Male Nurses in NICU

[philanurse2b]

I'm about to start nursing school and would like to know if a male working in the NICU would feel comfortable? Do parents react differently towards a man than they would a female? Just a couple of questions running through my mind. I'm interested in working with babies because truthfully I don't want to work with adults. They are just a pain..lol

[MegNeoNurse]

We've had a couple of male nurses in our NICU, they were both travel nurses, who of course chose to work NICU. The parents *loved* them, because they were both really awesome NICU nurses (very great at facilitating bonding, involving the family in the babies care, etc.) They are also both daddies themselves, which may have alot to do with it. But that doesn't mean that a man can't be an awesome NICU nurse, I believe there are few right here on this forum.

If NICU is where your heart is, families are perceptive of that.

Good luck to your in nursing school!

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

My favorite charge nurse is male, and he is one of the best nurses I've ever known. I think you'll do just fine.

[Love_2_Learn]

I've only had bad experiences with two male NICU nurses, one was lazy as you could imagine in your worst dream and the other one was too gung ho about doing whatever he wanted to regardless of the doctor's orders...very scary. I don't think either of these are male traits though!!!!!

In all I have worked with 9 male nurses over the years in NICUs and all but one was married. They loved the babies and were good nurses just like the female nurses. One thing I thought was terrific about the guys was that when the fathers came to visit they felt they had someone to chat with more on their level (guy things) but also I feel they could relate more to holding and caring for their babies as they modeled the behaviors of the male nurses. Does that make sense? It's like they felt less intimidated to handle their tiny babies when they saw other men being able to do it. I sometimes think men are intimidated by little babies (even term ones) and will, at first certainly, back off and ask the mother to do the care like diaper changes, feeding, clothing, etc.

Sorry for being so wordy. Anyway, please come to the NICU and enjoy yourself. To paraphrase another poster, work where your heart desires and you will be the best nurse you can be when you are happy. People truly do sense contentment and happiness in other people and that will help to put them more at ease knowing you are caring for their precious baby when they have to be at home or work.

Welcome to the NICU!!!!!

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

Go for it! I love the NICU. In my experience, the less of a big deal you make of your gender, the more you'll ultimately be liked and respected.

We still deal with lots of adults, and some can be big pains. (Attending high-risk deliveries and updating/teaching families can be some of the biggest parts of the job.) But as far as lifting, turning, cleaning adults, you're right... it's nice that we get to avoid some of that stuff.

[preemieRNkate, RN]

I work with several men, and I like them all. I was precepted by a man, and learned an incredible amount from him. Most parents like them. I think the ones that have a problem with the men have problems with all the nurses, because they are just difficult to begin with. Of course, we get parents that assume that the man at their bedside is a doctor. If you really want to go to NICU, do it! I think anyone who wants to be a nurse in the NICU, regardless of gender, can do it if they truly have the desire to be there. Good luck!

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

What Eric said.....

I've been a NICU nurse for my entire career, and still love it. I enjoy the critical care aspect, delivery room resuscitations, and the interesting set of illnesses that NICU encompasses. I still enjoy being somewhat of a "celebrity" on the unit, since there are not typically many men in NICU. I was the only one at my last job, and am now one of four at mu current one. I think that I can interact a bit easier with the male physicians, as well as fathers, compared to what my female coworkers have experienced. It's unfortunate, but men and women will always communicate on different wavelengths. Follow your gut, and come to NICU if it's what you really want. I wouldn't do it to avoid adult care, as Eric said, since we DO deal with a lot of parents, but do it for the patients. Best of luck!

Stephen

[wensday, MSN, RN, APN, NP]

We have male nurses and they are not seen as any different. Only thing is we always discretely assist mums with kangaroo care, breastfeeding etc and update the male nurse.

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

For the record, I do all my own kangaroo care, and most breastfeeding assisting....

[ScammRNC]

We have 1 male nurse on days and 3 on nights, (one of those being a brand new grad). I have never heard anything negative from the parents aspect and all seem to do a very nice job. From the nursing point of view, one of the males on nights tends to forget he is a nurse and not a doctor and has gotten in trouble for overstepping his boundaries. I doubt that it has anything to do with him being a male and instead it is just his personality.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

There are several male NICU nurses at my hospital, but one in particular is fabulous, both with coworkers and with his babies. If I ever had a sick baby, he'd be my first pick to care for him/her. Go for it, if you really want it.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

My husband has been an NICU nurse for 5 1/2 years. I think he's great, his co-workers seem to like him though they were not accepting of him at all for oh. about the first 2 1/2 years. He had a rough go there for a while but thankfully had/has a fabulous manager who encouraged and supported him. I have worked with 2-3 guys on my unit and all have been very high quality though 2 have left to go to higher schools like CRNA and NP. Good for them but we miss them.