Males and females

Nurses Men

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I have a prior degree in IT and this is a career change for me. I understand that the nursing field is dominated by females and I will be amongst them in the spring as a new grad nurse. I am presently working on a psych unit as a tech and have already seen the differences in how women and men handle problems. I am sure that I will ruffle some feathers with this topic, but I just have to say it. Most women seem to turn little problems into some major crisis. I see it almost every day on this unit. The way they talk to patients and other staff is really beginning to tick me off. So far I have held back, but I can feel my lips beginning to cut loose. I have talked to two of the male RN's on the unit who have been in nursing over 15yrs and they say that you just have to let it go and to get use to the smirks and rude comments that the women say. For me, its not what they say, it's how they say it. I talk to everyone with the utmost respect and I expect the same amongst my peers. I don't want to spend the next 20 years "getting use to it". Most of the female RN's are just RUDE and talk in such a disrespectful tone. Why is this? Secondly, I would love to see a surge of male recruitment to the field.....how about you guys!

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Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.

what bothered me the most about your comments was "Most of the female RN's are just RUDE and talk in such a disrespectful tone." Because #1 this is just the nurses you are seeing, nursing units tend to hire alike nurses so that they mesh, I suggest if you don't like what you are seeing to move on. Most females nurses are not rude and are very respectful and professional. Maybe you should talk to your supervisor chances are if you aren't liking what you hear then probably the patients and families aren't either. This would be a big customer satisfaction problem, and that is how you should present it to your supervisor. There are bad apples out there, remember it only takes one to make the whole barrel rotten. So hang in and try to change or move on. But PLEASE don't generalize, because you don't want people to generalize about male nurses. :)

Well I don't think you have said anything to offend anyone but I'm sure you are going to get some negative responses from female nurses??? I think that in any job people tend to think they are a little better once they have been there for a while, and maybe they are but it still does not give them the right to talk to you or their patients with disrespect. It could also be the simple fact that nursing does not have alot of men so they consider you a minority, although men do make some of the best nurses. Its kind of like when women do jobs that are mostly men (computers, etc...) I'm sure they get their share of negative comments from men that think they shouldn't be doing that job! Everyone has their own opinion and I hope that you understand that and don't judge others based on those nurses. Its kind of like saying that Doctors write horribly, that may be true for alot of them but not all! Good Luck to You!

Melissa

Specializes in LTAC.
I have a prior degree in IT and this is a career change for me. I understand that the nursing field is dominated by females and I will be amongst them in the spring as a new grad nurse. I am presently working on a psych unit as a tech and have already seen the differences in how women and men handle problems. I am sure that I will ruffle some feathers with this topic, but I just have to say it. Most women seem to turn little problems into some major crisis. I see it almost every day on this unit. The way they talk to patients and other staff is really beginning to tick me off. So far I have held back, but I can feel my lips beginning to cut loose. I have talked to two of the male RN's on the unit who have been in nursing over 15yrs and they say that you just have to let it go and to get use to the smirks and rude comments that the women say. For me, its not what they say, it's how they say it. I talk to everyone with the utmost respect and I expect the same amongst my peers. I don't want to spend the next 20 years "getting use to it". Most of the female RN's are just RUDE and talk in such a disrespectful tone. Why is this? Secondly, I would love to see a surge of male recruitment to the field.....how about you guys!

I just entered the field as a Nurse Assistant in January. I came from a management and administrative background and left it bacause I hated what I was doing. Of the 20 or so NAs on my floor, only 2 of us our males. There are only 2 male RNs as well.

Industry wide, about 5% of nurses are male, so it only makes sense that you would have more problems with females than males. Like it or not dude, you gotta learn to deal with the ratio or you're not gonna make it. I experienced some of the same things you wrote about, and still do, and probably always will, but I'm learning to put my opinions to the side and just concentrate on fixing the problem. I actually got reprimanded by both my Nurse Manager

and my Nurse Educator because I didn't take a lunch break one day. Every NA and RN had left for a variety of reasons and I was stuck watching the entire hall (14 rooms) by myself for about an hour. I got yelled at. Make sense to you? I feel your pain.

There are a few perks we get for being male:

1. Female pts almost never let us insert or perform catheter care.

2. I get my choice of lockers in the locker room.

3. Men's room is usally open so no running to the next hall like the women sometimes have to do.

4. Guys don't try to look down my scrub top when I take their BP.

5. A number of patients think I'm a doctor so they behave better (at first)

6. A female pt. can "fire" me because I'm male, and it's ok with everyone.

7. Psych. pts don't deal me nearly as much BS as the ladies put up with, even the female ones.

You'll get used to it.....or not. lol

[quote=

There are a few perks we get for being male:

1. Female pts almost never let us insert or perform catheter care.

2. I get my choice of lockers in the locker room.

3. Men's room is usally open so no running to the next hall like the women sometimes have to do.

4. Guys don't try to look down my scrub top when I take their BP.

5. A number of patients think I'm a doctor so they behave better (at first)

6. A female pt. can "fire" me because I'm male, and it's ok with everyone.

7. Psych. pts don't deal me nearly as much BS as the ladies put up with, even the female ones.

You'll get used to it.....or not. lol

LOL....I guess I am looking at things from the wrong perspective.....LOL

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