nursing career

fergus51 · Jan 6, 2002

Yes I read it wild, but I think that could be said about men as well. I don't know any men in nursing who have taken leadership positions and done more than women in the same position.

wildtime88 · Jan 6, 2002

Fergus51'

You are right, but men in nursing are also restricted by the overall climate, attitudes, and basic conditions as much as you are. If the overwhelming atmosphere is one of compliance or non-confrontational there is little that a man or even you can do about it. It the overwhelming majority will not participate in direct confrontation, then the minority is basically disposable. If the majority continues to take what ever is dished out without protest then the minority can not make much difference because any gains are quickly negated.

I said in another post that women do not need to wait for men to change things because men can not change things alone. It will be something that the majority of the profession will have to do. The majority is female. IN order to get to that point individual, attitudes, ideas, and action as well as lack of actions will have to change.

fergus51 · Jan 6, 2002

I totally agree with you that the majority of nurses need to become more vocal and demand change. I just don't like that it is assumed that men have the balls to do so and women don't (not a very good expression here perhaps... ). I have seen no evidence that the majority of men are any more active than women in nursing.

wildtime88 · Jan 6, 2002

Fergus51,

I have never seen a actual majority of men in nursing except for times in ER. Those nights were actually quite different.

Most of the time what you see is one or two guys working and are quite the minority.

Do a little research on Nurse Anesthetists and see what the difference between male to female ratio is when compared to all the other areas of nursing. Also look at the make up of past and present leadership of their national organization

It is some what hard to believe that they are nurses.

Also see if you can compare them to Nurse Practitioners as far male to female ratio.

Also try to compare the NPs with Physician's assistants as far as gender make up, but with them you would also have to account for past gender make up as well.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 7, 2002

Welcome, Nate!

I graduated in 1977 from a LPN program with one male classmate....1982 BSN program had 4 males; my LPN colleague attended my college and graduated the year after me.

I ocassionally run into them at local hospitals...all continue in the field. My first Home Health agency owner in 1984 was a Male RN. Ed's agency thrived because of his business acumen and nursing expertise (loaned MY services to another agency...at $40hr in 1992; he got $5,000 when they hired me FT).

Currently, my home care agency has 4 male RN's and patients repeatedly request them upon hospitalization.

Might be interesting for you to visit:

Men in American Nursing History

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6011/

The American Assembly for Men in Nursing

http://aamn.freeyellow.com/

Luther Christman, PhD,RN,FAAN is chairman of the board and started in nursing in the 1960's I believe. I have heard him speak eloquently at several ANA conventions and he has helped mold the nursing profession.

Still Not Much of a Guy Thing

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/webzine/pages_2001-11/guything.html

Men in Nursing Mentoring Task Force at University of Iowa:

http://www.nursing.uiowa.edu/student_serv/mentor_men.htm

Yahoo Club: Men in nursing

http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/meninnursing

Have worked with many men over the years and we learned from each other. Hope you find a rewarding position. Karen

fergus51 · Jan 7, 2002

Wild

I have been told that CRNAs make more and are more respected than NPs or CNMs, but we don't have any CRNAs in my province as far as I know so I am not very familiar with them. The only nurse anethetist I have seen here was a female one in from Nepal doing a tour of the OR and watching procedures.

When I say the majority of male nurses, I don't mean that they make up the majority of nurses anywhere, I mean I see no evidence that say... 90% of the female nurses are weak and 90% of the male nurses are not. What I am saying is that I don't see any more participation and decisive action among male nurses than female ones. I don't see them refusing unsafe patient loads, commanding better wages or resolving conflicts with quick confrontation any more often than a female nurse does. Maybe you would argue that is because they have been sucked into a feminine way of behaving because they are in nursing? I understand that argument, I just don't think so.

You probably know I work L&D and I don't have any men on the unit, so my experiences with male nurses while floating or during union stuff may be insufficient to really know how active male nurses are compared to female ones, but in my experience personality traits don't have a gender.

The areas in my hospital with the most men seems to be emerg and ortho. I float to both places as a workload nurse (only doing tasks because I refuse to take a patient load on a floor I am not trained on) and I just don't see the male nurses acting really differently than the female ones. Maybe our female nurses are more like men or the male nurses are more like women, but they certainly aren't from different planets! Some stand up for themselves, others don't.

Rottie1 · Jan 7, 2002

I just read all the post on male nursing. Wow what a topic. Wild's first post was something else! I read that and wondered if he had ever worked where I am currently working. I have to say that I agree with what was said.

I have been told by my supervisor in my evaluation that I am too "out spoken" and that I should take care with the new nurses and be more gentle when offering feedback. I strive to do my best and expect anyone else I work with to do the same. I shouldn't have to lower my standards just because some one is going to cry when I tell him/her that something was done incorrectly.

Anyway, Nate, If this is what you would like to do, more power to you. You have heard many opinions and only you can make the decision for yourself.

Good luck! And remember there are many options in nursing.

tattoochick · Jan 7, 2002

Well, from my experience...in school still (graduate in May), my professors LOVE the male students. They want men to come into nursing because it helps with the shortage, and guys are usually better at skills and hands-on stuff than girls, at first at least. I only got to know some male nurses in the ER and they were all really, really good. Always on top of things and what not. The only thing that my guy-nursing student friends tell me is that they struggled with psych where you just talk to patients and try to get them to work through their feelings. But, other than that, they love it! :cool:

old-master · Jan 7, 2002

I am a male student Rn, and current work with ALL female LVN's in a detox center. They never backstab or talk down to one another. But the CNA I work with do, male and female. Nursing is a calling, and you are born to it. We need men and women to answer the call to Nursing, and come there to do only good. Money is only a human made-entrapment. foucs on that when you go home and watch the news, you can say to yourself that you tried to help the world on person at a time. :)

So, follow your heart and go to school before you finish you will know. And if you find that your coworkers are plotting......than do your job and stay out of it.

:cool:

Now, I am a Martial Arts student has well, and I have beaten by more women than men. :eek:

So, food for thought on those Tea-party theory!

old-master has spoken......

nurs4kids · Jan 7, 2002

Originally posted by wildtime88
I prefer to date women who are not submissive and who are intellengent .

oh really? lol

wildtime88 · Jan 7, 2002

Intelligent

Happy?

I made a spelling error. My guess is that it was intelligible enough for everyone else to understand.

It was not the first and it will not be the last.

debbyed · Jan 7, 2002

Nate,

I love all the nurses in my ER regardless of sex (or lack of), race or what planet they are from. We all work together, and all work just as hard as our teammates. I wouldn't change professions.

:)