[icunurse2007]

I am one of two male nurses that works in our unit...I was informed yesterday that the two male nurses can't work together in case some poor old lady comes in and wants to be our patient that she "MIGHT" feel odd being in the hospital with two male nurses with 10 years ICU experience each as her nurse...BUT two female nurses can work tegether and have five male patients in the same unit and she considers that NOT a problem.....Is there a problem here I would love your comments

[58flyer]

Sounds like whoever is telling you this has their own insecurities. Maybe HR should step in if you're talking about a supervisor or coworker.

[gonzo1]

This sounds discriminating to me. I would probably pursue it up the chain a little bit. After all most patients want the most highly trained and sex doesn't matter. This just doesn't make much sense in this day and age. Esp with a nursing shortage.
Best of luck and please keep us posted

[dekatn]

A lot of nites we have a male dr. and male nurse working our er, they will on numerous occasions have a female nurse come to er to assist with female pt., even in this day and age, it is still more common for males to be accused of sexual abuse or wrong doing than a female. Some things never change. Also, I'm from the south and the majority of our elderly female pt are really uncomfortable with a male taking care of them. I'm not saying this is right, it's just the way it is in our society.

[dekatn]

We also get a lot of younger female pt that had rather cause trouble for someone than to eat when they are hungry!!!

[RNSC]

We also get a lot of younger female pt that had rather cause trouble for someone than to eat when they are hungry!!!

It does sound like a safety issue more than a discrimination issuse. I know ministers and counselors that will not meet with a lone female or will leave the office door open to protect themselves from any appearence of wrongdoing. It ain't right but it happens to the best of men. Seems to me that someone is looking out for you and your co-workers.

[fins]

Plus, be sure that you don't have two minority nurses on at the same time, just in case some poor old lady would only feel comfortable with a white nurse. Oh, and make sure that you don't have two gay nurses on at the same time, because that poor old lady might only feel comfortable with a straight nurse.

Why is it that every other form of discrimination is horrible, and absolutely should not be tolerated (even by patients), but everyone shrugs and basically says "yeah, people should be allowed to be sexist, and we should set up our hospital to accommodate them."

Gender-based discrimination is (supposedly) as illegal as racial discrimination. I say supposedly because God knows discrimination against men is alive and well in nursing. If your management is actually stupid enough to make the "no two men on at the same time" an official policy, then they have violated federal law.

All that being said, the sad reality is that discrimination against men in nursing isn't considered discrimination, it's considered ...(fill in whatever justification you want to use here.) You can acknowledge it, and you can regret it, but don't expect to get rid of it, because far too many people basically think that it's ok.

[RNsRWe]

I think if you just break it down into something as simple as "it's about the patient, not the nurse" it makes alot of sense.

It doesn't matter if you don't think she should feel uncomfortable. Fact is, many elderly ladies DO feel uncomfortable with a male nurse in an intimate situation; why should their emotional wellbeing be jeopardized for the nurse's preferred assignment?

I'm a female, needed to insert a foley on a female patient. Didn't think about it at first when I grabbed the nearest male, a tech, to help with positioning, holding light, etc. But she sure told me she would NOT have him assist, and that was fine: why should he be offended? HE wasn't about to be splayed to the world! I've also had a male patient that greatly preferred to have a foley inserted BY a male. Never mind that the female nurses had seen every single inch of him nekked, he just wanted this particular intimacy done by another male. Should we cry discrimination, or just let the guy have some peace??

So, forget about whether you find it discriminatory. The patient is allowed her intimate comforts. And then, too, do YOU want to be the nurse who DID wind up alone with her, feeling as she does....and there was no witness to back up your assertions that "nothing like that happened"?

[CHATSDALE]

i do not think that the schedule should be based on gender
if you ae professional then you can usually do any procedure that needs to be done
i know that at one time the or at one of the hospitals would not allow a female in the or during a tupr but this was like 30 years ago..not saying it was right then but it that is the way it was and that is the way it will always be if no one stands up and objects

[BBFRN]

It does sound like discrimination to me, too. If you're on the CCU, your patients are going to be too sick to care if their nurse is male or female. Do you have female CNAs? If so, can't they do most of the personal care?

Give me a break. We have lots of males on our unit, and none of them have ever had a problem, plus they're the most experienced nurses we have. I would be very upset if I were in your shoes.