MALE Nurse, Female Police Officer, Female Dr.

Bala Shark · May 7, 2006

Yea, I agree with you BUT you have to know the people who run these boards are women...So that is how they look at it...Yea, like for an example, if this was a borard for doctors..Then they would have a section for women doctors that is separated from the rest..That would be discriminatory..It is the same situation here..

ZASHAGALKA, RN · May 7, 2006

Yea, I agree with you BUT you have to know the people who run these boards are women...So that is how they look at it...Yea, like for an example, if this was a borard for doctors..Then they would have a section for women doctors that is separated from the rest..That would be discriminatory..It is the same situation here..

Actually, this particular board is run and owned by a GUY, a 'male nurse', to be exact.

I have no particular problem w/ the phrase 'male nurse'. I understand that it is a changing paradigm and one of the effects of being part of the change is that expectations sometimes lag behind reality.

It's not that big a deal, if you ask me.

And there are issues that men face in nursing that women do not. I don't think that it's 'discriminatory' to form one of many forums for the purpose of discussing those particular issues. The purpose of the forums is NOT segregation; it is to have a place to discuss different perspectives. The particular issues of being a man in what is still a female dominated profession is one such perspective that deserves a place for discussion.

~faith,

Timothy.

Thunderwolf, MSN, RN · May 8, 2006

Thank you, Tim, for clarifying that nicely.

Also, as a reminder to all...it is not exclusive in any strict sense. Women come here to post too and give feedback to us men from time to time....it is a way to bridge our gaps. To say we do not have differences is totally incorrect. Men can view, think, talk, and act very differently than women...it is part of our upbringing and part of our culture. It impacts how we approach our career and everything. To say there is no need for a forum such as this and to believe that it is segregation as evidenced by its presence...is in truth, a form of sexism in and of itself. Members are encouraged to not throw stones here...as in any other forum. Brian, the founder of the board, is a nurse. I am also a nurse...who just so happens to be male also. Men have their own issues in the profession...just like the women. The forum serves its place.

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 8, 2006

I put "male nurse" to the left because so many people thought "Tweety" was a woman.

I rarely, if ever get called a male nurse. I rarely, if ever, refer to myself as a male nurse. I can honestly say in 15 years I've never had a patient say "oh you're a male nurse".

In the real world I hear "male nurse" almost as often as "female police officier" and "lady doctor" (I bet that one gets the docs goat real good), which honestly isn't all that often.

I don't sweat the small stuff, it's not discriminatory to me when I hear it, which isn't often. It doesn't bother me, because males in nursing are a minority and an oddity.

Minorities in nursing, including African Americans, band together to discuss their issues. We have a local chapter of the Black Nurses Association.

It would be nice if we would all identify together as "brothers and sisters" (cringe), but a little diversity is nice as well, it doesn't mean we lose our main identity as nurses. I think it helps advance our "cause".

stevenking, BSN, RN · May 8, 2006

Actually having been a male nurse (LPN) for six years, I have heard the phrase, "Oh, you're a male nurse," quite a bit. I have only had one patient refuse to receive care because of my being male [as an aside: I moonlighted at a place where a particular OB-GYN did not want male nurses taking care of her patients].

Otherwise, when I was in the military we came up with neat little themes around nursing. We invented the BNC - The Boy's Nursing Club - even had a logo professionally stitched. We had visions of our own nursing agency, too.

I am happily a Murse (Male Nurse) and I am looking for opportunities to "step up" and do my thing in nursing.

Steven King, LPN, MBA

The Kingster†

fergus51 · May 8, 2006

If it makes you feel any better, my brother is a police officer and he always specifies if it's a female police officer he's talking about...

psalm_55 · May 8, 2006

male nurse.

doesn't bother me.

it's the poor image often portrayed in the media and lack of respect particularly from admin/mgmt for nurses in general; and poor pay -- those things bother me.

kllyhlls · May 9, 2006

I think it's cool that there's a "male nurse" section on this board. We have a lot of issues that arise specifically because we're such a minority in the field. It's nice to have a place to discuss those topics.

K

karmyk · May 9, 2006

We are all brothers and sisters in the profession.

I think you have to simply roll with the punches.

One of the hardest thing that I had to learn to accept during my time in the military that I wasn't just a communications electrical engineering officer where I worked: I was the short, skinny asian female electrical engineering officer who was an academy grad.

People are going to label you no matter where you go. It will happen more often when you're a demographic "minority" in whatever career/line of work you choose to pursue.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · May 9, 2006

For the first time ever, I got called a "male nurse". Just yesterday.

The person who said it was a retired RN.

I DID ask her about it and she said something to the effect of "Oh! I never thought of it that way!"

I'm pretty sure she won't be saying that no more

"All it needs is a little persuasion...."

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · May 9, 2006

By the by:

Regarding the "exclusivity" of the forum: LINK

I think I should make a sticky here too....