Is being a Male nurse weird?

DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN · May 4, 2011

A name change for men in nursing would be most helpful. How about, Registered Medic?
When you see a person who may have a beard and breastless, it would be redundant
to call him a "male" nurse, instead of nurse, or RN.

It's not the name that needs changing (and certainly not to medic!) but the image of the word nurse, but I do take your point about "nurse" not telling anybody if you're a man or a woman. In many European countries we've gone past gender sterotypes of nursing as a "woman's job" and places like the UK are experiencing record numbers of male nursing students. It's a shame in some ways that the English language is so gender neutral. In French for example you've usually got male and female versions of these things so you're either un infirmier (man) or une infirmière (woman). Never any confusion when the patient says "last night my nurse....." you know immediately if it's a man or woman.

When I started nursing in the UK in the early 80s this was an issue - not any more, and in the 10 years I've been in France I can honestly say it's never reared it's ugly head. I would say to the original poster that you should just do what you want to do and don't worry about what other people think. It does concern me however that you're potentially coming into a profession with a pre-conceived idea that it might be a "weird" choice for you? Why not try and meet some real live nurses, of both genders, and see how you feel about what you glean from them?

My heterosexual male colleagues are never perceived as gay. It's far more tiresome for me as a gay man of a certain age being constantly asked "Is your wife English too or is she French?" and "Have you got any children" (yawn)

Rock, LPN, RN · May 4, 2011

Other romance languages also can rearrange a noun to indicate male or female. I agree with a previous comment that "nursing" brings to mind a mother breast feeding her infant.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · May 4, 2011

It's a shame in some ways that the English language is so gender neutral. In French for example you've usually got male and female versions of these things so you're either un infirmier (man) or une infirmière (woman). Never any confusion when the patient says "last night my nurse....." you know immediately if it's a man or woman.

Same as in Spanish (enfermero/enfermera) or any Romance language for that matter. Shame that it is so gender neutral in English.

I agree with a previous comment that "nursing" brings to mind a mother breast feeding her infant.

That's funny, because the word "nursing" to me does not even create a breastfeeding image in my mind right off. "Nursing" immediately makes me think of the profession. I guess it's a generational thing; "breastfeeding" has been the more common used term in my lifetime. I am actually surprised that you have issues with the word nursing as referred to men, considering the number of years you have worked in the field (50! Assuming that is accurate on your profile).

Rock, LPN, RN · May 4, 2011

I have always believed that "nursing" sounds too much like something that a female would be doing. Whereas, Registered Medic, for example is gender neutral.

AgentBeast, BSN, RN · May 5, 2011

Nurse and nursing are just words, who really gives a ****? Call me an asshat, I don't care. It's still the same job.

Toradol · May 12, 2011

My huge problem with being a male nurse is the stigma that i am Gay, which I am not but i get attacked as being such due to it being a female related field. It is not till they get to know me that they figgure out i am straight. Other than that there is no reson for a male not to be a nurse! It is a great and rewarding carrier choce!

DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN · May 12, 2011

My huge problem with being a male nurse is the stigma that i am Gay, which I am not but i get attacked as being such due to it being a female related field. It is not till they get to know me that they figgure out i am straight. Other than that there is no reson for a male not to be a nurse! It is a great and rewarding carrier choce!

Hmmm. I have a bit of a problem with the fact that you consider being gay, or being thought gay to be a "stigma". It's annoying when people assume you're something you're not, but stigma? Please, it's the 21st century.

nursemike, ASN, RN · May 13, 2011

Hey everyone. I will be training to become an RN soon. I am an african american. I have read some articles and a few of them scared me about being a nurse just because your a guy. They say its more of a womans job but those were based on opinion. Can someone please tell me of male nurses are common today? Thank you.

Congratulations on your decision to become a nurse, and best of luck with your studies. Men in nursing are not common, but our numbers have been growing. I haven't found it at all weird. The women I work with, and even most patients, have been very welcoming and supportive. They're a lot more interested in whether you're willing to work hard and genuinely care about your patients. It's a challenging field and likely to put you in unfamiliar situations, but it's also very rewarding.

Anoetos, BSN, RN · May 14, 2011

Out of the 40 people in my program, 10 are male. That is a much higher ratio than is seen in the workplace, and, of course, I have no idea how many of us will be graduating.

Anyhow, re: The Gay Thing: I don't care if someone thinks I'm gay. My sexual identity was established long time ago and it is impervious to the concern of others.

That said, it is an interesting phenomenon. I wonder if straight hairdressers and flight attendants deal with the same thing. Maybe it's because the actual gay population among men in nursing is nowhere near as high, or is it? I guess it might be interesting to see a study on it. If the conclusion was that, say, 25% of male nurses were gay (just for the sake of discussion, I have no idea what it really is) it would be interesting to find out why, as long as it's not just that it's perceived as a "gay career path". As though gay men were merely looking for a work environment where they could be "open". This excursion is about the limit to my interest in the subject.

Anyway, we're in our first MedSurg semester now and I was very pleased to see that there is a male nurse on our clinical floor. Currently, I and another guy are the only XY's in our group. It was interesting to see this nurse's face light up when he saw us. He was clearly glad to see the men in our group. That was gratifying, as we were also glad to see him.

My question is this: does the "tribe of men" thing persist? Do male nurses notice each other a lot? Is there a secret handshake? A particular nod or wink indicative of gender solidarity?

myk_RN · May 14, 2011

Out of the 40 people in my program, 10 are male. That is a much higher ratio than is seen in the workplace, and, of course, I have no idea how many of us will be graduating.
My question is this: does the "tribe of men" thing persist? Do male nurses notice each other a lot? Is there a secret handshake? A particular nod or wink indicative of gender solidarity?

There were 25 of us in my BSN graduating class and 12 of us were males.

I work on the MS floor now with about 50 RN's, 1/4 of them are males, and 2 are gay. I'm seeing more and more male nursing students now when they do their rotation on our floor.

As for the "tribe of men" comment . . . . I don't see it in our hospital. Although I've become good friends with my male coworkers, 3 of which I went to nursing school with.

nursemike, ASN, RN · May 15, 2011

Please refrain from describing or discussing the secret handshake on a public forum. A lot of women snoop here. If they learn it, how will we ever be able to tell the males from the females?

Oo moogly galla walli, lo hem.

xx--RN--xx · May 15, 2011

If you do find yourself explaining your career choice in reference to your gender, I think it will be to people who are not in the healthcare field. T.

As soon as I get to know my patients or their families (first few hours of a shift) I usually get the "So tell me, how did you get into nursing question?". IOW, "how does a dude become a nurse?" I don't mind and usually welcome any sort of small talk. I tell them my story and they are usually surprised. No one has ever asked if I"m gay but I work in the fact that my wife is also a nursel to ease their curiosity about my sexual orientation. I don't have to do any of these things but I know that a large chunk of the population is most probably not used to the idea of a straight male nurse. I could F*** with them and be vague but I find that telling my story helps build rapport and opens up dialog which is vital because I need for people to talk to me so I can gauge their needs.

I don't really have the "f*** you get used to me being a guy attitude" with people. I don't understand that sort of thinking. I want to help you process the fact that I'm a dude (if it is an issue) so we can get down to the real important stuff...like pt care.

JMO

(hope all that made sense. It was an insomniac/medicated post...i need to go to bed)