Is it difficult for men to get into NICU?

[MattNurse]

I am looking for a change. I was just wondering if many of you work with men in your units. I always heard that most NICU nurses come from labor and delivery.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

I work in the land of little people lol

[scb7620]

Our unit has a lot of nurses (think 200+)- I would say maybe 5-10% are men. Some of the guys who work with us have specific reasons (their baby was in the NICU, they were a preemie themselves, etc.) but some just enjoy the work. Nice change from all the estrogen sometimes! :)

[Guest343211]

I never understood the notion of discrimination against men in NICU or PICU. I mean many of the docs are male. I just thought that a lot of men that go into nursing liked the macho adrenalin of ED and certain kinds of ICUs.

If anything, however, I'd think it would be harder to be a nurse in L&D and post-partum. But there again, many of the docs are males. It's just that they are in and out and do their thing, pts suffer through it, and then the docs are out of there. Nurses, however, spend more total time with the patients.

In NICU/ICN, IDK, it's not exactly the same, even if you are talking about mom's nursing. (Of course, I don't get the big deal about nursing. You see more at the beach, and nursing is all about the mom and the baby. Heck, I don't even understand why people in this culture make such a big deal about people nursing in public for God's sake. It's a beautiful thing, and is nothing at all like relieving one's bladder or bowels in public. Yet some people, stupidly I might add, seem to feel this way for God knows what reason. Yet they are perfectly OK with sitting on the beach whilst thong after thong and boob after boom (maybe minus the nipples) goes by. I mean whatever, but it just doesn't make sense to me.) The only time I would feel like nursing in front of a male is awkward is if he reacted in an awkward, childish, or weird way to it. Otherwise, if he takes it in stride and is supportive, it never bothered me, and I was cool about it. I've nursed freely in my home and have had couples come over, and it's the wives that have been weird about it. ???? Really? You think your husband is getting turned on by my nursing my baby???? So for their sakes, I have covered up with a blanket; but I think it's silly as all get out.

At any rate, I'm all for men in NICUs or in nursing. The only problem I have is when certain male RNs get influenced to become cliquey, gossipy, or capricious as other nurses in order to survive or get ahead. This is discouraging to see in general; b/c I guess, overall, I was hoping more men in nursing would help cut down on the catty socio-dynamics in nursing. Sometimes they seem to rise above it and are cooler than the set culture, and other times, they just slide right into the same idiotic dynamics; b/c at the end of the day, they are survival oriented. I think we need better leadership models in this regard--both males and females. It's disappointing when men knuckle under to the catty, capricious behaviors.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

Both my daughter's were in the NICU. Both had nurses that were men (large well known hospital). My older daughter's primary nurse was a man, I loved him to pieces. He was the most kind, gentle soul one could ever meet. He could soothe my daughter when no one else could..including me. There was just something about him. My mom was taken back when she first saw him..he was a hulking mass of a man..stood over 6ft 3in and tipped the scales at 250 or so with a voice deeper than any I had ever heard and the babies seemed so comfortable and soothed when he care for them or sat and rocked them. There were several other men who worked there but I had no direct contact with them.

I didn't realize my younger daughter had any men until the day I was being d/c. I woke very very early that morning (3am) and went down to see my baby. I noticed a man holding her (she was the only baby there..amazingly). He was sitting in the rocking chair with her and he was either singing to her or talking to her..I couldn't tell through the glass but his lips were moving and he seemed so at ease.

I spoke with him and he had told me that he had always worked in the NICU. He said he was one of 3 men that worked in that NICU (it was a small NICU) but they all worked the 11p-7a shift.

[walkingrock, ADN]

I worked with a number of men in NICU in a variety of units. Yes, they are a minority, but it is really great to have them. I would love to see more men in the NICU. It helps to even the estrogen level; and many families really enjoy having the male nurse, especially the dad's. It gives presence of a different perspective. Very few male RN's in L & D, although I have occasionally seen them; and our males in NICU have never come from L & D that I've ever known of.