Male L&D nurses

Nurses General Nursing

Published

something i noticed while going through the nursing program was every male nursing students fear and dread of the obstetrics floor. in fact, one man in my class was not even able to participate much in clinical because each laboring woman denied having a male nursing student. this made me think, why would it matter? there was a male doctor in the room. do you think male l&d nurses are appropriate?

Maybe it's because they want to. It completely boggles my mind that we are even having this discussion. If you as a patient want to request a different nurse for WHATEVER reason, fine that's your right. If you aren't comfortable, please make it known. No nurse that I know wants to take care of someone who doesn't feel comfortable. Like someone said earlier, there's plenty of work to go around.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
why can't they go work in the nursery???....i mean that's a touchy feely kind of place too..:)

I don't know where you get the idea that you can dictate what field a male nuse can enter, just because you have a problem with getting help from a man doesn't mean the rest of us do. Personally I didn't care if my care giver had 3 arm and came from outer space as long as they helped me and my baby.

The nurery is nothing like helping a baby into the world to take its first breath. BTW in most hospitals around here the babys room in with mom the only time it goes to a nursery it goes to the NICU.

The kind if discrimination you are talking about is what women have been fighting against for decades; to deny the same rights to men is just plain wrong. IMHO

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Seems to me there's good male nurses and bad male nurses, and good female nurses and bad female nurses, and patients who wouldn't want a male around and patients who don't care so much. How can you turn that into a policy that excludes a whole gender from a whole section of the hospital? Perhaps we could just have male med/surg units and female med/surg floors, and male ERs and female ERs, and only staff with the same gender.

I mean, don't patients in any unit have the right to ask for specifically male or female nurses if they want? Or don't they? Why is L&D different from any other unit? Are the intimacy and privacy issues any different from any other floor? Am I going to have to worry about giving baths to women, or not placing foleys in women?

I'm just trying to find out what these issues are, and I'm enjoying the discussion.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

I don't discriminate against anyone. I am an old fashioned type of nurse who doesn't believe a guy has any business in L&D. SORRY if I offended anyone. I really don't care where someone works and since I work in the OR around a majority of women I can't really justify my stance. Since men who come into the OR can't reject a female nurse who is about to prep for a circ because the majority of OR nurses are female. On the other side of the coin, L&D employs a 99.9% female staff and patients don't have to even concern themselves with this issue. If I go into an OR for a procedure and I request a male nurse to prep and circ but I am told the department has NO male nurses, what am I to do? As you can see, in my eyes, the issue is really one sided with women having more of a choice than men. I know stupid opinion, but it is the only one I have for now. Anyways, this is an issue with administration and not necessarily with the nurses themselves. Even if all the L&D nurses said they would like to have a male on the unit, the very first patient to complain, that guy would be gone. The patients always come first. This is fun! Mike

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I adored my male ob nurse when i had my daughter 5 years ago. i did not need anyone with some right of passage bonding to help me out...some of the females were quite rough and not very sympathetic if you ask me....

men belong in nursing where they choose to work. i have no problem seeing them in ob......they can be WONDERFUL.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I don't discriminate against anyone. I am an old fashioned type of nurse who doesn't believe a guy has any business in L&D. SORRY if I offended anyone. I really don't care where someone works and since I work in the OR around a majority of women I can't really justify my stance. Since men who come into the OR can't reject a female nurse who is about to prep for a circ because the majority of OR nurses are female. On the other side of the coin, L&D employs a 99.9% female staff and patients don't have to even concern themselves with this issue. If I go into an OR for a procedure and I request a male nurse to prep and circ but I am told the department has NO male nurses, what am I to do? As you can see, in my eyes, the issue is really one sided with women having more of a choice than men. I know stupid opinion, but it is the only one I have for now. Anyways, this is an issue with administration and not necessarily with the nurses themselves. Even if all the L&D nurses said they would like to have a male on the unit, the very first patient to complain, that guy would be gone. The patients always come first. This is fun! Mike

So we have a patient in our facility who is also "old fashioned" and from the south and doesnt' want any black nurses or CNAs caring for him. He doesn't believe blacks have any business in healthcare, or in the front seat of a bus for that matter. Our administration told him that if he doesn't like it to go somewhere else because our staff is about 50/50 black/white. Should we accomodate him since he is old fashioned, or ask the African employees WHY whey want to come to the US to work in nursing homes? Now I understand the difference with male/female if a patient requests a female nurse, but for the hospital to just say "NO MEN IN L&D" I think is just wrong and intolerant, much like your post. That is MY opinion.

Tim

P.S. I think all these male vs. female threads are getting tiresome.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I could care less what genitalia my nurse has. If a man wants to work as a L&D nurse and can find work, that's his business. I don't see any reason for him to explain himself anymore than a male OB.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
In the US, there are facilities that will restrict a male from working in a certain area.

Muslim women do not allow any males to care for them, be it a physician or

nurse; as long as they have the choice offered. It is not permitted in their religion. Of course, clients have the right to choose, but nurses should also have the right to work in the type of unit that they prefer.

Islam does not restrict what sex a medical provider must be. That is a restriction some muslim cultures impose just as some muslim cultures require women to wear head/body covering when outside the home.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

The problem here is everyone is forgetting who is important----the PATIENT! It doesn't really matter what you or I want because it seems this thread is concentrating only on what the nurse wants. Yes, I agree we can go in many directions on this issue and see it on many different opinions. Who cares if a nurse jumps up and down and demands to work where they want to work, the bottom line is if the patient doesn't want them because of their gender then the point becomes moot. It seems the issue here is, I want to work there so it is my right and the heck with what the patient wants. WRONG! Also, tim what does this thread have to do with black or white? That remark is really way out of line because this is a gender issue and not a racial one. Like I said before if a guy wants to do it let him. I just think you will find most hospital administrators will think different and that is why they keep lawyers on retainers. Having said that, no more posts on this issue because I have said all I am going to say and don't like to get into ridiculous arguments. Good luck to any guy who can get into L&D, it's rough. Mike

Up Vote Up Vote ×
The problem here is everyone is forgetting who is important----the PATIENT! It doesn't really matter what you or I want because it seems this thread is concentrating only on what the nurse wants. Yes, I agree we can go in many directions on this issue and see it on many different opinions. Who cares if a nurse jumps up and down and demands to work where they want to work, the bottom line is if the patient doesn't want them because of their gender then the point becomes moot. It seems the issue here is, I want to work there so it is my right and the heck with what the patient wants. WRONG! Also, tim what does this thread have to do with black or white? That remark is really way out of line because this is a gender issue and not a racial one. Like I said before if a guy wants to do it let him. I just think you will find most hospital administrators will think different and that is why they keep lawyers on retainers. Having said that, no more posts on this issue because I have said all I am going to say and don't like to get into ridiculous arguments. Good luck to any guy who can get into L&D, it's rough. Mike

I was using the racial example to make a point. You stated that you're "old fashioned" and don't think any male has any business in L&D. I bascially was trying to say that "old fashioned" isn't the best reason to do anything. Should we go back to women wearing the "old fashioned" n urses uniforms? I used the racist patient example to show you how ridiculous you sound when you say that to try and justify doing ANYTHING in 2004 based on what was done 20 years ago.

If a patient requests a female nurse in L&D thats FINE, I totally respect that. But to ban men from that unit just for being a man is closed minded and outright discriminitory.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
The problem here is everyone is forgetting who is important----the PATIENT! It doesn't really matter what you or I want because it seems this thread is concentrating only on what the nurse wants. Yes, I agree we can go in many directions on this issue and see it on many different opinions. Who cares if a nurse jumps up and down and demands to work where they want to work, the bottom line is if the patient doesn't want them because of their gender then the point becomes moot. It seems the issue here is, I want to work there so it is my right and the heck with what the patient wants. WRONG!

Who said nevermind what the patient wants? I am a potential patient and don't care if I have a male nurse, so there is obviously some room for male nurses in OB. If your so didn't want a male, no one would force her to have one. The only thing I would argue with is blanket statements like "men have no business in OB" because judging from some posts, some of us wouldn't care.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

This is just an old debate, don't you all think? I mean, basically, the patients have rights and are going to tell us if they don't want a male nurse and we are going to respect that if at all possible, correct? So, what's the beef? I'm sure there are patients that don't want female nurses (or dr's for that matter) too!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment