Why so closed minded? WHY?

[alwaysthere]

Worked with a male nurse the other night. This nurse is agency and has worked at our facility for some time. He always gives good pt care and is helpful to the aides and other nurses. As I took V.S. One pt. starts going OMG a male nurse! Why do the let guys do this? Dosent he realize we're female!...etc...etc..etc.

This is absolutely one of the most closed minded attitudes I have the misfortune of dealing with...and it happens time and again. Well it ended up that everytime he had to go into the room i had to go with him. And to his credit he endured the stuff she said to his face !...me on the other hand ..I had to duck outside for a few minutes and unclench my teeth... Why is it acceptable for a woman to see a male doctor, a male pt to been seen by a female doc or to be cared for by a female Nurse/Aide.? and yet not acceptable for a female to receive care from a licensed PROFESSIONAL who happens to be male? GRRR

P.S. today i was a pt. had seen the NP about the prob before and was made to feel as if she really didnt have enough time to be bothering with me. (not saying that all are like this,Ive heard NP's are wonderful) anyways saw the MD today he TALKED with me and examined me more than she had and actually got some history on me etc. generally treated me like a human. had to get ex-ray etc. the female tech made me feel like i was going through a proccesor...at that point i had already had a bad enough day and didnt need it getting worse. well the guy actually doing the films talked with me held my hand was so gentle and generally it felt like he cared. i felt sorta human again after that ....well we will see what P.T. brings. Tis truly better to give than to receive!

:chuckle

Kudos to all you wonderful and caring Nurses AIdes and Techs,no matter how your chromesomes are arranged!:kiss

[psychonurse]

yes I am going to have a hyst next week and I don't know if they have a GYN floor at the place that I am going but I hope that I can have some TLC from one of those great male nurses.....

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Howdy yall

from deep in the heat of texas

The feathers seem a little ruffled a bit here... Seems Mark and dayray are a little overly sensitive. Hell when I started in this field that area was strictly verbotten to us males back then and it was gracefully accepted by us to as a limitation. That has changed over the decades. I did L and D back in the mid 80s for a while. but now a days there is no reason for those limitations, except for individual patient preference which need to be respected of course under any circumstances.

so wazzup dudes and dudettes

doo wah ditty

[Dayray, RN]

teeituptom

Sometimes things come across a littel differently on BB's. It's hard to pick up the real intentions of whats being said without the benifit of inflection and tone of voice.

I very much enjoy this topic and even the opionions of the people who disagree with me. I have to admit a few comments have ticked me off a littel but for the most part I just like talking about this subject.

This and other discusstions like it have helped me get a clearer picture of what nurses think about me and others like me.

Keep the comments coming ! I may not agree with everythign said but heck its fun to talk about

[mario_ragucci]

I have no problem working with anyone who can communicate and who's main concern is patient care. Some, I notice, have other concerns which are hidden, and I can't help that, nor do I feel I should have to tolerate it.

If you are not able to come to work with a pleasant additude, I say, "stay away." If your gonna look at male or female issues, go to a tabloid newspaper or something. We have enough drama to contend with dealing with PT's who are known to be needing help. We have the simple task of providing care. Sometimes it's complicated, but the idea is simple.

Yet - you have people working who are below par when it comes to a positive, or average, demenour, and it will always be a thorn in my side.

Doesn't anyone know how to be happy and content? It's a state of mind :-)

(automatic disclaimer) Please do not publicly slander, or otherwize attempt to defame me, for what I say.

[Dayray, RN]

Im not sure I understand what it is your trying to say Mario.

I'm a pretty happy person (if you ment me). I dont have any hidden concerns. Patient care is my first prioirity and (again if you were talking to me) I dont know how you would have any way to know what my nursing practice is like.

The whole male/ female issue as you call it, is an issue for nurses not patients. I don't talk with patients about what gender they want as a nurse and they don't feel uncomfortable with me.

My coworkers and I don't talk about it much either. I don't go to work with a bad attiude or looking for a fight. I get along very well with the people I work with, now that they have gotten to know me. My wife and I go to dinner and movies with most of my coworkers.

I remember a post you made a few weeks back about a female patient who accused you of inapropriateness. If you look back at that post you'll see that I said some pretty nice things about you. I know how that made you feel becuse many nusres feel my presence in OB is inapropriate.

I don't think it's cool for people to judge me based on my gender and the area I work in. I'm not sure why that would make you think Im a bad nurse or that I cause trobel in my work place.

I'm sorry if I mistook the meaning of your post. please let me know if I did

[mario_ragucci]

Hey DayRay, my post was a statement to the board as whole concerning how I feel. No way did I intend it to be directed to anyone in particular. Just a statement. I don't think I used any proper nouns in my last post.

I identify with anyone who has to tolerate meaness, or meloncolly, or any of that other preconcieved BS that employees always find a way of bestowing upon each other in a negtive way.

[Dayray, RN]

Okay sorry =)

[norinradd]

I usually just take pt's comments in stride. I say "yes, and we have female doctors to". I use a lot of humor. Some pt's are intimidated so I make a point to get down on one knee or pull up a chair to talk. I use a soft tone and demeanor. Female nurses can get away with saying a lot of things that males can't, and no that is not a complaint. Their are ways to allow patients to keep their privacy for the most part, when there isn't I reassure them that I have been doing this for some time. Because a lot of the time older women are embarrassed for us, not by us. Once in awhile, a patient acts a little odd about you and I have refused to have some of these pt's. In this day and time men do have to be weary for legal reasons. One complaint, however ridiculous can end your career. Remember the old movies that always had a kindly old single man who gave the neighborhood kids ice cream and they ran in and out of his house? Today he would have a sign on his lawn.

Pt's I can over look, nursing instructor's I can't. I have met several instructors who state point blank. "Men Do Not Belong In Nursing". I have been told it was the last place women could work "without" men. I could not believe such thinking could still exist. One of my instructor's had this opinion and I had to be perfect around her. Several of the ladies in the class even complained on my behalf.

As for being thought of as gay. All I have to say is I am a very lucky man to be working around so many intelligent and attractive women and not make a single boyfriend angry.

[researchrabbit]

I had one occasion where the two male RN students changing an elderly lady in a nursing home were patently embarassed and talking to each other and ignoring her to decrease their embarassment...she was so embarassed she couldn't open her eyes and had her face all screwed up like "Let this be over soon".

They got better. Not to say we female students didn't make mistakes either...the same rotation, I had to help a guy (who looked like my Dad) who was VERY sharp mentally but with extreme physical problems take a shower...not everything had problems, mind you...well, the inevitable occurred, I turned bright red, but he helped me, started a joke about how "Big Thunder" sometimes just took over (guess what "Big Thunder" was!). I had to laugh, and he laughed too. ANYWAY, I never had much trouble after that, always remember BIG THUNDER in those situations!

Guess what I'm trying to say is that most nurses try and most of us can learn given the right attitudes on the part of others.

[live4today, RN]

After reading through MOST of this thread......I must say that I am totally in SHOCK that nurses who are men are treated this way in nursing!!! :eek:

I have worked with nurses who are men on many occasions on all types of nursing units, and have been in Charge on some of those occasions....in both civilian and military hospitals alike.......and NOT once have I ever had a complaint against a nurse who is male brought to my attention, and NOT once has any patient ever stated that she preferred not having them care for her. WHAT IS GOING ON TODAY IN NURSING FOLKS???

[Brownms46]

I had a pt. the other nite, who I didn't get a chance to go in, and check on her as much as I would have like to. I was busy with a couple of others who were time consuming. But when I step into say goodbye to her....I apologized for not coming in and talking with her. She said...oooh no problem..I had(male CNA)...and he was JUST FINE..!

I enjoy working with men, and in a former life...that is mostly all I worked with! If my Ob nurse had been a male..I could have cared less!! All I wanted was someone to help me... get them out...period!!! The hospital I work at now....has just as many nurses who are males...as nurses who are females! Maybe that is why the atmosphere is sooo nice here!

I say... let's have more men in nursing...the more that the better! As long as they what they're doing, and are professional....come on over here...:chuckle!

[SmilingBluEyes]

I say lets have more dedicated and caring professionals in nursing, regardless of gender, color, religious preferences, age what-have-ya. I encourage anyone who is competent and compassionate to enter our ranks......leave the other junk out of it. why's it gotta be so HARD???????