Do male nurses get less abuse than females by nursing supervisors and patients ?

[Lanceman]

My aunt (RN) was telling me that in her experience male nurses tend to not get yelled at as often and in general receive less abuse from fellow co-workers, supervisors, and patients. I am a male and will be entering a nursing program soon so I found this interesting. I would think that a great deal of After reading some of the bullying stories/threads on here I can't imagine people getting away with some of confrontations that were shared. I've been in the military for the last six years and except for bootcamp abusive behavior of subordinates or peers is not tolerated in any form. My question is "Has anyone else witnessed this type of double-standard when it comes to abusive behavior during face-to-face interactions ?". I am not asking about overall respect but rather confrontational situations. I have never cared what somebody thought of me personally but I will not tolerate somebody yelling into my face or vocally demeaning me. I am in no way suggesting anybody is better than somebody else or that it is right, deserved or whatever. I figure a lot of it depends on the individuals, specific situations and the overall atmosphere at the workplace. Thanks for any insight that is offered.

Lance

[ICUsleep]

I'll break it down simply.

When it comes to men, most male MD's see a male RN as another MAN first and an RN second. Basically, if he feels like blowing his top to a male nurse, he has to take into consideration that we can meet him out back and beat his butt to a pulp. This is a primitive assumption but rings true.

Personally, I have never been chewed out by a male MD. In fact, many of them treat me as a coworker. QUOTE]

I agree with you there. That part about being treated like a co-worker because you are male is what can be annoying to those of use who are female and are not treated nearly as such.

[However, I HAVE been chewed out by a female neurosurgeon.]

Ok, so you got chewed out by one doctor who was a female...and?

[Women are still typically undervalued even in today's modern society]

Sadly, yes.

[and I think a few of them will use even a little power to their advantage.]

...meaning?

[The same phenomenon occurs with teenage girls driving more aggressively than teenage boys ]

Not exactly. Insurance rates for male drivers are higher than for females and for a reason..

[because in a car they can be equal and take advantage of it.]

Wha?? In a car they can be "equal"? I thought they already were (equal). "take advantage of it"? huh?

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

I would have to mostly agree with Tweety, on this one. At my current place of employ, most of the docs hold both male and female nurses as equals...professionally. There are some little differences according to gender, but not enough here to make an example. I do see some differences in approach from male and female nurses towards patients at times, though. What I've seen on my floor...using that as my current reference...the male nurses, I think, make a little more conscious effort in how they approach, being mindful in how they may be perceived by patients. Female nurses really do not need to be as mindful to this factor because nursing as a field has been predominately female. Like Tweety, I've come out of report with much said about a particular difficult patient by a female nurse, but would not find the same during my interaction.

[ICUsleep]

Like Tweety, I've come out of report with much said about a particular difficult patient by a female nurse, but would not find the same during my interaction.

I, too, have come out of report having heard much said about a "difficult" pt. by female nurses, but I think it has more to do with the fact that there are MORE female nurses out there, not because female nurses in general act that way.Once there are more male nurses in the field, I'm sure we will see plenty of men describing patients as "difficult" as well.

What I am trying to get across here is that the vast majority of nurses are female, so it is unfair to generalize the behavior of "female nurses", because there is not enough male nurse representation to accurately compare the behaviors of female nurses and male nurses. Make sense?

It seems that the original post was asking if people have noticed a difference in the WAY male nurses are TREATED vs TREATMENT of female nurses, not the apparent differences in the ways that male and female nurses act....although it has been an interesting thread.:)

[Nitecap]

I do observe freq that women nurses may bring some perhaps at home stress to the work place and portray more generally neg attitudes maybe not necessarily toward pt's but pt's sense this. Now all you female RN's please dont blow this comment out of porportion, i just said in some instances.

I myself have taken a different approach to patient interaction. I am no longer oh baby this, oh baby that, let me scratch your big toe. I am straight forward with both pt and family at most times telling them what they dont want to here. If the MD's and other staff are beating around the bush giving hopefull at best prognosises I give my own opinion and will tell them like it is. Most families simply want the truth. How do i think the pt is doing, and i tell them if not doing good.

I have also taken a more personal trainer type approach to progessing my pts to get them out of the CV recovery room. Pushing them to their the limits on ambulating, oob to chair, IS, IPV ect. I also commnicate risks and give the options of not participating in these post op activities. Such as participate or prob get pneumonia, DVT, and be in hospital for an extra month. This approach deems to be an eye opener for the pt when they see the nurse is not gonna have sympathy for winers and non motivated pt's . They usually step up and do what I ask and in the end both families and pt's think I am a great nurse and actually make progress with pt's.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

It seems that the original post was asking if people have noticed a difference in the WAY male nurses are TREATED vs TREATMENT of female nurses, not the apparent differences in the ways that male and female nurses act....although it has been an interesting thread.:)

I was thinking that perhaps the way I was treated by the difficult patients was the difference in how I acted. So there is, in my opinion, a correlation to how one is treated to how one acts. The question being is it related to gender or not. Do male nurses act differently, and thus get different treatment in some cases? Or is the treatment they recieved based solely on the fact they are male? Maybe a bit of both.

[Nitecap]

To add to the above. From what I have seen as an ICU nurse is that MD's may chew out RN's that display less confidence in their own descision making whether male or female. If you are an astute clinician, know your pt as well as can be, proactive in delivering pt care, and dont need to call attending MD's every 5sec for little petty things then MD's will most of the time give you utmost respect.

If you act inconfident, practice not confident, always have to call the MD for things most nurses wouldnt, do the bare minimum at work delivering safe care but not really working the pt them yes most Dr's wil treat you with disrespect.

I believe that it's not a gender issue but rather a confidence/competence issue. If you act like you have no idea whats going on then staff and Docs will prob treat you that way. If you have no idea whats going on, at least act like you do and find out what the hell is going on ya know.

The thing I hate to see most is an agency RN with 20 yrs ICU experience totally lost, depending on new grads to help them thru the shift, brking down with the increased work load though they are making the bucks. Step up and take on the challenge, dont complain and be bitter. thats my 2cents, sorry if i went off, i just think if nurses really gave 100% effort everyday and fullfilled all aspects of your scope of practice we would get nothing but respect from just about everyone in this entire world.

[fins]

Someone mentioned having one of the female nurses describe a patient as difficult, but then not have a problem with the patient. I've seen that same situation several times. However, it has always been with a male patient.

I don't think the difference is with the nurses; I think it's with the patient. Some men, when given a female nurse, will act very needy - always on the call bell, oh I'm in so much pain, etc. When given a male nurse, though, their inner tough guy has to reassert himself. "What, me in pain? It's only a flesh wound."

So, I don't really think it's a matter of one set of nurses being less tolerant than others - I really do believe that male nurses sometimes see a different set of behavior from some patients than the female nurses do.

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

Someone mentioned having one of the female nurses describe a patient as difficult, but then not have a problem with the patient. I've seen that same situation several times. However, it has always been with a male patient.

I don't think the difference is with the nurses; I think it's with the patient. Some men, when given a female nurse, will act very needy - always on the call bell, oh I'm in so much pain, etc. When given a male nurse, though, their inner tough guy has to reassert himself. "What, me in pain? It's only a flesh wound."

So, I don't really think it's a matter of one set of nurses being less tolerant than others - I really do believe that male nurses sometimes see a different set of behavior from some patients than the female nurses do.

You make a very good point!

[mattsmom81]

I believe there is a great gender bias in healthcare and the males are seen more as a 'doctor' image and the females as caretakers, who by nature are 'supposed to' take more abuse and disrespect. I get this from patients all the time, and docs as well who treat the males on my unit more like 'buddies'.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I believe there is a great gender bias in healthcare and the males are seen more as a 'doctor' image and the females as caretakers, who by nature are 'supposed to' take more abuse and disrespect. I get this from patients all the time, and docs as well who treat the males on my unit more like 'buddies'.

yes yes yes.---- And in school , the male students got by with skipping class or sleeping during class. No, they were not failed at any cost. I saw them get 2nd chances on what were SUPPOSED TO BE onetime pass or fail exams (like pharmacology) where the women did not. There was DEFINATE bias, and these men KNEW it and played it to the hilt. Can't blame them.

[CHATSDALE]

Lance the answer to your question is YES YES YES

not in all situations and in all facilities but yes i hav e seen glaring examples.

one lpn [male] asked if he could run to the bank for a few minutes to get his check in the bank...said he would clock out to go..DON said 'son't be silly, go on so that you can get it in before 3'

same DON different lpn [female]...nurse got a call from school that child was sick and she needed to pick up dtr at school and take her to grandmothers house and would return...round trip = 30 min or less....acted exasperated told her to be sure and clock out and to notify her on return

same thing happen to cna, about the check...not allowed to leave...

as for patients responding different than you are described in report this happens all the time .. sometimes patients just feel better or worse at different times of the day

if this is something that happens frequently it may show incompetence in the nurse but if it is occasional the difference might be the patient

[SmilingBluEyes]

There is also bias against men in some places, like my specialty: OB. Men are often NOT welcomed by patients and female staff alike. I don't get that. Women accept male ob's almost unconditionally, but not male nurses? That is a serious gender bias problem, as well.