Have Male Nursing Students felt bias during class/clinicals?

Nurseworks, ASN, RN · Apr 5, 2014

Like others have said, the only issues I come across are from female patients that are a bit chaste about having a man tend to anything they deem private. I encounter the same thing while working as a CNA in the hospital. Otherwise, my female counterparts are extremely comfortable with having me work side by side with them.

spinny87 · Apr 6, 2014

Bros I have never felt discriminated against in peds OB fundamentals in the cohort or in the library. I give respect and demand respect even as a student. In OB i had female nurses pushing me into the delivery room. They knew how much I wanted to be in the delivery process and made sure it happened. I continually thanked each nurse and patient for the opportunity to learn and they reciprocated by giving me harder assignments.

As for the fellow female nursing students. When I hear them starting the hate game I take my pen and assessment papers and find a corner to actually focus on my patient. Don't look for trouble.

Sincerely,

Bro

leonard_huh, BSN, MSN, RN, APN · Apr 6, 2014

for me I just get picked on a lot by the instructors and feel like they test and question my knowledge a lot to the max, while the girls get asked simple questions. in clinical everyone is always supportive and never been left out or have had any problems with patients, doctors, nurses, or families. there might be some people who might assume its a female profession but theres others who don't really care as long as its a career and I'm doing something with my life.

medivac618, ASN, CNA, RN, EMT-B · Apr 10, 2014

I've felt plenty of gender bias. This semester we had OB clinicals, the majority of male students were given the day that our particular hospital 'never' has scheduled deliveries. I saw 1 delivery over 2 months! Our school also gave us a day as a school nurse. No male students got a local high school. Apparently we're too likely to try to hook up with a high school girl.

Foxtrotdeltalima20 · Apr 10, 2014

So far I have not had any problems. Professors and clinical instructors have been great. Tomorrow is my last med-surg clinical and I will miss the group of nurses we have been working with. One nurse in particular did not like nursing students. After her first rotation with me, she wants students to teach. I kept telling my fellow students to get her at least once during the semester because she makes you think and learn. OB and PEDS are coming up this summer so I may need to post here again. To date, all of my pts (male and female) have had nothing but kind words for me. All have wished me well. Loving my decision to become a nurse!

mursedee · Apr 13, 2014

yeah dude, a lot of profs push neo-feminist theory even where it is unnecessary and stray very far from original feminist/equality theories. There are a couple good profs but it is a lot worse than i expected it. It is a female dominated course though so it was somewhat expected... I did however find many of the students super supportive and open to debate without taking offence on issues more so than the profs.

krathman · Apr 13, 2014

Never felt this to pertain to me in my year and a half as a student. The other day I had a patient's mother (in the peds unit) give me an odd look and say she did not expect to see a male nurse. I told her that we are in fact a rare breed, we have the blood of tigers and bones made of carbon fibre. She laughed. I then told her that this has never been proven because none of us have ever died.

sjalv · Apr 14, 2014

I'm doing peds/OB this semester and haven't felt any bias at all. There was a pregnant woman who didn't want me in the room while another student straight cath'd her but I don't blame her. Friday, I saw a c-section and the patient didn't care that a male student was watching. I'm the only male in my clinical group but I don't feel excluded at all. My instructor is the best I could ask for.

woofyrn · Apr 14, 2014

Interesting to hear this is still going on to a certain degree. I graduated in 1993, and the only difficulties I *ever* had was during OB rotation -- and not from patients. Everyone else in our group got to watch a delivery, but the OB nurse was adamant that neither myself nor another male in our group should be allowed in the room. Never mind that the doctor was a male, lol. I'm sure the old hag had her reasons. :sneaky:

Otherwise I never had any problems with my classmates. But then I was an openly gay male, and they all loved me. Wonder if it would've been different if I were straight.

malamud69, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2014

Overall? Never

Class/Text biased? Not at all

Female dominated? Latest stats show males at 10-12% total workforce...How do we define "dominated?"

Turned off by "how it has been taught?" Never

I do however have a fantastic professor who still always refers to Docs as "He" and nurses as "she" no matter what...and I am continually "arguing" (for lack of a better word) with her that if nurses do in fact want to "be heard" (hence the ridiculous/wasteful/completely bogus-except for basic understanding in N101-of the NANDA-Nursing Dx. language etc...) then we must realize we are in a medical field and that is how people (male and female) talk to each other...relegating yourself to second class even in the way you speak does not help...as in-the Male Doc is always right, and we as nurses are somehow the idiot off to the side-this is how this professor portrays it...she is great but somehow stuck in "mad men" days...The reality that I see everyday is that nurses-Male or Female often know as much/more than the docs! Many a doc has been saved by a competent nurse. Period-end.

ArtClassRN, ADN, RN · Apr 17, 2014

I never ever felt left out of the conversation in class, clinical or on the job. I am "just one of the girls" during discussions.

Recently a (very pregnant) Occupational Therapist was talking about breast feeding and related issues while I was charting on the computer next to her. She kept saying "Oh Art, I'm sorry to talk about this in front of you..."

I finally turned to her laughing and said, "You think I have a problem with the topic of nursing? I AM a freaking nurse."

RorySeiter · Apr 21, 2014

I correct people when they refer to nurses as "her" or "she". But no discrimination in any situation. Well, I suppose I have been used to lift patients and help do things because I am a male.