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?

I would never want a male nurse in with me while delivering. Just my personal preference. My doctor is a male, however I have known him for years and trust him.

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Well, this is not a new issue, and I can't believe it's still out there.

Professional healthcare providers come in all shapes and sizes, and in both genders.

I remember 'prep teams' who would shave people the evening before surgery, and they would generally be assigned according to sex. I remember when foley caths were inserted by a same sex provider - except on the neuro floor where this wasn't always 'convenient'.

This was at a MAJOR teaching hospital on the east coast.

Except for true religious/cultural situations, fewer people these days voice preferences about who cares for them.

Personally, I have never understood why a man would want another man handling his genitals - think foley caths - anyway!

And I have seen the entire spectrum of OBGYNs - from men who truly enjoyed this arena, to men who hated women and felt this was a way to lord over them, to women who hated other women as well, to women who loved to care for other women. They are all out there.

Give me caring, thoughtful, thorough professionals, period.

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Specializes in ER, ICU.
Being a male Nurse my instinct is to take your side against "the man" (ironic right?) But this isn't actually illegal. Employers can't discriminate based on sex if hiring a male OB nurse would only require "reasonable" accommodation. But if hiring a male OB nurse would require "undue hardship" then refusing to hire males is absolutely legal. Based on my experience of how often female patients refuse male RN students in OB, I think an employer could make the case that a male RN in OB would put the employer in a position of undue hardship. My hospital doesn't hire male RN's in OB, I don't think anybody has challenged it yet, but I doubt they would win.

It is frustrating that OB patients are fine with male Docs but not male Nurses, this is a well know double standard not just in OB, I'm not sure there is much to be done about it.

I think male nurses often get rejected by female nurses as the first line of skirmish.

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Specializes in Infectious Disease, Neuro, Research.
Give me caring, thoughtful, thorough professionals, period.

Absolutely. We are not, however, (and despite the best efforts of social engineering via 40 thousand seasons of Friends:rolleyes: ) androgenous.

I'm sorry, tony, "because I can...", is a questionable reason at best. Either apply somewhere the environment is more accepting, or drop the challenge to your manhood. My subjective impression is one of a minority(you) intent on forcing his will on the larger subculture, solely for personal gratification.

While my statement may seem "kneejerk" to some, the cries of "discrimination" seem so to me. Perhaps the nurse manager is close-minded; perhaps she simply knows her patient population.;)

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Specializes in Medical.
Yeah, I knew someone would jump all over me for wording it that way.

Maybe you should have worded it better, then.

What exactly did you mean instead? Just because I've got a female reproductive tract doesn't mean I have any idea what pregnancy, labour and delivery are like. You know who has a better idea of all that than me? Anyone who's completed a midwifery qualification. I also think a father of three might have some idea, too.

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Specializes in Trauma/Critical Care.

WHY would a male nurse want to work in L&D??

....of all settings...(just curious).

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Specializes in Medical.

Why would a male doctor want to be an OB-GYN?

And, as I have no interest in the specialty myself - why would anyone want to be a midwife, regardless of gender?

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Specializes in 4.
WHY would a male nurse want to work in L&D??

....of all settings...(just curious).

Maybe cause he'd like to assist in the process of delivering babies? There was a man in my nursing class whom also wanted to work in L&D & of course all us girls laughed till we understood why. Poor guy had to defend his desire but it wasn't out of any perversion. It was cause he wanted to be part of the process in bringing children into this world. Point blank. Why should he have to defend his career choice? Should he also explain why he wants to be a nurse? It's pretty obvious if you ask me. There are plenty of male Dr's, so why not male nurses. Trust me....coming from a woman (all woman at that), I'd rather have a good man next to me (whether I'm spread eagle or not) who is comforting me than a woman telling me to shut it cause she knows how it feels. The 1st lesson from nursing school that she obviously forgot.

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I'm not a nurse yet, just a student but I wanted to comment on this. I have a male OB and i've had female OBs in the past, totally prefer the male! If I would've had a male RN for any of my 3 children's delivery it wouldn't have bothered me. Some of the females I had weren't pleasant at all. I think it just depends on the person and how they handle themselves with the patients. I can see how some might be a little uncomfortable with it, atleast with their first delivery, when they are probably already anxious and scared so then seeing a male RN might throw them off a bit.

Legally though, they can't discriminate based on your gender!!!

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Specializes in Trauma/Critical Care.
Maybe cause he'd like to assist in the process of delivering babies? There was a man in my nursing class whom also wanted to work in L&D & of course all us girls laughed till we understood why. Poor guy had to defend his desire but it wasn't out of any perversion. It was cause he wanted to be part of the process in bringing children into this world. Point blank. Why should he have to defend his career choice? Should he also explain why he wants to be a nurse? It's pretty obvious if you ask me. There are plenty of male Dr's, so why not male nurses. Trust me....coming from a woman (all woman at that), I'd rather have a good man next to me (whether I'm spread eagle or not) who is comforting me than a woman telling me to shut it cause she knows how it feels. The 1st lesson from nursing school that she obviously forgot.

I agree that nobody should have the need to explain their professional choices...but since this is a professional public forum and we are a group of professionals exchanging ideas...I took the opportunity to pick some of my male colleague's brain and ask the question: why L&D?. It never occurred to me (until you and others mentioned) that a male nurse would be perceived as a pervert for choosing L&D...but thanks for pointing that out. Again, my question is generally directed to those male nurses out there, who are in L&D or are considering this career path.

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Specializes in NICU Transport/NICU.
WHY would a male nurse want to work in L&D??

....of all settings...(just curious).

It's exciting, challenging, happy, sad, gratifying, scary, and miraculous all at the same time. I wonder why anyone wouldn't want to do it.

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I would never want a male ob nurse. And I would most certainly never choose a male ob doc. Just sayin...

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