Male nurse in L&D

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Hi, I am a male nurse married 3 kids. I have applied to a position on my facility on the Labor and delivery unit. And they pretty much told me they don't want to hire a male nurse. I don;t think they can do that I think is discrimination. what do you think? do you think ladies would stop coming to our hospital because they don't want a male ob nurse?

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
"If I had to have intimate care done by a hot guy my age or younger then I probably would want someone else (if it could be accommodated) and that would strictly be because of my own embarrassment."

Interesting. But, be honest. What do you think the odds would be for there being no accommodation for you? Now, compare that with the odds for that of your teen male patients.

I completely agree, hence why I brought up that patients on my unit don't have a choice because their are no male nurses on my unit. I respect everyone's rights for wanting a same sex provider. I think it sucks that often the accommodations for males can't be made because this is such a female dominated field. Hopefully more and more males pursue nursing and it won't always be like that. I also know a handful of guys that don't want any male providing intimate care on them and would rather have a female do it. Cases like that, it's not a problem since their isn't usually a lack of females.

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Specializes in PeriOperative Nursing.

littlewingrn stated that "it is illegal to discriminate based on gender- period," and this is not necessarily true. If the gender of the individual is a BFOQ- Bona Fide Occupational Qualification, then an employer can use gender for hiring decisions. However, in these situations, the burden of proof is on the employer to prove that gender is a BFOQ.

With that being said - how is having a male L&D nurse any different than a male gynecologist or obstetrician? I just don't understand what the issue is with having a male L&D nurse. As we all know, a male ob/gyn does the same types of exams/ checks as a male L&D nurse (with regards to lady partsl exams/ cervical checks).

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Specializes in PeriOperative Nursing.
The type of care in australia,the gender breakdown and preferences are of no concern

to me.As I said,there are no male mammographers here in the US, and no male L&D

nurses from what I've seen.

The comment about the type of care in Australia is rude. The site is called ALLNURSES...

How do you know there are no male mammographers in the US? Is there a mammographer registry that gives this information that I'm not aware of?

Male ob/gyn, male L&D RN - what difference does it make? I want the best care possible, and like some of the other posters have pointed out- there are a LOT of female RNs that could use attitude adjustments. I would take a nice male RN over a rude female one any day of the week.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

More on BFOQ:

"Hospital fails to justify refusal to hire male obstetrical nurses."

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hospital+fails+to+justify+refusal+to+hire+male+obstetrical+nurses.-a0117451761

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The burden of proof is on the employer, and since there is case precedent for not allowing a blanket BFOQ defense against male L&D nurses there is no reason to think this defense will work with this employer.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

By the way there are male mammographers in the US. I couldn't find the percentage or actual numbers but they do exist.

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wtbcrna for President!

I don't have half the stones to be able to work in obstetrics; I salute those who do.

And I would go tell that employer to go BFOQ themself.

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More on BFOQ:

"Hospital fails to justify refusal to hire male obstetrical nurses."

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hospital+fails+to+justify+refusal+to+hire+male+obstetrical+nurses.-a0117451761

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The burden of proof is on the employer, and since there is case precedent for not allowing a blanket BFOQ defense against male L&D nurses there is no reason to think this defense will work with this employer.

Interesting. Thanks for posting that.

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A professional nurse is a professional nurse regardless of their sex. What is interesting is there would be no question of a male nurse on a ned/surg floor that needed to do a dressing change to a post-op mastectomy or place a catheter in a male or female..if those on here who posted they would be uncomfortable w/a male L&D nurse (and I know some religions prohibit a woman from being taken care of by a man) I wonder if they would feel the same if the nurse was female but her sexual orientation was not heterosexual.

I have never been in L&D, personally or professionally other than during clinical rotation so keep in mind I am looking at this from a strictly professional nurse stand..if I were in the position of being pregnant, etc. maybe I would feel different..as far as male mammogram techs..no WAY would the hospitals where I live REMOTELY consider this...right or wrong..

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"Hospital fails to justify refusal to hire male obstetrical nurses."

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hospit...s.-a01174517617

The burden of proof is on the employer, and since there is case precedent for not allowing a blanket BFOQ defense against male L&D nurses there is no reason to think this defense will work with this employer."

Yes, that's very interesting. Thanks for posting it. It brings up an interesting point. Note this sentence in the article: "The employer must prove why alternatives to the gender-excluding policy would be impossible or impractical."

The "Essence of Business" argument is one thing, i.e., if we employ this gender we'll lose business. But, what the court is say with the above statement, it seems to me, is this: "Okay, you'll lose business. So...what else can you do to prevent gender discrimination? How about a balance of employees? Some male, some female, all trained to do the jobs necessary. How about reexamining your schedule? Can you schedule is such a way so that patient choices are available during all shifts?"

What seems to be happening is that hospitals or clinics are jumping on the Essence of Business argument but not really looking at other ways to solve the problem. And the courts are nailing them on that. Good for the courts.

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
Hi, I am a male nurse married 3 kids. I have applied to a position on my facility on the Labor and delivery unit. And they pretty much told me they don't want to hire a male nurse. I don;t think they can do that I think is discrimination. what do you think? do you think ladies would stop coming to our hospital because they don't want a male ob nurse?

The facility isn't discriminating, the patients are.

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The facility isn't discriminating, the patients are.

The facility is most certainly discriminating. The only thing which is in question is whether this is an EEOC violation or if it is a legal act justified with the BFOQ loophole.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
The facility isn't discriminating, the patients are.

The facility is the one refusing to hire male nurses. I would be willing to bet not every patient is refusing a male nurse.

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