors in nursing school were similarly encouraging and helpful.

Going on ten years in healthcare and three as a nurse, I can think of all sorts of things about the profession that are less than ideal, but working with women is not one of them. In many ways, it is very different from carpentry, but in one essential, it's very similar: if you get on a good crew, everything goes a lot better.

I do enjoy having a few male coworkers around, if only because I sometimes suspect my female colleagues don't really care all that much whether the new unit clerk is hot.

ETA: It has been my experience, throughout my working life, that a big part of getting on a good crew is being a good crew member. If you approach your coworkers with respect and a sense of teamwork, they tend to treat you the same. It was true in fast food and construction, and it has been true in nursing.

[mrsportsmedicine]

Originally Posted by Suesquatch

I like good nurses. Gender is irrelevant to me.

As a male nurse.. I can tend to be biases when it comes to the nursing fields ignorance to the male gender, but the women have been fighting this battle a lot longer than we have.

It sounds more like a quality of a work environment, not so much as the gender of your co-workers.

The great thing about our profession is, you can change the scenery if it's not what makes you happy.

Best of luck.

[K98]

Actually, I would rather stay home. However, work is a necessary evil, and our staff is a mix of male and female nurses. We get along well, and enjoy working with each other. For the most part that is what makes the job bearable. That is also why our staff hates being pulled so much. You are away from your buddies in a strange environment.

[elkpark]

I would "rather" work with competent, pleasant co-workers. I don't care about gender. I've known good, bad, and mediocre female nurses, and I've known good, bad, and mediocre male nurses. And I've known both female and male colleagues who were jerks and/or a pain in the behind.

And, while I've liked and respected most of my colleagues of the male persuasion whom I've known over the years and welcome men into the field, I don't see the low numbers of men in the profession as a "problem" that needs, necessarily, to be "fixed."

[TheCommuter]

Originally Posted by K98

Actually, I would rather stay home.

I'd rather stay home, too. Coming into work on a daily basis is crappy for me. I don't like being awakened by an alarm clock every day.

However, the bills must get paid somehow, some way.