Re: Womens interest in male nurses

Hey Johny, if they are not even going to give a chance just because your studying to be a nurse, do you really want someone that shallow? It really is their loss if that's the case. Believe me there are plenty of single women just looking for a nice, caring, compasionate guy, which IMO is very competent and manly.

BTW Roy, excellent post.

Re: Womens interest in male nurses

Thanks to all you guys and girls for your support .

I think that many women underestimate men and their ability to lead diverse roles. If a man chooses to become a nurse, he is willing to tap into his caring side (not feminine side, women don't have a monopoly on caring!), which all men have; this does not negate his masculinity. On the contrary, if he is confident and stands up for and supports himself and others in his care, he can only enhance his masculinity and shows courage to go against the sheep following the status quo. Maybe if some women understood this(and men too!), such multifaceted men might intimidate them, so they would prefer to assume male nurses were somewhat effeminate.

The world evolves by individuals going off the beaten track, often risking ridicule to show the masses what is possible.

Re: Womens interest in male nurses

It is interesting the judgements others make based on profession.

I do think you need to take a look at your own insecurities and make sure you're not projecting them on others. Just because someones eyes widened and mood changes doesn't mean they are suddenly thinking you're less confident and manly, and just "nice". They could be thinking a whole world of other positive things about you, and you're too insecure about presenting yourself as a nurse.

Also, women have different definitions of confidence and manliness nowadays. Nowadays a man can cry, hold his baby and change the diapers and still be considered confident and manly.

The important thing is not how others see you but how you see yourself. If you're confident in your own "manliness" (if manliness is an important trait for you to project to the world) then that's half the battle. People are going to think what they are going to think.

I hope I'm making sense. LOL

Re: Womens interest in male nurses

Originally Posted by Tweety

The important thing is not how others see you but how you see yourself. If you're confident in your own "manliness" (if manliness is an important trait for you to project to the world) then that's half the battle. People are going to think what they are going to think.

I hope I'm making sense. LOL

I completely agree there Tweety

Re: Womens interest in male nurses

Yeah tweety, maybe I am feeling a bit insecure about this, but this is because I get this reaction alot and its after I say I'm studying nursing. If its because of the stigma of a "male nurse" then I can only be the best nurse I can be and hope the stereotype changes in the future. If I'm no good at chatting women up then I don't want to use this as an excuse LOL

Re: Womens interest in male nurses

Roy,
What, we have to be perfect too!!

Peace Out,
Dan

Re: Womens interest in male nurses

Originally Posted by johny1

Yeah tweety, maybe I am feeling a bit insecure about this, but this is because I get this reaction alot and its after I say I'm studying nursing. If its because of the stigma of a "male nurse" then I can only be the best nurse I can be and hope the stereotype changes in the future. If I'm no good at chatting women up then I don't want to use this as an excuse LOL

Personally, I'd rather work with the dreaded (sic) male nurse. They don't complain near as much, they get their work done, patients seem to like them.

And after all, isn't it the patient we should be concerned with more than anyone else.

If you meet a real woman she'll like you for being a real man.

It takes a very strong individual to think outside the box, and go where not many men go. If a woman see's that in you then she's worthy of your admiration too.

Re: Womens interest in male nurses

Thanks Nephro

I think I'm only concerned about this because Im single. Otherwise it would'nt bother me what people thought outside of my family and friends.

Re: Womens interest in male nurses

I had a picture a couple of years ago that an agency was doing to help promote men in nursing. The title of it was "It takes a real man to be a nurse". There were men in that picture that you would have been surprised to see as a nurse.

I dont care if you are male or female, it doesnt matter to me. I too would rather work with the guys not only because of the above mentioned traits, but because men are not as catty as some of the women I work with.

If this is what you want to do, then go for it. Dont let other people influence your decision.

Re: Womens interest in male nurses

I would say it all depends on one's interpretation of words such as 'caring', 'compassionate', 'sensitive', etc. as often applied to nurses in general. People who are staunchly into gender politics insist that 'real' men cannot, by nature, be any of these things. Then there are the assumptions that male nurses who are 'kind', 'gentle, and 'sweet' are gay.

As a man who happens to be a nurse I always find myself laughing at these generalizations. I can be kind, gentle, sweet, compassionate and all these nice things; but I can also be just as rough, tough, and competitive as anyone else. I prefer to be the type of nurse who sticks strictly to the matter of good patient care without getting too friendly or too close. I'm not an unfriendly person, but I've seen the downside of what can happen when the lines of professionalism are crossed and I'd rather not go there.

I've come to accept that it really doesn't matter which set of adjectives one uses to describe men in nursing, some people are just having a difficult time adjusting to the fact that nursing is no longer a female-only thing. There's still that perceived dissonance between being a man and being a nurse, and if its this bad now I can't even imagine what it was like for guys who came into this profession years ago.