LIONS AND TIGERS AND MEN OH NO...

[FamilymanRNBSN L/D]

I am the first male L/D nurse ever to work at the hospital that hired me. This concerned my nursing instructors and some advised me against it not due to my gender, but the nature of the unit I would be working. This unit does 400 plus deliveries a month, and has a I'd say at least half of them are high risk on top off all that. My other instructors were thrilled but told me I would not get hired, while writing the very reccomendation letters for my interview.

Some will question your intentions, but the bottom line is patient care. Once they see you providing excellent pt care they will convert, and want to now if you have any male friends interested in working L/D. truely there may be some creepy guys out there that make women feel sceptical, but you will hopefully be a reminder to them to not prejudge the whole gender based on past

opinions. I have enjoyed great...great sucess, good recomendations and evaluations from my peers both physicians and other RNS.

If your a decent human being witha pure heart it won't take very long to win the ladies over. As far as the pt, In one year of nursing I have only had 1 pt desire a female nurse. I approach my pt saying...Hi my name is todd i will be your nurse and proceed to make small talk about their family or something important to them. This

coupled with awesome IV starting skills and a little pt education to answer their fears

before and not during their reality...goes a long long way to wining them over and making them feel like they got the best nurse. I even had a lesbian couple tell me that they were thinking of switching to another nurse, and were so glad they didn't. Everybody likes to be celebrated. Pts, staff, family....My christian faith has helped me in my approach to pts, and staff. I look at each no matter what their station in life as special, holy, because they are created in God's image, whether they know that or not. It has never failed me...My other in road is humor and time. A well placed joke, or funny, to break the tension, or just spending more time in a pts room with them, rather than shooting the bull in the nurses station. This does wonders to calm someone

when words do not seem to stick...Todd from tulsa....

FEED BACK PLEASE??????????????????

[mud]

I think it is great that you are having such a positive experience in you job. My boyfriend is a male RN. He would not likely ever venture to L&D. It is too bad, because I am sure he would be wonderful there. I know when I was in school, it was always a problem for the guys in my clinical groups. Women were nervous, they were nervous. One time, a pt. in labour knew the one guy in the group, and almost lost it that he may have seen her in stir-ups before they recognized each other!! As long as you are good at what you do, it shouldn't matter your gender. Take care, Kim

[CC NRSE]

WAY TO GO TODD!!!

I'M GLAD YOU DIDN'T GET DISCOURAGED ALONG THE WAY. IF L/D IS WHAT YOU REALLY LIKE, ABSOLUTELY, THAT IS WHERE YOU SHOULD BE!!! PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY HERE IN THE SOUTH, SEEM TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THIS THING THAT MALE NURSES CAN'T WORK IN L/D. I'M NOT SURE WHY. AFTER ALL, AREN'T ALOT OF OB/GYN DOCS MALE?!!! AS FOR ME, IT WON'T MATTER, MALE OR FEMALE AS LONG AS THEY ARE GOOD. L/D IS DEFINATELY NOT MY AREA AND I'M AFRAID I WOULDN'T BE THE MOST PLEASANT PATIENT WHEN MY TIME COMES!!!!

MY HUSBAND IS ALSO A NURSE AND HAS HAD TO SIT IN ON A DELIVERY OR TWO HIMSELF (BEING A NICU NURSE.) I AM ALWAYS AMAZED AT THE WAY HE HANDLES THOSE ITTY BITTY BABIES!!!!

[FamilymanRNBSN L/D]

Thanks for your honesty...I am good at what i do and often this makes for a genderlessexperience for my pt. What I mean to way is that by time I'm done caring for many of my pts. they don't seem to recognise me as male, or not female, but rather as their nurse, advocate, friend, ect...One time I was at a bus stop and this lady ran up to me with her baby carrier to tell me I had delivered her baby. Needless to say i could not remember her no more than I can my ATM number, but proceeded to respond accordingly with oh yeah, and how is the little guy doing...Not to tute my horn or anything but I wa with my son who was getting ready to have tonsils, Adnoids, and tubes done, when this woman grabbed me from behind and after yelling hey 3 times. She said, "you, You, You were my nurse, you delivered my baby, You were the best, Here she is..." My face must have changed colors a couple of times and the room probably started to spin as I felt my ego begin to swell...My wife and son were with me and I could tell my wife was impressed...I think what i'm trying to say is, connecting with people makes you a hot comodity in this day and age. I've never been good at being shy anyhow so I might as well pretend like I don't know any better and take what the Lord gives me through this door of opportunity, people are precious, and when you can help someone, or remind them of this, you feel good, real good....Todd From Tulsa...