Half Question/Half Pet Peeve

[roser13, ASN, RN]

This is a sincere question and not an intention to flame.

Why are we seeing threads (yes, multiple) from male pre-nursing or pre-CNA students asking (in essence) how many advantages & benefits they will attain simply because they are of the male gender? These posts commonly carry an "what am I entitled to?" sentiment that just puts me over the edge.

Seriously, is it "out there" that all male applicants to an historically female profession can pretty much count on magical admission rates to school and rapid promotion rates while employed?

Adding to my distress at this trend are the nurses who respond positively to these threads:

"Yes, our elderly patients really have a higher respect for male CNA's/nurses. They always think they're doctors!"

"Yes! We can use you on the Lift Team!"

"Yes, we like working with male nurses more than we like working with female nurses because they don't gossip!"

"All the male nurses in my unit get promoted quickly to management."

I guess I've pretty much answered my own question. If we (current nurses) are encouraging male nursing applicants by promoting how "special" they will be, it's no wonder that the word is out there that the nursing field is ripe for male exploitation.

Which essentially.........depresses me.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

I, too, get real sensitive about sexism in the workplace! Before a career change to nursing, I worked in the business world and saw first-hand how this works. I was passed over for an important promotion, and this position was given to a male who had less experience and less education than me. He lasted three months, made a terrible mess of everything, so he was then demoted and I was given his job, which I should have had in the first place! However, I was paid 25% less than he was! Same job, same everything~ only difference was that he was a male.

[unicoRNurse]

I guess that is a more commonly-held thought than I realized. I almost fell out of my chair when one of my employers told me that his son had changed his major to nursing, then went on to say -- right out loud, to another human being -- that, as a man, he would quickly be promoted and would likely be managing a hospital full of [female] nurses within 3 - 5 years. Hearing that was disturbing; but hearing that such nonsense wasn't just the chauvinist rambling of an ignorant man with delusions of grandeur pertaining to his children, and that it is actually a more widely-held belief disgusts me. (Oh, by the way, little mister chief nursing officer couldn't hack A&P I and changed his major to business something or other.).

[iluvgusgus]

It's not just a belief , it is a real phenomenon, sexism is still alive and well and it is a myth to think women have finally won equality with men in the workplace.

[ceebeejay]

Argh. Just argh. Yes, it's nasty in all areas of the job market. Hopefully, the women who do make it to positions of power will also change the dynamics that allow these situations to happen.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

Typical response from a recent "men are special" thread:

"i wouldn't call it so much a "demand" for males in the field, but theyre definitely welcomed. Think of it as a scholarship. It always goes to the most deserving, but it helps when youve got that little something extra haha "

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Well, we just fired a male nurse this past week. His genitals did nothing to help him when it became obvious he was a poor fit for the specialty and the team itself.

[TU RN, DNP, CRNA]

I'm a male, was rejected the first year I applied to nursing school, waited a year and studied subjects that I was interested in (for a lot more unnecessary money), then applied again and got in. Note: I did not approach the dean of the nursing program, genitalia in hand, and ask for a place in the class of 2013.

Now I might be mistaken, but aren't males a minority in this profession? My bosses are all females and I don't claim to have any greater importance than my female RN counterparts. To be honest, some of them are better at turning and moving patients than I am (which is positively emasculating). People mistake me for a doctor, but I remind them of who I am proudly. It really discourages me to see women so disdainful of men in nursing and this post hurts my feelings.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

I may be wrong, TU RN, but I personally took the post to be geared toward those who feel entitled to perks due to being the minority male, not toward male nurses in general. In any case, I appreciate your frankness in how this thread makes you feel. That honesty is refreshing. I frequently see women say things that, were the tables turned and the exact same statements made by men about women, would cause a massive uproar. I can appreciate where you are coming from. I do think, however, that the thread is actually addressing males who feel entitled to a leg up or who are expressing a desire to find and exploit the same.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I'm a male, was rejected the first year I applied to nursing school, waited a year and studied subjects that I was interested in (for a lot more unnecessary money), then applied again and got in. Note: I did not approach the dean of the nursing program, genitalia in hand, and ask for a place in the class of 2013.

Now I might be mistaken, but aren't males a minority in this profession? My bosses are all females and I don't claim to have any greater importance than my female RN counterparts. To be honest, some of them are better at turning and moving patients than I am (which is positively emasculating). People mistake me for a doctor, but I remind them of who I am proudly. It really discourages me to see women so disdainful of men in nursing and this post hurts my feelings.

I do NOT intend to discourage nursing candidates, male or otherwise. I am not disdainful of male candidates in general, only those who attempt to claim an advantage based upon their gender.

[LithEruiel]

The male nursing students in my class were definitely given special treatment and attention while in school, but I haven't seen anything on the job, though I have no doubt it happens. It made me so mad that every class would elect a male class president even though the majority of students were female.

[malestunurse]

It made me so mad that every class would elect a male class president even though the majority of students were female.

Hmm that is slightly different I think. There are 3 males in our class of 90 so we stick out like sore thumbs, everyone knows who we are. An election for something kind of silly like class president is always going to be a popularity contest, so if I decide to stand and everyone knows me then I am going to get a percentage of 100% where as a female who may still be highly popular but will only get a percentage of the people that know of her vote for her.