Are You Man Enough to Be a Nurse?

thetravellertoplaces · Jun 7, 2007

Yes, very awesome to hear it come out of Oregon! Yay Oregon!

The thing that I wonder about this is that it might get people thinking the only men that do go into nursing are the hardcore men, a sort of swapping to the other end of the spectrum. In ways seems like it's only seeming to say that only the manly men can go into nursing, when in reality nearly anyone can if they care enough and put their mind to it.

Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of masculinity towards me and love doing outdoors sports climbing, biking, kayaking and all that. But am just as much a caring and sensitive guy.

To not make it quite so biased it would have been nice to put some regular average joe nurses in with the group. Though that kinda defeats the whole slogan i suppose...

choken666 · Jul 9, 2007

Raymond CA said:
I have problems with the image of nurses and the assumptions people make about them.

The teachers at uni have this posted around the Labs. I also had it on my desktop for first semester at uni. There should be more of these! But not just 'male nurse' ads... I'd like to see all kinds of nurses on there. Maybe even a nurse calendar! (a more professional calendar than you might think I am suggesting).

nursemike, ASN, RN · Jul 9, 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.

Re-reading this with a second year of experience under my belt, I am impressed with just how true it rings. Had a patient over the weekend who is a nurse, and this am she thanked me and told me how kind I had been and what a good nurse I was. Makes me a little sorry I told my relief she was a PITA. Thing was, I had 3 pts in a stepdown unit, one with a ventric and q1h ICPs, another with a very bad ischemic CVA whose BP had been a constant battle all weekend, and last night decided he needed to take a little break from breathing every now and then. The ventric was very stable, just had to be in there to measure every hour and clamp a few times between for bathroom, etc. So the one who was on the call bell was the back Fx who'd have been home already if she hadn't developed an ileus.

It's no easy thing to go from full flight-or-fight response to "Of course, I'll be happy to bring you another warm towel..." At one point, I had to get a coworker to draw labs on my stroke guy because my hands were shaking too much after getting his SpO2 up from 79%. It almost feels hypocritical to go from "Please, God, let this guy live until day shift!" (When my more experienced relief comes on) to "No, Ma'am, the Doctor doesn't think we should give you another enema--time and rest should clear it up, and tomorrow when you can get up and move around, that may help."

I say almost hypocritical, because the thing I've come to understand is that a patient who isn't deathly ill can still be in a lot of discomfort, plus worried about whether she'll be able to go back to her patients who need pulled up in bed just an inch...no maybe two...no one-and-a-half, or that a hot cup of coffee and a pat on the shoulder mean a lot to a young person wondering whether grandpa will live through the night.

So, yeah, I've come to the view that the recruiting poster is okay, and I think I've done my share of traditionally macho (both good and bad) stuff in my life, but I don't think I've ever felt more of a mensch than when I've stayed in the room and kept fighting for my patient when all I really wanted to do was hide in the med room and cry, or found a way to care about someone who was getting on my last working nerve.

I've said in the past that the definition of a real man is an adult male human and a real woman is an adult female human. A couple of years of nursing has clarified to me that whether we are male or female is decided for us at conception, and so, for that matter, is whether we are human. The one part we get to choose for ourselves is whether we are adults--whether we suck it up and do what it takes, or whine and pout and throw tantrums. After a little less than 51 years, I think I can say I'm adult enough to be a nurse.

As long as I can get an occassional break to whine and pout and throw tantrums.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

earle58 said:
if i'm reading your opinion correctly, i must ask, why is it more damaging for the media to portray male nurses as gay vs. female nurses as slutty or incredibly stupid?
leslie

I am a Man. I find portrayal of male nurses as gay as being totally wrong in my opinion which isnt really worth much in this day and world. But I am a man and anyone who suggests otherwise wont like my answer.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

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.

It isn't the rigamarole of patient care but the lack of autonomy that affects/bothers me as a "floor nurse". Baths and wiping butts never bothered me and I've cheerfully assisted my techs everytime they needed help (and working nights on a floor that is 50% under staffed - we nurses do pitch in often).

Then again, maybe it's the target population I work with. I've always been a "peds" kinda guy - never one to sit around waiting hand and foot on whiney adults. At least kids (and their parents) can claim an excuse.

cheers,

Gregory62 · Jul 10, 2007

Hi Kingster, brand new to this site. Just wanted to say thank you for posting that. I have been a CNA for 12 years this month, and am now going to go for my RN. Many of my male friends just could not understand my work in the nursing dept. This poster speaks to me. We can care and still be men, its the best part of us. And that movie that came out a few years ago didnt help me....Hi my name is Gregory and i want to be a nurse. Those Fokkers!

edchunt, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

Check out the cover on the latest issue of AJN!!

nursemike, ASN, RN · Jul 11, 2007

teeituptom said:
I am a Man. I find portrayal of male nurses as gay as being totally wrong in my opinion which isnt really worth much in this day and world. But I am a man and anyone who suggests otherwise wont like my answer.

A good friend of mine says he's flattered when someone mistakes him for gay. Hmm. I guess I'm not quite so enlightened. It bugs me, a little. However, most of the gay men I know are adult male humans, and live up to all that entails.

As far as the media portrayal business, I mostly see nurses portrayed as extras, as the Governator would say. I don't watch Benny Hill reruns, so I don't see as many Naughty Nurses as Nurse #1, Nurse #2, etc.

I didn't care much for Meet the Parents. Maybe I'm getting old, but I didn't crack a smile through the whole thing. But, in fairness, I note that the movie didn't portray Gaylord as gay. It portrayed the prospective father-in-law as buying into the stereotype, and I don't think we were intended to see that as reasonable.

choken666 · Jul 11, 2007

I'm at a school in Australia studying a nursing degree, in a class of 20 students there are 3 guys. We've been in the same classes for about 5 months, we do guy stuff all the time that makes the women cringe and frown and roll their eyes (like high-5's, making jokes, being crude, you know). Nobody has mentioned anything about us being gay or the like. Nobody cares. I know the other guys are straight because of their female partners, and many of the students know I've been with a guy. Strangely, noone has questioned or is even concerned that I may be gay.

I tell people at my other job in retail that I'm studying to become a nurse, most of their reactions are "Oh, you'll be a great nurse!" NOT "Are you gay?" Well, I think this is because of my attitude and behaviours more than anything. It is who I am as a person, my body language and basically the vibe I give off: That is 'I care, and I don't care if you're male or female'

We are nurses! We are not male nurses, or gay nurses, or straight nurses. We are nurses. But would we go around classifying our patients as: my gay client, my straight client, my lesbian client? If so, who is being hypocritical here?

Bare in mind I'm just a kid at school trying to speak out.

Knoodsen · Jul 11, 2007

I think the poster is a positive. There are plenty of stereotypes out there regarding nurses. I think that it is a fact that gay men are overrepresented in the profession. There is nothing wrong with pointing out that nursing can be an excellent career choice for us male "breeders".

Best regards,

Green Beret, retired

HDMotorcop · Jul 18, 2007

nursemike said:
Re-reading this with a second year of experience under my belt, I am impressed with just how true it rings. ................................................................ The one part we get to choose for ourselves is whether we are adults--whether we suck it up and do what it takes, or whine and pout and throw tantrums. After a little less than 51 years, I think I can say I'm adult enough to be a nurse.
As long as I can get an occassional break to whine and pout and throw tantrums.

Mike,

So as not waste space, I didn't copy your whole post.....But what a post! It was very well written!

To answer the original thread....... Yep, certain "man" enough (or as Mike puts it - ADULT enough). LPN, 20 year LEO, Biker and Dad.

Another Mike

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2009

Great poster. I actually have one (attached) hanging on my refrigerator as inspiration. The one attached however must have been made specifically for Florida, different guys at hospitals here.