Is it me, or is there a dichotomy for male nurses??

[Mike32110]

Okay, just a random observation that I have had. I am in a fast-track nursing program, and of course there are very few guys. It seems like you can put guys into two big catagories: the one's with relatively 'femanine' personalities, and the other's that seem to be over the top masculine haha.

Maybe this is just what I have seen, don't get me wrong there are a few pretty regular guys, but there does seem to be two extremes here.

I train MMA and at my club there are two other male nurses there, which to me is insanely high out of the maybe 80 guys that train there. I've also noticed a large number of... um... "sensitive" guys that seem to fit the male nursing stereotype as well.

There's also a few other guys whose brain seems to be made of pure testosterone, lol. I was just wondering if anyone else noticed the same thing.

[Mike32110]

Wow, I re-read my original post and now realize how horrible I sounded. Please, let me repost what I was trying to say, it should make a lot more sense. To call it a dichotomy implies men are either one extreme or the other, that is clearly not the case. I meant that compared to the average population, there would be a slightly higher percentage at the tails of the graph. Therefore you would have a few more in those extremes.

This was based on a small sample size, and as I have gotten to know more male nurses I know this to not be true.

However, to call it a dichotomy would ignore the third category I just came up with: Male RN students trying to get into med school.

So I will admit my first post was total garbage, and I wish I never wrote it. BUT, I will not agree with the statement that a distribution of males in Nursing with respect to feminine/masculine traits is representative of the general population, but then again, few jobs would be.

Please, let me clarify, I DO NOT consider myself to be overly masculine, by any means. I do a lot of things that are really masculine, and I do a lot of things that might be considered feminine (although I don't like to consider everything in terms of masculine or feminine traits). I'm just a normal guy, making observations :).

Please accept my apology.

[cjar107013]

I'm just a normal guy

Which is what 99% of guys are going to say no matter what their hair color is, their shoe size is, their bowling average, their relationship status and sexual preference is, or their job is.

I don't think your first post was total garbage. I think what you wrote there is probably what many people outside of nursing think. I'm glad your way of looking at people is changing.

[TheKyleRC]

Should make a thread for posting pictures of yourself - and we can all judge and assume based on them. lolz

[elkpark]

BUT, I will not agree with the statement that a distribution of males in Nursing with respect to feminine/masculine traits is representative of the general population, but then again, few jobs would be.

I'm trying to figure out some way that you might mean this statement that makes sense to me, and I'm coming up completely blank. I've been in nursing for over 25 years; I had male students in school with me, I've worked with many male RNs and LPNs over the years, there were two male students (out of four of us, total) in my grad school specialty track, and I've taught male students in ADN and BSN programs in more recent years -- and, of the entire group of male nurses (and would-be nurses) I've encountered over the years, I would honestly say that none of them would stand out in a crowd as particularly/unusually "masculine" or "feminine." Can you explain further what you mean?

[GrantG85]

This post is actually pretty amusing, especially considering I just came across this portion of the site.

I myself don't know if there are set categories of males in nursing, or even the medical field at all. I'm a recent nurse graduate on a split unit Medical/Surgical ICU, have a ton of friends that are residents, nurses, doctors. Have had 3 different roommates in the medical profession, 1 being a Surgery resident, tall but thin white dude, ladies man, watch/play sports on free time, but slightly metro I guess you would call it, or fashion conscious. 1 Emergency medicine resident that is shorter, half indian, slender type of build fashion conscious,isn't into traditional sports what so ever, but does mountain biking and handball etc, not a ladies man, kind of a goof ball. Another that's a med student, taller, muscular, yet plays guitar, and watches sports and mountain bikes etc. I myself am a nurse, that was on the path to do med school until living with all these guys and decided to pursue CRNA school. Anyhow I'm shorter, smaller build but I workout and am toned up but you probably couldn't tell under my scrubs.. I am well dressed, watch/play sports, have a crotch rocket, and get my fair share of women.

In nursing school there were 60 of us, about 8 guys, which we lost half of before graduating. Of the guys, 2 were older biker guys with kids, big 300+ lb guys that would go out for a smoke on breaks. When we first started nursing school I bet they seen me as feminine, being a younger, well dressed, shorter and more slender build guy. But after talking to me for 20 seconds, and getting to know me throughout nursing school, I'm guessing they would say I'm a normal dude.

Anyhow, I have seen masculine football build dude's that are resp students, to some nerdy dudes that have the funny lisp I seen some people post. So I think the medical field attracts all sorts of people for different reasons and goals. When you go into firefighting you know exactly what your getting into, and what your doing the rest of your life, it's the same for everyone. Nothing in the medical field is, and I think that's why there are so many different types of guys getting into the field..