I have trouble admitting that I will be a nurse

Nursing Students Male Students

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I will be starting accelerated BSN program in 2 months. I have some anxiety about starting school partly because I'm leaving a good career and also I feel a little embarassed about being a nurse. Actually, embarassed is not the right word, I'm little apprehensive about the nursing field due to the fact that I don't really know what it would be like working in an all female dominated field. Also, threads like "why male nurses are looked down on?" doesn't help elleviate my anxiety (which I have stayed away from). I keep asking myself if this is the right choice especially because I'm making a huge financial investment. I ultimately want to go onto a CRNA program. However, I still need to go through nursing school and be a bedside nurse for a while. Anyway, I'm mostly excited about starting school, but I little apprehensive too. Has anybody else felt like this before starting school? Please tell me that this is normal. Thanks.

I'm proud that I'm going to be a nurse. I constantly get experienced nurses, teachers, and patients telling me that more men in nursing is a great thing. I think you have to know and be confident that what you're doing is intensely challenging on both an intellectual and interpersonal level and important on so many levels that you can hardly begin to describe them.

You didn't go home with her!?? Sigh.. lol

Specializes in Forensic Psychiatric Nursing.

I like nursing. Spending a couple days in the NICU softened me up a little, and I found the experience beautiful. By nature I'm an angry guy. I have baggage.

I spent a day feeding a preemie, rocking him, and changing his diapers. I can't think of anything that's led me to more optimism and life-affirming thoughts than that day. My day today in the OB ward was similar, it was a beautiful day. I helped a woman with her labor, cleaned up a little, and shook a new dad's hand.

In my previous professional life, I used to rob people over the phone. I was fairly good at turning people's faith in humanity against them. I had a nice beemer in my parking space, all the respect in the world, and a knot of 100's leaking out of my pocket. I wouldn't trade my life now for my life then for anything.

I live a respectable life now, not hurting anyone, and being of service to my fellow human beings. Nursing is a job, a career, a good way of life. I'm proud to be a nurse(ing student) and am very much looking forward to a bright future.

Suck it up kiddo, you're going to be fine.

On the other hand. What's going on in your head that nursing is some kind of shameful thing to do? Is it women's work? Is it digging around in a curl of **** that bothers you? Is it the stinky old people? Is it the respect of your peers?

If I were in your shoes right now... and I was a year ago... maybe it's time to get out a pen and a pad of paper and do some writing. Put it down in front of you in black and white. What's bothering you? Make it concrete and think about it. Chew on it. What if what's most important to you is how other people view your choices? That could be the case. If it is, you need to make a decision.

I had a geriatric woman tell me the other day that she prefers male nurses because they are more tolerant and "kinder."

I wasn't so sure when I first started, but the more I read about male nurses, I was happy to learn that we get to bypass the self-cannibalization that some female nurses suffer when they enter.

No slant on females at all, but in my experience on the boards and chatting in hospitals with male staff, many have stated that when older nurses and younger nurses (female) don't get along, it's specific to them. Almost as if some of "crabbier" (his term, not mine) nurses view younger girls coming in a mother-daughter sort of light.

Calls to the pharmacy and other seemingly unimportant tasks may even be easier for the male nurse. My buddy who works at Banner Desert said that some of the male nurses often get taken for doctors and deal with a lot less hassle as a result.

It's a sexist truth it seems, but it's self-perpetuated. As long as the newer students grow up to be the crabby nurses they used to hate, the circle continues to complete itself :uhoh3:

I can't wait to work with children in a life-saving setting once I graduate. I'd wear the "I help save the lives of children" badge with pride any day :)

Specializes in ICU.

I will admit I was a little bit apprehensive in telling my buddies... I got some ribbing for the guys... and I told them they could call me "Gaylord Focker" to which they laughed and just called me Focker. "Hopefully I never have to see any of you in a hospital bed..." I replied. "If I do, I'll make sure one of the cute nurses takes your rectal temperature...." All of my buddies are very supportive, even thought they don't quite get it. Later I learned one of my buddies who was a Captain in the Marines is also going into Nursing... Go figure! Have fun with it and enjoy your career choice, it is nothing to be ashamed of.

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