men in pediatrics:) thoughts?

[hrawlins]

Hello! I'm Hayden, new to the site. I'm nineteen and plan on graduating with my RN in three years. I'm sure clinicals will make or break my decision but I have been attracted to pediatrics and neonatal since I sought out nursing. I've always had a passion for children even since I was a kid I loved babies lol initially I started college in elementary education. I have some questions though. Will it be easy to get a job in pediatrics as a male nurse? And if you're a male, how does the public perceive you as a nurse?

[OwlieO.O]

Gender seems to be an issue when considering nurses, and yet not for physicians. No one thinks twice about a male OB/GYN, but God forbid a man wants into L&D, etc.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Gender seems to be an issue when considering nurses, and yet not for physicians. No one thinks twice about a male OB/GYN, but God forbid a man wants into L&D, etc.

Well....some women refuse to go to a male ObGyn. That is their right. Here is the deal with this....and I am guilty of it myself. A woman develops a rapport with her MD over a period of time...there is a trust there....they are not a stranger. Then you are in labor and a complete stranger...a male....touches you in an intimate area...it's uncomfortable for women. It's is uncomfortable for me. I...as a habit...do not let people I don't know well....have contact with certain areas of my body. It's a chick thing.

I also know that there re many men who would object having a male perform checks on their wife...so it isn't just a female thing.

This is the one area if you want to go into...you will have to understand this and oblige the patients wishes. I have had many men refuse to have a male insert a foley cath for they do not want a male touching their private parts. I am not offended if I have to insert a foley on a co-workers male patient if that it the patients wish....for it is all about the patient and not us.

[OwlieO.O]

Well....some women refuse to go to a male ObGyn. That is their right. Here is the deal with this....and I am guilty of it myself. A woman develops a rapport with her MD over a period of time...there is a trust there....they are not a stranger. Then you are in labor and a complete stranger...a male....touches you in an intimate area...it's uncomfortable for women. It's is uncomfortable for me. I...as a habit...do not let people I don't know well....have contact with certain areas of my body. It's a chick thing.

I also know that there re many men who would object having a male perform checks on their wife...so it isn't just a female thing.

This is the one area if you want to go into...you will have to understand this and oblige the patients wishes. I have had many men refuse to have a male insert a foley cath for they do not want a male touching their private parts. I am not offended if I have to insert a foley on a co-workers male patient if that it the patients wish....for it is all about the patient and not us.

Interesting perspective. You're right. My wife has a male Ob/Gyn, but he pulled her from the birth canal and we trust him. I suppose it's a quixotic thought that any gender would be completely comfortable.

[joeb1, ASN, BSN, RN]

You will have no problems as long as you are passionate and sincere. I started out as an Inpatient Peds RN, and loved it. Then I worked Labor and Delivery, and Nursery. I eneded up working a dedicated Pediatric ER in an adult trauma center. As a male, you just have to respect what others feel is comfortable. I can count on one hand in the 3 years in OB that I have had a patient decline to let me care for them.(of course we tried to make sure the shift before, who made out the assignments, talked to the patient first so I wouldn't just appear in the room while the patient was in stirrups, etc.) I never have regretted my specialty and am glad I never worried too much about working in what people may percieve as a predominately women's specialty. Go for it!