how do we change nurses opinions on male nurses?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

i guess this kinda goes along with my other post. I our discussion the topic came up that some older nurses do not seem to believe males should or can be nurses. especially in the ob areas. how could their opinions be changed or do you even think it is at all possible?

Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

Over simplistic response is to wait until they retire.

Seriously it is a problem, not only in OB GYN. The perception of the role of the Nurse varies with gender, basic nursing preparation, and generational issues. These differences are deep seated and very difficult if not impossible to change. At the very least whether you approve of males in nursing or not you should accept them and not drive them out as I have seen done. It's really the patients choice who cares for them.

Changing the name of the profession would also help, but thats not going to happen. -:)

Unfortunately I witnessed a male nurse get ganged up upon by his female coworkers when he was newly hired. Two nurses went to the DON and accused him of sexual harassment. The DON called him in and after hearing his side, basically told him that she didn't buy off on the story the females told her. When a new DON came on board, she was told the story by the power monger and it was only a matter of time before the male nurse was wrongly terminated. To the best of my knowledge he never worked again as a nurse. BTW, he was a good nurse.

Mark,

The best way to teach these older nurses is to know your stuff and set the good example. You KNOW you do a good job and you are working in the last vestion of womens nursing. L&D is no easier than any other field and getting flack from co-workers doesn't help.

Do your job-do it well and may the force be with you.

-Russell

rusty thats what i do and i am blessed to have great support from my coworkers and manager. the topic just came up because one of my coworkers asked another hospital if they would hire me. she told them i was an excellent nurse and patients loved me. even though the hospital is working short staffed and using agecy nurses and according to some it is staffed at a dangerous level. the nurse manager will not hire me just because i am male.

Specializes in MS Home Health.

My husband left bedside because of all the crap he took from the female nurses. He said they treated him like crap most of the time and some of them actually said it was because he was male he could not understand being a female RN. He is the director of a hospice and loves it.

renerian

Specializes in Hospice.

My husband is also a nurse. He doesn't do OB but he is a bedside nurse. Due to the fact that we are a small hospital, there is not "different wings". If you work the floor you work, post-partum, med-surg, peds, etc......... Gary is an excellent nurse. I've never seen any of the other floor nurses give him a hard time. He has however, had a rough time from several of the charge nurses. He also had an incident about a dressing on a C-section once, that suspended him for 3 days. He was doing his rountine checks, and he did have a female CNA in the room with him. The patients husband, instead of saying anything to Gary, like.......I perfer a female nurse, went to the Charge nurse and complained. Of course, Gary lost his temper, w/ the charge nurse and how she handled it, so he was suspended for 3 days.

It annoys me that our "head" nurses wll not back up our male nurses. We only have 3 male nurses at this moment, 2 RN's and 1 LPN. We do have several EMT-P's working the ER.

My husband and I are currently going to RN school and I just wonder what kind of other roadblocks he will face?

Ok, I know I rambled! Sorry!

But, as I've said in other post. With my last child, I had a male OB nurse. He was HUGH.........and since I'm from the south, no offence ya'll, he was black. That's highly unusual, especially in the south. Anyway, I could not have ask for a more caring, wonderful nurse. I only wish I knew where he was now. He was a fine example of a nurse........period!!!

one of the problems is that we are called "Male Nurses" why is it necessary everyone can see we are men.

Would any call a female police office a female policeman?

No!!! so why should we put up with it.

I may be a man but when I am at work I'm a nurse/midwife MHN.Nurse should be a gender neutral word.

to solve the problem like some of the posters have said wait for the bias ed nurses to retire ,work hard prove yourself to your patients and peers and don't shake when you get your pay cheque at the end of the month.MHN

I have never had that experience. All the nurses I work with seem to think that male nurses are the best thing since sliced bread, and I am in OB which is traditionally thought of as a tough place for men!

MHN, it is just like "female doctors" we have! I hear that all the time.

pettiness...

i think that it is a generational issue too, and guys just have to wait until the perpetrators retire. i think a lot of the older nurses, may be under the impression that male nurses are homosexual too, so which starts another generational cycle of uncomfortableness.

honestly, i love working with nurses that are male, gay or straight. i would much rather work with all males, than put up with the petty BS of female nurses, every day, all day. i think it would be a much happier workplace, with more male nurses. they break up the monotony!

now everybody...i am not putting down female nurses (as i obviously am one myself), but i just think it is our nature...to be petty at times. i have witnessed it with all the female nurses i have worked with, whether we are friends or not.

just my opinion!

becky

I totally agree with ICUBecky about preferring to work with male nurses. They are there to take care of the patients and I have yet to meet one who conducted himself like MANY of the females I have worked with. It's too bad, but that behavior is a small part of why it is so hard to get nursing properly recognized as a profession. To be regarded as a professional, it helps if the majority act like professionals. Just my observations and opinion.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

it's not just limited to NURSING you know. When I was military, I was referred to as a "female" troop. ( all us "FEMALES" were, like dogs or cats).......never hear the term "male" troop. In the olden days, before my time, women in the Air Force/Army Air Corps were called " WACs" ...I guess "female" airmen was an improvement, but still I bristled. like i was somehow INFERIOR ...so Mark I know pretty darn well how you feel and I have no simple answers except to continue doing what you do......garner respect in the superior care you render your patients and the professionalism you model. Slowly, minds change. But small ones never seem to ......better to ignore them if you can. And keep on keeping on, like I did when I was in the military. Eventually, you do rise above it.:p

+ Add a Comment