Are You Man Enough to Be a Nurse?

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2006

It's interesting y'all speak of media portrayal of nurses. I was in my senior year and the student body was trying to raise money so that we could print/make our own sweatshirts and t-shirts with our school logo.

KWIM? Class pride and school pride and all that.

So, the student body was asked to come up with themes - the winning theme would be sent to the printers and they'd put it on the clothes.

Anyway, here's one suggestion that was sent in:

Quote
Front: Top 10 reasons to date a Nurse:
Back:
10.We can assess all areas of the body
9. Scrubs make for easy access
8. We're used to handing all types of bodily fluids
7. We're good at taking orders
6. We know all the right places to palpate
5. We know how to properly apply restraints
4. We know lots of different positions
3. We know that lubrications is helpful in any procedure
2. Two words: sponge bath
1. We're always up for a good game of doctor

The idea caused a massive furore - with many students (and some faculty) - both male and female - chiming in that they found the "suggestive ideas" highly inappropriate. Some students were deeply offended by the suggestion - while others were of the opinion that the clothes were optional and there was no compulsion on anyone to buy them. Besides, some students thought it was funny and saw nothing wrong in "laughing at ourselves".

Ultimately, the student body organisation dropped the idea to sell the shirts.

firstaiddave907 · Sep 30, 2006

Thats a great campaign and a really cool poster.

br107 · Sep 30, 2006

Corvette Guy said:
nice?

Oops sorry. just clicked the link to discussion from the main index page which brought me to the first page of thread. Didn't realize there was 7 pages of discussion till after I posted.

To clarify...nice poster/campaign.

Corvette Guy · Sep 30, 2006

br107 said:
Oops sorry. just clicked the link to discussion from the main index page which brought me to the first page of thread. Didn't realize there was 7 pages of discussion till after I posted.
To clarify...nice poster/campaign.

I agree it is a very, very good campaign poster to invite males into the nursing profession.

flasandy42 · Sep 30, 2006

One thing that I've noticed is that there are very few male nurses who actually do floor nursing. They seem to work mostly in ER's, ICUs, supervision, or management. Is this the norm in most places? Even when we have male aides they seem to have a problem with the daily baths getting done on their assigned pts. Is it because they're embarassed bathing females? We have many more very elderly female pts than males here in Florida, but they usually don't care if a male bathes them and they seem to like having males care for them. Just curious.

Corvette Guy · Sep 30, 2006

flasandy42 said:
One thing that I've noticed is that there are very few male nurses who actually do floor nursing. They seem to work mostly in ER's, ICUs, supervision, or management. Is this the norm in most places? Even when we have male aides they seem to have a problem with the daily baths getting done on their assigned pts. Is it because they're embarassed bathing females? We have many more very elderly female pts than males here in Florida, but they usually don't care if a male bathes them and they seem to like having males care for them. Just curious.

Very good question!

IMHO, males in nursing gravitate towards the more technical & adrenaline rush type areas. This observation of mine holds true both in the civilian & military nursing profession, again JMO.

joe2.0 · Oct 2, 2006

I don't know why male nurses don't work med-surg floors, I worked cardiology as an LVN and I enjoyed it. Now I work home health with pediatrics because it gives me more 1 on 1 with my patiants.

jov · Oct 7, 2006

Hmmm... am I man enough to be a nurse? I guess I must be... because I'm also a black belt (TaeKwonDo). So I guess I can be a nurse...

Except since I'm a woman, maybe it's am I man enough to be a black belt?

So interesting concept. I guess since I can break boards with my hands and feet, and wipe up the floor with my sparring partner (within reason, I mean I'm 5'1", 115 lbs), it means I'm woman enough to be man enough to be a nurse?!? Too many convolutions here...LOL

pyrolady · Oct 8, 2006

Most men in the field gravitate towards ER, ICU, etc. get experience in trauma and then go forward into something else such as CRNA, PA, etc. It's been my experience anyway....

PLTSGT · Jan 16, 2007

Gaylord Focker said:
I saw a guy in my English comp class with a t-shirt that had that pic of "Uncle Sam" pointing with the caption, "Are You Man Enough to be a Nurse?". I thought it was pretty cool but the professor didn't seem to like it all that much...said it offended her. ...

PC lez

styRN · Jan 16, 2007

CoolhandHutch said:
Mike, it took me having kids to become a good nurse. Before kids: Chest tubes! 16s in both ACs! He's gonna code!!! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaa!!!!!
After kids:Need a blanket? Anyone here need a cup of coffee?
Maybe I'm just getting old. Don't get me wrong...I love a good trauma or the patient with 10/10 crushing chest pain and sky high ST's...but it took me a while to figure out what makes a great nurse.

Excellent point. I've always prided myself for being a naturally compassionate and caring guy, and thought of myself as a caring, compassionate nurse when I graduated, but it took a few years of experience and maturity to really bring it to blossom, as well as marriage and having kids. Much is gained with the passage of time and priorities and perspectives certainly change.

I was going to say "like a fine wine", but in reality, more like a ripe wheel of cheese ?

GFocker · Jan 20, 2007

I worked on the floor before going down to ER. I gave it a shot before leaving but in the end the monotony and the little things about working nights on a stepdown caught up with me. I wanted more than the floor had to offer and the downtime was the worst for me, the nights dragged out.