Being a male increase your chances

[koran120]

I'm wondering if any of the male nurses and/or nursing students feel that being a male gave you an edge to getting into nursing school? Being that there are so few males in the field and applying to schools are you almost a shoe in if your application materials are good?

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

In class today, our professor gave us the stat that 57% of nurses in upper management are males. I don't have the source, but I don't believe our professor would lie to us about that.

Ask for a source. In my experience, spanning 30 years & multiple systems (including some large & prestigious ones), that appears to be a highly inflated number.

[RLtinker, LPN]

Our school has a strict point system based on academics, sex did not play a role in the selection process. As for the supposed 57%, during all my clinical rotations I met two male nurses and only one was a head nurse every other one was a female.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

In class today, our professor gave us the stat that 57% of nurses in upper management are males. I don't have the source, but I don't believe our professor would lie to us about that.

Your professor may not have lied. He may simply be incorrect, as I believe the case to be. Have NEVER seen ANYWHERE that had 57% of nurses in upper management being male. Anywhere.

Now, finding high numbers of males in upper management is easy: MBAs, MPHs, PHDs, MDs. Not RNs.

[panic36]

I'm trying to place that number.. With such a low percentage of actual male nurses, I find 57% to be really inflated. I wonder if he meant that 57% of graduate male nurses pursue roles of management. I could see that making more sense?

[TrevyRN, BSN, RN]

I think in an interview process you might stand out more because you're a male. Aside from that - ehh... not much else. But, hey, this is only an opinion!

If you stand out from the crowd, it's your job to show the person what you've got and what you're capable of. Can't fake GPA, experience, personality, professionalism, etc

Then again.... >:-D

[TrevyRN, BSN, RN]

Two things:

In class today, our professor gave us the stat that 57% of nurses in upper management are males. I don't have the source, but I don't believe our professor would lie to us about that.

I don't believe professors lie on purpose. But I did have some tell me the following ...err...mistruths:

Jack Lalanne is dead; his exercise and dieting didn't save him from a heart attack at an early age. (he was alive at the time I was told this fact and when he did die, he died of pneumonia at age 96)

You can shoot a gun in outer space (NO! There's no oxygen for the combustion reaction to take place). Why the heck were we talking about this in class anyways?

The ratio of infant CPR is 2 compressions to every 15 breaths, and she insisted everyone perform it that way in front of her to get a passing grade (***!? Don't worry she was fired almost instantly, haha). How did she get hired?

APA form "just means put it in bullet points".... (NOOOOooooooooOooooo! Papers were subjected to bizarre grading with disastrous consequences. We complained - some grades were salvaged.)

These are extreme examples, but I hope you get the point. Professors can be wrong, like everyone else. You have to be responsible for your own learning and check into your own sources. Skepticism is a human trait. It doesn't make you a jerk or mean if you are skeptical. It makes you grounded and practical and scientific-minded. It does threaten egos though - use it wisely, haha!

[Central BSN, RN]

To think being a male helps you get into school is kinda of laughable. My school had 400 applicants for 57 spots. Their are 8 males including myself. Every classmate I talked to had at minimum 3.75 overall and prereq, great interviews, entrance exam scores and reccomendation letter. So to answer you question gender does not matter if your going to any school worth it's weight, work and dedication do.

[panic36]

Blanker, I do not see how what you said proves anything? How do you know there was no point system involved to place one of those 8 males over other females with similar GPA/dedication. I'm not saying that you should focus on having an increased chance of being a male, or that dedication and hard work shouldn't be your primary reason for getting the job/school entrance. What I'm saying is that there are many schools/jobs that do provide small bump ups for being a male.