Do You Have Male Nurses on your Unit?

[Annointed_RNStudent]

This is a poll, if you have male nurses on your unit or not, and how do you feel they blend into the unit, also do they have positive patient experiences?

Thanks everyone in Advance~

[lilma_k]

We had one male nurse on our unit..but he moved to Arizona..he fit right in our "group" and understood what it is like to work with mostly females..he just shook his head and smiled

[likemike, BSN, RN]

the difference between a male vs female Nurse is one chromosone.

Stop bashing men, the question should be about competency not gender, this is 2006, women fly the shuttle and men can Nurse.

With all due respect, get over it.

[kikr]

Uhm, why yes there IS always this one male nurse in every ward I've ever worked. Good looking fellow to.

[Michael2546]

I just looked at my license. It just says registered nurse not male or female. I have always cared for my patients the same regardless of gender. If a female needs a cath then she needs a cath and I do it. If a male needs a cath I am sure any registered nurse can perform this procedure. Our scope of practice is not gender specific in Tennessee.

[Michael2546]

By the way. When my son was born in 1982 the head nurse of the OB/gyn floor was a male.

[azrose82]

I work as a tech and am the only male on my unit. While I am in school, I only work Sundays. Each week when I go in, the staff lounge is a complete pig sty - crumbs on the table, magazines everywhere, and dirty dishes in the sink. Some of the patient rooms are a disaster, too. And not a male in sight during the week....

HAHA! I Agree- I'd put money on the female nurses being messy b/c they know they can just blame it on the guy. I'm definitely the messy one in my marriage and my husband (who happens to be a nursing student with me) has finally caught on!!

[Rashandap]

I worked on a unit in PA and actually there were several male nurses and for the most part they were great, caring, and great advocates for their patients and for nurses. One nurse in particular always had patients and their families sending him thank you gifts and bringing him food. I think male nurses, just like female nurses have the capacity to be great nurses. I think it is societies general role bias that makes it seem strange to have male nurses. The only thing that irritates me is that on the unit I worked on The doctors treated male nurses differently, not that they were all jerks to female nurses, they would just talk to the male nurses as though they were the best of friends and very rarily did they question their assessments. Now this is not the male nurses fault however, they can not be held responsible how other people view and treat female nurses. I think the best way to handle it is to stop pointing out that there is a male nurse, like he is some sort of exhibit in a museum.

[jessegw1]

I did a preceptorship in a nursing home, one patient thought I was an old boyfriend she broke up with. It was very funny to aids, and female nurses, but I requested, and got out of going into her room. It was very real to her.

[magikRN]

I have worked in two different hospitals with male nurses. All the male nurses I have worked at were extremely professional and competent. I would have any of them be my nurse for anything, even L&D.

[mmihalko]

There are several male nurses in the units I oversee. From my observations, they are part of the team, get along just fine and blend into the culture of the unit just as well as their female counterparts. Whether they are liked by the patients/families has more to do with each individual nurse, than anything regarding their gender.

[Annieisfun]

From a nurse's point of view, I've worked with some great male nurses. On a med-surg floor or in ICU, I truly believe a nurse is a nurse is a nurse, and I wouldn't want it any other way...

But, considering the topic *was* posted in the OB/GYN forum... From a laboring mom's standpoint, I would definitely not have wanted a male nurse supporting my birthing experience, and it never occurred to me that many men might choose to go into that area of nursing. (For that matter, I find it odd that so many OB's are male, but that's another topic...)

The only man I wanted in that delivery room was dh. I suppose women who choose male OB's might feel differently, but I wouldn't be at all comfortable with a male caregiver during a vulnerable time like that.

When I was pregnant (each of the 4 times), I preferred male nurses and doctors. For some reason each and every time I needed my cervix checked there would be no discomfort with males, but every woman would grind her knuckles into the worst of places. Maybe this is just an issue of finger length, but it is now my preference.

[kadokin, ASN, RN]

I have worked w/a few male nurses on the psych unit I am assigned to. I have to say, they (in my experience) tend to complain more than the female nurses. Is it b/c they are used to people actually LISTENING to their complaints? BTW, it has been my experience that male MDs tend to take reports from male nurses more seriously than female nurses. Heard on this site a long time ago that it may have something to do w/the outside chance that confrontation w/a male could actually turn physical (no matter how remote that chance is).

What do you think?

I'm I being a paranoid female?

Have seen some VERY COMPASSIONATE male nurses.

It's too bad gender is such an issue in this profession. Seems like too much potential lost.

What do you think?