What's special about male nurses?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hi everyone,

I'm pre-nursing, and everyone keeps talking to me about how male nurses are in demand and what an asset it's going to be for me. I get that men rarely enter the profession, but I don't see why there is all this buzz or what people think men can do differently. If anyone would care to share their perspectives on this I'd appreciate, cuz I'm not seeing it!

Specializes in Rural and remote, medical/surgical, aged.

Heyho

The benifit of being a male nurse is being able to be sperated from the bitching that goes on between female nurses. I am constantly gob smacked how awful female staff behave towards each other. I am even more gobbsmacked at how awful new grads are treated and bitched about. I am sure that there are heaps of male nurses that are bastards but Im yet to work with any that work hard to put others down.

Well, I Went To School In The Dark Ages..graduated In 1970. Since The Early 90's I Began To Hear That " Things Would Change When Men Started To Enter Nursing". I Think Change Meant More Liberal Working Conditions For Nurses And Improved Salaries.

I Worked With A Doc Who Was On The National Faculty Of The American Heart Assoc. He Presented A Paper @ Their Annual Conference One Year And Suggested That For Years The Cost Of Healthcare Has Been Kept Down, Despite Public Opinion, Because It Has Always Been A Primarily Female Workforce.

Now Enter The Men. Trumpets Should Be Blaring For The Working Nurses Of The Future.

Another Thing I Did Notice About Men, They Don't Seem To Get As Emotional As The Women. There Were No Histrionics And Very Little Whining.

Specializes in Renal, Haemo and Peritoneal.

I think male nurses are different because we tend to talk in plain language! I can recall an incident where one of my female colleagues was asking a confused old man if he "wanted to go for a wee?" After watching her vain attempt for about 5 mins I went and asked "hey mate, do you want to go for a pi**?" Instant success! A greater ratio of males does keep the bitchiness on a lower level as well.

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

I'm pre-nursing, and everyone keeps talking to me about how male nurses are in demand and what an asset it's going to be for me. I get that men rarely enter the profession, but I don't see why there is all this buzz or what people think men can do differently. If anyone would care to share their perspectives on this I'd appreciate, cuz I'm not seeing it!

*** Good nurses are good nurses, male or female. That said as a male nurse I am sure that I have recieved special treatment becuase of my sex.

I once had a VA nurse recruiter tell me (over lunch and off the record) that they prefered to hire male nurses when the could get them. The reasons she stated where - less complaining, more willing to work NOCs & weekends, a more professional work environment, and she said that in her experience men did not try to match their shifts to their wives shifts, but that women often tried to.

Now those where her reasons, not mine.

I prefer to work in a mixed work place. AN all male work place gets to crude and being the sole representive of your gender as I was in nursing school and at several places I have worked is no fun.

It IS a great profession if you want to meet women though :)

Heyho

The benifit of being a male nurse is being able to be sperated from the bitching that goes on between female nurses. I am constantly gob smacked how awful female staff behave towards each other. I am even more gobbsmacked at how awful new grads are treated and bitched about. I am sure that there are heaps of male nurses that are bastards but Im yet to work with any that work hard to put others down.

I have worked with two trecherous male nurses who did things like sabeotage their co-workers, spread gossip and lies, set co-workers up to fail, etc. However, these guys were the exception.

Most nurses are pretty good people in my book, male or female.

because we rock!! :)

male nurses are like unicorns. they're rare and have an extra appendage, but at the end of the day they're just horses!

I think male nurses are different because we tend to talk in plain language! I can recall an incident where one of my female colleagues was asking a confused old man if he "wanted to go for a wee?" After watching her vain attempt for about 5 mins I went and asked "hey mate, do you want to go for a pi**?" Instant success! A greater ratio of males does keep the bitchiness on a lower level as well.

Go for a wee?!!:chuckle :chuckle

I agree with some of what you say - I've always gotten on better, on the whole, with guys. Or gals who work nites!

Specializes in OB, NP, Nurse Educator.

The male nurses I have worked with look at things differently than the female nurses do - and they don't tend to bottle up how they feel about a situation (good or bad). I find that to be a good thing.

Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

I don't find much difference in the male nurses I work with or am in school with honestly.

Change the question. Imagine for a moment that nursing was a male-dominant profession. What benefit would there be in bringing in more females? Broader insight to the people being served? Different priorities? Different approaches to interpersonal relations? Etc. Etc.... The same benefits apply regardless of whether the equation adds more men, women, or any other type of cultural context. So, bringing in more men to the profession will broaden the diversity of the how the service is provided.

Nursing is also having issues with filling positions, be it as instructors, bedside, or whatever. Certainly, making an effort to tap into nearly half of a population not currently involved in nursing would help meet those particular needs.

So it's not that there's some magic bullet in adding more men to the profession. It's more that it provides greater opportunity to tap into the entire spectrum of the human potential needed to get the best and brightest to the bedside.

Some of the best and some of the worst nurses I have worked with have been men. Some work hard, are helpful, have a great attitude; others gossip, some will stab you in the back... just like anyone anywhere.

I do like to see more men enter the profession (as women have entered medicine) for various reasons; but they shouldn't expect "special" treatment ;)

DeLana

P.S. My husband went to nursing school after I did (it would have never occurred to him otherwise, but he loves it. He works in a cardiac ICU). His father - now 84 - had a little trouble accepting it at first, he kept asking "So you want to become a paramedic?" The older generation still has a few stereotypes :chuckle

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