Do you guys notice this kind of stuff....??

[wje9516]

This is a continuation of a former question....I have a BS in Finance...

Do you guys notice the following...??

Discrimination towards males in Nursing School or on the job, a tendency to view the male nurse as handy forklift?? Also, age discrimination especially as it relates to older men in nursing, (40's) (in other words, we are only in it either because we had to pick something due to economy etc., or we erroneously assume we will get into mgmt quicker than our female counterparts..) just the opposite I sure..

BIG QUESTION...I have a back that is fine as long as I don't use it much...!!! (pretty sure this is the kiss of death for nursing) I usually have to be careful with it....the thought of being off-center moving a heavy patient etc., makes my lower back flinch just sitting here..., doesn't take too much to make it tighten up, then it's downhill from there....re-injuring is a given if I have to keep doing whatever it was that injured it first...

I am in great shape muscularly and cardio-wise, etc., but the back needs loving care...THIS is what scares me more than a male-hating bitter divorcee transferring her unresolved anger on me....I've worked in healthcare arenas, primarily female, and you learn not to take the male bashing too seriously...just don't get too comfortable and return the love...

AND, whats your take on the VISA nursing importation issues...do you see this eating up demand over the next decades..this seems very disheartening...Admittedly, you need a heart to be an effective nurse, but also have to be pragmatic about your finances etc.,

Is it really just a matter of remaining positive, nose to grindstone, the workplace is always driven by gender and political issues....or is there a female groupthink, be it corrected politically but still harbored, that will make life more difficult for the male in this profession....I hear they are either harassed or cuddled depending on certain obvious attributes...!!

Thanks

Bill

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

I guess I jumped in this discussion a little late but I'll go ahead and comment. My husband wanted to be a nurse a little later in life. He had been a paramedic/fireman for years and one thing he didn't want to do in nursing was a lot of heavy lifting, said he had done his share already. Nothing wrong with his back other than it ached when abused like most of us. He also liked highly technical equipment (I guess lots of guys like that sort of thing). So he thought NICU would be a perfect environment: small patients, lots of complicated equipment. He went straight to NICU after nursing school and has always loved the work and the patients. He had issues adjusting to the culture (turns out the unit he went to work with really resented having a man invade their space), but now he is well accepted and liked. True; he is called on to fix malfunctioning electronics due to his being a guy but there's not too much stress for his back. Occasionally one has to push around an isolette or radiant warmer but they are all on wheels and not a big deal.

Also remember, whereas all other patient populations are getting heavier and heavier, premature infants are only getting smaller and smaller (but let's not start an ethics debate about that one right now).