Male CNA in a female dominated class

[Acton]

First I would just like to introduce myself and give a little back ground.

I'm a 24 year old male who has worked at a brain trauma center for a year in house keeping. It doesn't involve direct patient care, but I interact with the patients on a daily basis and I've worked with quite a few who have behaviors right along side the CNA's on the floor.

I'm also a pre nursing individual studies student, I've just gotten through a year of pre and co-reqs and I've got a cumulative 3.75 GPA, my GPA last semester was 3.90. I'm very serious about my profession in health care.

So I registered for the CNA program at my local Boces and it's gone pretty well. It's given me a lot of great experience and for the most part its been profitable with a few bumps.

At this points I'm in the clinical portion of the class, and I've run into a problem with what I consider to be blantant sexism. Today was my third day in clinicals and I was performing perineal care on a resident who was highly constricted, this was a resident I had been working with my first night of clinicals. She was a female and I had to verbally and somewhat physically help her relax so two other sudents and myself could perform perineal care on this resident. Half way through the skill one of the students left without and explination and returned with one of the other students five minutes later. They proceeded to explain to me that, "This resident is a female CNA only resident, so we're going to need you to leave." So I was somewhat skeptical but did not want to make the resident uncomfortable so I just agreed with them and left. I went to the LPN on the floor and asked her if this resident was in fact female CNA only. She said that she wasn't, so I explained the situation to the instructor because I was somewhat upset, and she had a few words with the other students. At the end of the clinical I had a few words with the instructor, and she kind of beat around the bush but I got the vibe from her that she was siding with the female students altough it was obvious that they had lied about the resident being female CNA only because she felt that they where right that I wasn't "In touch" with the residents emotions and how she felt about the care. This resident has severe dementia and she made no verbal responses to any of the attempts we made to speak with her. So we explained the procedure and she seemed to be fine with it, she was just constriced and we had to relax her a little bit; which did mean getting her to open up her legs somewhat.

I firmly believe I know the difference between a resident who is consiously resisting and is upset, and a resident who has severe dementia and is constricted. I was very upset with the situation, and how the instructor didn't really get to the point with the constructive critisism and just kind of hinted and gave me vibes that she thought I was wrong. I'm just . . . frustrated. Can someone give me their thoughts on the situation? I've got three more days of clinicals left and I want to get the most out of them that I can before I move onto my first job as a CNA. I feel like I'm missing something here. I don't know, maybe I need to focus on my interpersonal relationships with my coworkers more? Maybe I rubbed them the wrong way? They had all of their supplies set up on the dresser near the TV, (there was no bedside table). I gave them the bright idea of using the geriatrics chair as a clean surface, kind of like a bedside table to work with instead of walking in and out of the curtain to wash and rinse the washcloth. . . . which I might add meant walking ten feet with a dripping feces covered cloth. . .

Any input is appreciated, thanks!

[malamud69, BSN, RN]

Wow...so many "interesting" comments...here is my 2 cents. I am a male working in a place with approx: 200+ employees about 15 of us are male...I was one of 2 males in my CNA class and am one of maybe 5 that will be in my upcoming nursing program out of 32...it is the way it is.(as Yogi might say...showing my age) I have not had any disrespect or sexism or b.s. slung at me at all...I am older--- 40. I have done many things in my life and I can pretty much get along with anybody. When I show up I work hard, do the best that I can, offer and accept help(cna-ing is a brutal job...luckily I work at a place where teamwork is practiced all the time) and yes, I have had the "patient only wants a female" type of thing happen yet on the flip side, I have had men say that as well!!! We also have residents that only want a male aide! So the world is grey...I do not take any of it personally...I put myself in there shoes and move on. There is always something else to do or one of my co-workers to help. About your classmates deciding policy etc...sounds like a bunch of B.S. I would have challenged them directly...possibly due to my age and experience, and would have gone to my clinical instructor as well. Remember, you are dealing with "people", a lot of them insecure and miserable who would love to take somebody else down with them. Misery loves company. I see a lot of this in health care. I believe health care in many ways attracts people with low self esteem...(that post would be pages and pages...) I am sure you could google it...keep your eyes open...you will see. So do the best you can, avoid the cutthroats avoid the gossip and help another human being..that is why we are all there anyway...don't take any bs Good Luck.

[Brannray]

I'm sorry that things happened that way for you, but you should keep your head up and finish your clinical's with the same attitude you had going in! The woman had severe dementia and would have been constricted no matter who was performing perineal care!! It wasn't right what your classmates did to you, but I believe you handled it exactly the way you should have! I can't say I understand what you're going through being as I'm female, but my cousin is a male CNA so he has to go through a lot of the discrimination that you have. My instructor was also a male nurse and also told us some stories of what he has had to go through. But, I think it's great that you have all decided to go into the field you have! We def need more guys!!! Too many women! I don't agree with ANY type of discrimination, and this one is no different than any other!! Make sure to let me know how things go for you!!

[StudentNurseKitteh]

Best wishes to you. We need more men in the profession. I have been hospitalised a great deal, and I've found that some of the best nurses are MURSES!!!!

[HM-8404, BSN, RN]

on another note....women have had to fight their way into almost every profession there is....don't take offense because there are one or two jobs that men aren't preferred for.

From this statement I get the feeling you think it is no big deal.

Lets make a couple of minor changes and see if you still feel the same...

A white student tells a black student, "This patient is white care giver only, you need to leave." Would it still be acceptable to tell the black student to "suck it up?"

[SsgKen]

In the Korean War, male nurses were not made Officers but rather NCOs of mid rank while the female nurses were treated ala the TV MASH show as well treated Officers with all the perks of the Officers club, an issue of a bottle of booze each month and the other perks of "Rank has its Privledges". we've come a long way but the race is not over in a female dominated job.

On the other side of the coin, its only been a few years that female aircraft pilots have been given real combat missions. Combat is where the promotions come from.

[BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN]

I hate that you were treated like that by your fellow students. They probably decided you shouldn't be doing the perineal care, rather than respecting you as a fellow medical professional. I know there are definitely female patients out there that prefer female nurses but I find that so odd because those same patients usually have male doctors and are completely fine with it. I think it's just an old fashioned notion about the care given but the more males who get in to the industry, the more respect you are going to get. Good luck!

[ixchel]

From this statement I get the feeling you think it is no big deal. Lets make a couple of minor changes and see if you still feel the same...A white student tells a black student, "This patient is white care giver only, you need to leave." Would it still be acceptable to tell the black student to "suck it up?"

Interesting question. My answer would be yes. If there were a resident who is specifically racist against my race, not only would I respect their need to not have me participate in their care, but I would be thankful that I wouldn't have to be exposed to their bigotry. No, it is not a scenario that I would like, but it can and (I'm sure) does happen. That wouldn't make me racist, and would not be a reflection of my own self-worth and character. I believe we are all created equal and should be respected accordingly. I have the right to believe in whatever I choose and request my care providers as I feel comfortable, just as a bigot unfortunately has the right to their bigotry. Sad, but true.

[Bobmo88]

i'm sorry you had to deal with a situation like that, it sounds like you handled yourself pretty well. i don't think there is anything wrong with your interpersonal skills because you were helping out your classmates and suggested the use of the chair, that's good team work. it is unfortunate your classmates lied you and even worse that your instructor failed to do anything about it. if this kind of attitude persists, i would say maybe talk to the director of the cna program at your school about the issue . personally, i would just keep moving on forward and focus on bettering myself. it sounds like you will make a great nurse so just keep up the good work and stay strong my brother!

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

From this statement I get the feeling you think it is no big deal.

Lets make a couple of minor changes and see if you still feel the same...

A white student tells a black student, "This patient is white care giver only, you need to leave." Would it still be acceptable to tell the black student to "suck it up?"

Shouldn't you have reversed the roles in that scenario (which really has no relevance anyway)? I don't think you could possibly be implying that black people have more status and privilege than white people.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

as i am fond of saying, "anecdote" is not the singular of "data." while we are all perfectly aware of anecdotes like these, i would like to know if anyone has actual research data on this issue.

while we're waiting, here are a few more:

i am friends with a loud, obscene, and wonderful male gyn who is, interestingly, more sensitive and caring in his work with women than almost any other i know. since he's from small-town texas and lives there still he has the drawl to go with it. he told me once that he often had other men dig him in the ribs and ask how great was it that he got to see all that (insert word for female genitalia) all the time. i said, "what do you say to that?" and he answered (imagine the texas drawl here), "ma'am, i said i wouldn't cross the street to see it." meaning, it's nothing special, it's his job.

in nineteen smumble-mumble when i went to college, we had 2 males in a class of 136. neither was allowed to observe births or care for postpartum women. fifteen years later my first pregnancy was attended by a male midwife (msn).

a few years after that i had students in a big nursing home. since i was there every semester i got to know a lot of the residents well. one feisty old lady (87) had to have her foley changed often (i forget why) and was very good about allowing the students to practice on her. one day i told her i had a male student who needed to do this, and how did she feel about that? she said, "honey, i can't tell you how many men have seen that old (insert word for female genitalia). you tell him to come on in and i don't mind." i did love that gal.

as with so many other things in nursing, the patient's choice comes first regardless of our personal feelings. times do change, though, so hang in and don't stress about it too much whether you are male or female.

[minnymi]

From this statement I get the feeling you think it is no big deal.

Lets make a couple of minor changes and see if you still feel the same...

A white student tells a black student, "This patient is white care giver only, you need to leave." Would it still be acceptable to tell the black student to "suck it up?"

it doesn't matter if it's a "big deal" or not....it's reality.

there are tons of people who would not hire a female to do construction work on their home. there are tons of women who don't want a male washing their genitals.

race really has nothing to do with the gender issue at hand.

if a female preferring a female caregiver to do certain tasks such as bathing offends you then you better be ready to get offended. i don't know why it is that some females will have a male obgyn, but not a male nurse. maybe it has to do with the stigma that still exists that males are doctors or males are the "best doctors." either way...it's just reality.

[HM-8404, BSN, RN]

it doesn't matter if it's a "big deal" or not....it's reality.

there are tons of people who would not hire a female to do construction work on their home. there are tons of women who don't want a male washing their genitals.

race really has nothing to do with the gender issue at hand.

if a female preferring a female caregiver to do certain tasks such as bathing offends you then you better be ready to get offended. i don't know why it is that some females will have a male obgyn, but not a male nurse. maybe it has to do with the stigma that still exists that males are doctors or males are the "best doctors." either way...it's just reality.

...and there are tons of people that would not hire a Mexican to do construction on their house. Discrimination of any kind should be unacceptable. Excuses should not be made for discrimination.