As I sit back and reflect on my 23 years of health care employment I mediate on those things that have inspired and discouraged me in these endeavors. In my various roles and responsibilities I would sometimes find myself at odds with "the establishment" and for the most part understood the conflict I encountered.
But then I entered nursing and discovered that this profession had it's own version of the "good old boy" network that a CRNA friend of mine described as the "evil estrogen empire". Granted this is not a flattering term but was a catchy phrase to describe a certain clique in nursing that seemed to resist the idea of men practicing nursing.
I have read countless threads on the various flavors of this subject and can see that there exists substantial difference of opinion on the etiology or even the existence of this phenomenon.
The real question is this, if you accept the premise that men in nursing are subjected to various negative stereotypes, gender bias and other forms of discrimination what is the best approach to redress these grievances.
Should men just ignore the problem and hope that things will get better or should they become more proactive on this issue and attempt to educate others on the consequences of such behavior?
Phrases like that, as i said, are only aggravating the existing problem.
Then you acknowledge the problem does exist? And yes uncaring, insensitive remarks do aggravate the problem which is not my intent. But then again I find the term "male nurse" insulting.
My intent is to identify a problem that exists in nursing practice and solicit constructive responses that helps to solve the problem.
...Haven't we been striving for equality for the last 50 years or so?...Honestly, I have worked with good and bad women and men in nursing and other fields too, lets just hire the best and keep em.
Yep, people should be hired, paid and promoted based upon individual merit and not gender.
Good God, we are all needed at the appropriate time for the patients. Maybe we could work that out sometime. Love you all
I would agree that there are unique gender traits that contribute to aptitude and outcomes. No doubt about it. But I find it curious that some women (who have been fighting these same issues for so long in other settings in the so called "man's world") have been guilty of the same behavior in their own proverbial backyard.
hbscott
416 Posts
Then you acknowledge the problem does exist? And yes uncaring, insensitive remarks do aggravate the problem which is not my intent. But then again I find the term "male nurse" insulting.
My intent is to identify a problem that exists in nursing practice and solicit constructive responses that helps to solve the problem.
-HBS