Does being called a male nurse annoy you?

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I don't know why but being called a male nurse annoys me. You meet people, or people you know or whatever "so you are a male nurse" do you call females in law enforcement a "female cop" or "female firefighter"....

I'm a nurse, who is male. I am a professional, I am good at what I do. A nurse is a nurse just like a cop is a cop or a firefighter is a firefighter etc. regardless of their gender. I'm just saying.....

Specializes in currently in Medical.

Never be feel bad of who you r .. You are a nurse .. and am a nurse.. whether female or male..It donesn't matter.. becasuse You're doing a great job !

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Specializes in ICU.

A comically good rebuttal is to ask them how they have been a (male/female) patient.

Usually gets a good smile.

Take it in stride fellas, take it in stride.

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Specializes in NICU/Subacute/MDS.
A colleague of mine at my first job out of school (>25 years ago) used to get that a lot -- the "Oh, are you a male nurse??" He used to respond (v. pleasantly) with, "No, I take care of females, too."

Love it! Great way to put it back in perspective!

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

Man you gotta learn not to sweat the little stuff.

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Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.

No bother, but for kicks, in a friendly tone ask, "what part are you having trouble with, the male or the nurse?" Can be fun to watch them squirm.

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Now that I think of it, it does annoy me. It's another way of saying "He's in a women's profession ." It's usually my geriatric patients that use that term.

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this is gonna be my first post...and just registered today.

No one has called me "a male nurse" yet, except myself. I dont bring up the topic in conversation.

Should someone call me a male nurse. I would say I am not a male nurse. I am THE "CHARGE" NURSE (with emphasis on the word CHARGE and flexing my arm as I say the word Charge)

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency, Education, Informatics.

Doesn't bother me, I'm male and a nurse.

It's better than being called orderly, which is what I had to deal with 30+ years ago when i started this.

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Just a bit archaic.

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I don't know why but being called a male nurse annoys me. You meet people, or people you know or whatever "so you are a male nurse" do you call females in law enforcement a "female cop" or "female firefighter"....

I'm a nurse, who is male. I am a professional, I am good at what I do. A nurse is a nurse just like a cop is a cop or a firefighter is a firefighter etc. regardless of their gender. I'm just saying.....

Guilty I am

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Being called a male nurse doesn't annoy me. I am male and a nurse that being said. What annoys me is being a male nurse and the rest of the nursing staff ( women) think your a freaking forklift to move or pick up patient's or anything else they don't feel like lifting. There should be a lift test when becoming a nurse Must be able to lift 100lbs plus. These are my thoughts use them as you wish

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

Interesting question. In 27 years of Nursing, I don't think I've even stopped and considered gender when it comes to being a Nurse.

Just kidding.

In fact, when I sign with Hearing-Impaired Patients, I use both the sign for "male" and "nurse". I dunno why. Just do.

Perhaps I'm part of the problem. Verses being part of the solution. You know?

Dave

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