Male Nurses in NICU's

prmenrs, RN · Mar 7, 2005

There are male nurses in NICUs, probably in the same proportion as females to males in other areas, or possibly a little less. They do a great job.

I think you should go ahead and do whatever you want.

fergus51 · Mar 7, 2005

I've worked with 3 men in NICUs. Men are just as welcome as women as long as they do a good job:)

RN4BABES · Mar 7, 2005

I'm beginning my education in nursing in the summer and I have a few questions. I have been reading the threads on here for a while and see that it doesn't really matter if I go the 2yr or 4yr route. Ever since my son was born, i've been wanting to be a NICU nurse (he was 36 wk) and hoping to go into a NICU unit after I get my RN. As you guessed from the title, i'm a male. How many male nurses do you guys have in your NICU units? Do they hire with a preference toward females for NICU? I'm just wondering because I know male nurses are a not as common and NICU male nurses are especially rare. Thanks for all the input!

In my 16 years in the NICU (Canada) I've worked with only 2 males. They didn't stay very long (went on to do transport nursing) They were great looking after the babies )although teaching Mom's breastfeeding wasn't welcomed by the mothers.) I had no problems working with the guys...nice change of scenery!

:rolleyes:

directcare4me · Mar 7, 2005

We've had a few male nurses in our NICU for many years. Some have come and gone, just as many of the women have, but a couple of our men nurses have been with us for several years. Two of our NNP's are men. They are all very good; I'm sure they would be good nurses in any area. I sometimes think there's a misconception about NICU nursing as being "for women" because it involves babies, but you must remember that it is an intensive care unit. Very high tech, intense, and fast-paced. Not so much sitting and "rocking babies" as some may think. (Although there is some of that--:) ) And men are just as good at feeding and rocking the babies as the women; it's more an individual thing than a gender thing. I would rather take care of a critically ill infant on a vent, than work with the feeder-growers.

If this is the area you want to work in then you will probably be good at it. Good Luck.

nekhismom · Mar 10, 2005

I work with 2 male NICU RN's and they are both great. One is full time, other is PRN. The f/t nurse jokes about the NICU being his "kingdom", but we all love him.

We also have a male NNP, who is also very good.

I say it doesn't matter what your gender, a good nurse is a good nurse, period. If you want to be a NICU nurse, go for it!

Tiki_Torch · Mar 11, 2005

I've worked with a few male RN's in NICUs over the years and enjoyed all but one of them. (The one I didn't enjoy was there simply to earn "critical care nursing time" in order to apply to CRNA school. It was totally obvious that he didn't want to be there. After a few months he found out that the CRNA schools preferred adult critical care experience, so he left to go to the Medical ICU and we were all very glad.) I don't know whatever happened to him after that because I moved away from that hospital not long afterwards...

I've noticed that the babies fathers enjoy having a male nurse for their baby. It's someone they can talk sports and "guy" stuff with and the often model their own behavior by observing the male nurse work with the baby.

Male nurses are great in the NICU!

premies_4_40yrs · Mar 13, 2005

I've worked with three male nurses in the NICU, in the past 35 years.

We have one male nurse now, who works the night shift. He does an excellent job and is very popular with the rest of the staff. The only "touchy" area (pardon the pun), for a male NICU nurse would be the breastfeeding issue. I'm sure a female co-worker or a lactation consultant, would be happy to step in and help the Mom with the "hands-on" part of teaching, if either the parents or the nurse was uncomfortable with the situation.

If you feel the NICU calling to you, then go for it!!

llg, PhD, RN · Mar 13, 2005

The founder of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses and the Academy of Neoanatal Nursing is a man. The second president of NANN and many of its key leaders have been men. I've worked with several men in NICU's over the years and have seen no problem with their acceptance. They may not be large in numbers, but they have been influential and well-accepted.

NowICU · Mar 15, 2005

NowICU · Mar 15, 2005