Do Male Nurses Get More Respect?

PhillyFNP, DNP · Feb 1, 2015

I've had several patients or their family members assume I am some sort of administrator. Nope, I tell them, I'm your nurse for the shift. Apparently, according to them, I carry myself well and exude confidence. I've only had one doctor get snippy with me but that was because I called, gave the information to the doctor, they gave me orders, and then I politely said, "alright thanks, have a good evening". The doctor exclaimed, "No! You don't call me and then tell me goodbye! I end the conversation not you!". I was shocked. He's like that apparently.

some physicians are still stuck in the stone age and/or have a "god" complex

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Feb 1, 2015

You get as much as you demand, regardless of your parts

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Feb 1, 2015

Interesting that salaries/pay/wages are disclosed where you work.What an anomaly.

I can't speak for NicuGal, but where I work the pay is very subjective. Per our union contract, upon hire we fill out a worksheet that starts w/ our highest degree, and then we fill in all of our prior nursing employers and our dates of hire/departure, and our FTE. So basically it's based on degree and total hours of nursing experience. I might not know the hourly wage of all of my colleagues, but I know how it was calculated and that gender played no part in it.

Now would I be surprised if my male colleagues made more on average in a year, or over their lifetime? Not at all. Because all of my male colleagues (at least right now) work full-time. I work half-time, and I've taken FMLA for five births; that works out to 15 months unpaid, minus the few weeks following each delivery that I've qualified for a little bit of STD pay. And then I was a stay-at-home mom for a year. Very few men take their full 12 weeks following their children's births. Of the new dads I've worked with over the past 12 years, I know *one* who took 6 weeks off. So yeah, they're going to make more than I do because they WORK more than I do. :yes:

sistrmoon, BSN, RN · Feb 1, 2015

Yes. We only have two male nurses on my floor and both work day shift. The MDs interact completely differently with them. I also think patients respect them more. Of course, they also mistake them for doctors quite often too.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Feb 1, 2015

Yes. We only have two male nurses on my floor and both work day shift. The MDs interact completely differently with them. I also think patients respect them more. Of course, they also mistake them for doctors quite often too.

Isn't it possible that they get the most respect because they're the most competent? Don't assume they're just skating by on their sex.

joe007 · Feb 2, 2015

I don't think a male/female determines "competency"... brains do and I know some hella smart female nurses.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Feb 2, 2015

Not where I work. And they don't make more money since we are all on the same pay scale.

Even if we're all on the same pay scale, male nurses sometimes make more money.

When I took my current job, my DH and I started out at the same rate, even though I had five years more experience than him and had a Master's to his diploma. ("You guys have so much experience," they said. "27 years and 22 years are the same salary step.") We worked for a year, during which we were told that if we joined a committee, did a project, taught a class and researched a topic we would advance to the next step on the clinical ladder, and get a substantial raise. I joined the committee, did the project, taught the class and researched more than one topic. He did none of those things while loudly proclaiming that he wasn't about to do any of those things. At the end of the year, he advanced to the next step on the clinical ladder and got the substantial raise; I did not. For the next decade, we each got merit raises based on our annual evaluation and the occaisional cost of living raise. Those raises are figured as a percentage of your salary. His salary was higher, he raises were bigger. The disparity got larger and larger. It is only after 11 years that I caught up and surpassed him based on some really great evaluations and some hard work chairing a committee, working on other committees, teaching classes and researching topics. He has still done none of those things.

Libby1987 · Feb 2, 2015

Even if we're all on the same pay scale, male nurses sometimes make more money.
When I took my current job, my DH and I started out at the same rate, even though I had five years more experience than him and had a Master's to his diploma. ("You guys have so much experience," they said. "27 years and 22 years are the same salary step.") We worked for a year, during which we were told that if we joined a committee, did a project, taught a class and researched a topic we would advance to the next step on the clinical ladder, and get a substantial raise. I joined the committee, did the project, taught the class and researched more than one topic. He did none of those things while loudly proclaiming that he wasn't about to do any of those things. At the end of the year, he advanced to the next step on the clinical ladder and got the substantial raise; I did not. For the next decade, we each got merit raises based on our annual evaluation and the occaisional cost of living raise. Those raises are figured as a percentage of your salary. His salary was higher, he raises were bigger. The disparity got larger and larger. It is only after 11 years that I caught up and surpassed him based on some really great evaluations and some hard work chairing a committee, working on other committees, teaching classes and researching topics. He has still done none of those things.

Were you married from the time of hire?

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Feb 2, 2015

I work for a county hospital. You are capped out at 10 years with only cost of living raises when they come around. The only way you make

more is if you move into management. You can be on 10 committees, have your BSN/MSN and 10 certifications, doesn't matter. When I was in management I made more, when I went back staff, I took a pay cut. Perk: Retiring at 30 years with my monthly income higher than what I have now and full benefits. Although, guys tend to work

longer than women here.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Feb 2, 2015

Were you married from the time of hire?

Yes, but other than explaining why I know exactly what each of us was making (I do the finances), what does that have to do with anything?

Libby1987 · Feb 2, 2015

Yes, but other than explaining why I know exactly what each of us was making (I do the finances), what does that have to do with anything?

I was just wondering if they were openly and blatantly violating their own policy or if you guys didn't develop a relationship until later and they didn't know that you were aware of the discrepancy.

macgirl · Feb 2, 2015

For personnal experience YES!

I remember being a patient, the male doctors were way ruder to female nurses. I had dressing changes that need to be done. I had asked if I could the time changed. I was told it was fine. Well, the doctor came and was upset that it had not been done. I explained that I asked for the time to be changed. Boy was he mad and ready to yell. Boy did that attitude flip when the MALE nurse walked in. Unfortunatly, I saw that behavior more than once. My theory then was, "I can't yell at this guy, he may punch me".