Re: Male in a female dominated field.. How bad is it really??
I was a carpenter for 25 years before entering healthcare, so it's a different world, for sure, but I like it. Frankly, I think what you see depends a lot on what you expect to see. I got into the field as an orderly (sorta) and most of my peers were also guys, so I was a bit insulated from the matriarchal society. I saw enough of the nurses and aides to learn that there were many I liked and a few I didn't care so much for. That pattern has held more or less true since becoming a nurse, myself, except that I like a greater percentage these days. Nothing like knowing first-hand what someone else is going through.
It probably seems obvious that a guy in nursing needs to be in touch with his feminine side. Empathy and caring are as important as the meds we pass. A lot of patients just need someone to be there for them, to listen to their concerns and understand what they are going through. It takes a strong back and a soft heart. But I'm not sure it's as widely recognized how much a gal in nursing needs to be in touch with her masculine side. Caring alone is just not enough. You have to be able to look at situations objectively and do what needs to be done. I think I'm a pretty strong man, but I've seen moments when all I really wanted to do was hide in the med room and cry, but I was able to hang in there and keep fighting for my patient because I had strong support from more experienced (female) nurses who'd been through similar moments more than a time or two and showed me how to cope.
If you look for cattiness, you'll find it. I have to concede that women--especially, if you'll forgive me, the younger ones--tend to deal with some things differently from most men. Still, for most of my carpentry career, I was self-employed. The guys I worked with knew I signed the paychecks, so I was a bit insulated from some of the drama. But I did a stint as one of 30 or so guys working for another contractor, and I was shocked at all the politics. Guys aren't supposed to have cliques! Guys don't gossip! Well...maybe not, unless you get more than 5 or 6 together.
As a nurse, I'm in a sort of unusual position. The most experienced nurses on my unit are women in my age group. When I attached telemetry leads, I often distort the mnemonic: instead of snow on the grass, smoke over fire, I say, "smoke on the water, fire in the sky..." It doesn't remotely fit, but a 30 yr nurse might chuckle and say, "Far out, man."
On the other hand, many of the younger women are as green as I am, so we have that "deer-caught-in-healdlights" expression in common. Our lives away from the job may be as different as night and day, but when we put on our scrubs, we're just trying to get through the shift without killing anybody, so there's an element a foxhole commaraderie.
And then, of course, there are a handful of guys, with varying amounts of experience. And those are the ones you talk to about issues like the hot new unit clerk isn't wearing a bra.
So, it's entirely possible to have a good time, being a nurse. I think the trick is to expect to have a good time, and to realize that sometimes, when you aren't having a good time, it's just a job.
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