Men in the nursing field, is there a problem?

FatsWaller, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2016

Hello, I am a male who is about a month away from graduating accelerated nursing school, and I think I can answer some of your questions,...sorry for the length.

1. I'll be honest here and say that nursing was definitely not my first choice. I don't have any family that are nurses and I wasn't dead set on being a nurse my whole life. My Grandfather and father were both Firefighter/Paramedics though and so I was introduced to that side at an early age. Thus I have always known I wanted to be in healthcare. My first degree was a BS in Human Physiology and during that time I was an EMT and a Volunteer Fire Fighter. I never really cared for the fire aspect though and always liked the patient care. I thought up until I was a Junior I would go to medical school (my father somewhat pushed me to do so) but Medicine wasn't really my interest, hands on patient care was. So after graduation and working as a Medical Assistant for a year, I decided that the infinite possibilities nursing had to offer would be a good choice and enrolled in an accelerated nursing BSN.

2. Most definitely. More so from my family sadly. Nursing is seen as a female profession by the majority general public so you will most definitely get puzzled looks and lots of questions when you casually tell someone you are going to be a male nurse. It is what it is though and obviously within the healthcare setting is not at all surprising or odd. Many patients are also quite pleased to have a male nurse (at least more than I ever thought would be) and will tell you how glad they are there are men in the profession. As far as a barrier to entering the field, not at all. We are the minority (no joke, I actually received a $10,000 minority scholarship solely for being a male) and are often sought out by employers. Many nurse mangers want the balance some testosterone brings to the nursing floor and know having men brings a different perspective.

3. This will differ greatly dependent on your program. Remember this is a female dominated profession and you must be comfortable with that. Your bosses, managers and supervisors will likely be female, as will your professors and the majority of the students you attend school with. My program has 64 women and 4 men (and I am the only man under 35 (Im 24). That being said, I think the staff in the program are quite neutral when it comes to tailoring learning. Of course you have an entire Obstetrics course completely devoted to females, but it's the way it is (Its complicated stuff!). Also you will be surprised how much female anatomy women don't know. Just because they have one doesn't mean they know how it works and what they all look like (I had numerous girls whisper to me if theyâ€ all looked like that when we had a patient or a manikin and they had more difficulty inserting the catheters. Remember we tend to see a different view then they do.)

4. Discriminated is a strong word. Left out, passed over, ignored, treated differentlyâ€¦yes. This was especially evident in my OB clinicals, and what's really sad is it was mainly by nurses in the field, not patients. In fact I never had a single patient decline me as a student nurse in OB, especially because of for my gender (it does and will happen though). Nurses on the antepartum, and postpartum were very hesitant to have me in the room doing exams and touching the patients, even though the patient was asked and had no issues with it. This really irritated me as I really liked the OB clinical but got a bad experience because nurses barred me from doing a lot. It wasn't fair either because when I came to exam time, the women all had hands on experience, while I had minimal amounts. I ended shadowing a CRNA during deliveries so I could at least watch births and c-sections. Not all the nurses were like that, but many were, L&D seems to be a very cherished and protected area nurse's work in. It always confused me too because almost all of the OBGYNs were male and we also had women who were lesbians in our program, yet there was no issue there. Overall, that was where my main issues were. Other than that, you will have patients and perhaps nurses who won't feel comfortable with you and it's something you will have to deal with. I always laugh and joke with one of my good friends if a patient doesn't want me because I'm maleâ€¦I say I see dozens of lady partss a day, you really think I would be able to pick yours out of a line up?â€ But it's about the patient and their privacy so it's all good.

4b. Yes you will be asked things because your male, especially help with heavy things like boxes, equipment and of course patients (heavy and aggressive).

5. Sadly yes. But it's the times we live in. I am always cautious and if I can have a female witness in the room, its always nice. People are at their most vulnerable and sometimes do not understand why or how some procedures are done, so I always explain and ask if they have questions prior. No one wants to be sued because the patient felt you fondled her as you put an extremely uncomfortably Foley cath in. Explain, explain explain. It goes both ways too though. I have had female patients flirt with me or be inappropriate and you have to professionally shut it down. Women have much more experience with this though.

5b. Schooling will be interesting. I feel like I have lived in a sorority house this past year. I'm not trying to be sexist, but women carry their emotions much more overtly. There will be a lot of crying, drama, yelling, etc. I'm at fault too for this as nursing school, especially accelerated is stressful, but I have definitely become much more of a gossip and dramatic since working with so many girls. You will know women wayyyy better than you ever thought you would. You will learn a lot about yourself and it's just a very different experience but I have loved it. One last thing (I don't know youR situation), and this isn't to be gross or a pig, but don't sleep with girls (this goes the other way for women too) in your program (you know the age old, don't sh*t where you eat saying). It will bring more drama then is ever necessary and cause some serious issues that you don't need while you're in school. You will be in a cohort with these people, you will spend way more time with them then you do with your family and you will form some lasting friendships, so keeping unnecessary drama away is a plus.

Hopefully this helps. Sorry for typos, I wrote this rather quick!

CBlover, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2016

Here we go again.

sroseo · Feb 16, 2016

Hershey1091, Do not apologize for the length! this was so insightful! I am doing research on stereotypes and discrimination towards men in the nursing field and all the studies i have read are great, but I do not feel as though I am getting accurate or personal perspectives. I am a nurse in LTC and there is only 1 male nurse there. I have asked him these questions as well. I also asked the 3 male nurses that were in my graduating class, but I have to wonder if maybe they were holding back a bit because A: they know me and B: I am female. I thought I might get honest answers here.

Thank you again for taking the time to respond!

sroseo · Feb 16, 2016

CBlover, here we go again?

I am not trying to start WWIII or anything of the sort. I am a female nurse that is required to get the male perspective on stereotypes and discrimination. As previously stated, I work in LTC with only 1 other male nurse and my graduating class only had 3. I thought asking here would be a good way to get honest answers on whether or not MEN thought there were stereotypes or discrimination that created barriers to them.

FatsWaller, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2016

SROSEO;

No problem, sorry if any of that came off as blunt or even vulgar, its just how it is and what my experiences have been. I'm genuinely glad that some female nurses really take an interest in what being a male in this profession is like and actually care about our opinions, pretty cool if you ask me. It seems there are some nurses who just roll their eyes or think there is no difference or that because we willingly picked a career in a female dominated profession, we need to just adapt and get over it. Thanks for looking into it.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Feb 16, 2016

Why would you not the assume that women don't feel properly trained on how to touch and clean a male? I'm trying to make a distinction here. That is just crazy.

If you have an issue with touching a female, you might need to get over it or find something else.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2016

"1. What made you want to go into the nursing profession? "

While I was in IT for 30 years, I appreciate helping people and being a servant. Nursing is more hands on and direct.

"2. Did you have any reservations about it specifically since you are male?"

A little. And the main thing I run into during clinicals is being assigned to a woman (which doesn't bother me) who refuses care or certain areas of care because I'm male. Then I have to hunt down a female (easy) who has time (hard) to help. The majority of the time the females (fellow students, aides, or nurses) understand; and other times I get the blame vs. the patient who doesn't want a male.

"3. Do you feel as though your nursing education is tailored to meet the needs of male and females alike?"

Sort of, but not complete. Some of the podcasts are very gender specific when referring to nurses (i.e. female, you ladies, etc.).

"Do you feel like you are or have ever been discriminated against because you are a male in the nursing field?"

No; and hopefully it stays that way.

"4. Do you find that coworkers either do or do not ask you to do things because you are male? ie. heavy lifting, female exams"

Sometimes with lifting and patient positioning; but then it's usually because I'm nearby vs. being male.

"5. Do you feel as though you need to be cautious when caring for a female pt?"

I try to be cautious with all patients regardless of gender; they are human ;-)

"5. is there anything you would like to add specifically about being a man and a nurse?"

I'm a student (2nd year, 3rd semester); and I enjoy it for the most part except for when I get patients who do care I'm a guy (then it gets to be somewhat of a pain).

CountryMomma, ASN, RN · Feb 16, 2016

Please stop with the "guys get asked for all the heavy stuff". I don't seek assistance based on gender, I seek assistance based on who is closer and good at the task.

Given the scarcity of men in nursing, if I waited for a big strong manly - man every time to help me with a transfer or a combative patient I'd be SOL and dying of old age.

Why does everyone focus on the type of equipment in someone's pants when discussing their ability to be a good coworker? I'm just as tired as being called catty and dramatic based solely on my genitals as you are supposedly being asked to do all the heavy lifting.

FatsWaller, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2016

@ Heathermaizey

I don't think anyone is saying that women may not get proper training either, but this was a thread directed toward what a male perspective is.

Aside from that, nowhere was it said that I or many men don't feel comfortable taking care of women, it's the other way around. Many women are weary of a male taking care of them. This may be something I feel is more applicable to someone like me who is younger. My patient assignments have been completely chosen because the charge nurse or my instructor didn't feel comfortable with me giving care to a female who is around my age. This I suspect is why when I had my OB clinicals, many nurses felt weary on letting me give patient care because the women were close to my age. Like I said earlier though, I never had a patient in my OB clinical have an issue with me being their nurse, but the nurses, preceptors, or instructor DID. That's just fact. Male nurses are denied patient care to women at a much higher rate than women are to men. (Men just don't request a male nurse often, but women request a female one at a higher rate.) If this is the constant experience men get then I could see why some would be hesitant to provide care to a woman.

Honestly before nursing school, as an EMT I had no issues with it (and I still don't really, especially older females), but it's also a much different scenario in the back of an ambulance in an emergency setting. I never even thought about it until recently when the nurses/instructors I worked with made a point to not allow me to give patient care to females in my age bracket, I never felt uncomfortable, but now I feel like it's inappropriate for me to have a young female client. It's a little troubling to feel that way when you never did before. Like I said, I don't have the issue, and many times the patient doesn't have an issue, its often other female nurses. On the other hand I never have seen a nurse/preceptor/instructor deny a young woman nurse/student patient care on a young man, so in my experience the double standard exists. If you're not willing to see that or agree then I guess you're either in denial or your probably one of the ones who doesn't feel that way, which is nice. But telling someone to just get over it is a little rude without taking the time to understand where they are coming from.

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Feb 16, 2016

1. What made you want to go into the nursing profession?

I have been in the medical field for 20 yrs and nursing provided me with the most versatile degree in healthcare. If I get tired of one specialty, I move on to another.

2. Did you have any reservations about it specifically since you are male? (I am trying to determine if stereotypes actually are a barrier to men entering the field)

No, not at all. Many of my friends and relatives are in healthcare and see that male nurses are becoming more common.

3. Do you feel as though your nursing education is tailored to meet the needs of male and females alike? (One study I read states that men do not feel as though they were taught how to properly clean a female or even how to properly touch a female. They assumed it was because if you are a female nursing student you would already know how to do this and it didnt need to be explain.

Nursing school was gender neutral. Education was taught based on patients, not the gender of the person performing the care.

4. Do you feel like you are or have ever been discriminated against because you are a male in the nursing field?

No, never felt discriminated against being male. I am the only male staff nurse in a unit of 300 females. It may have been more advantageous being male. NICU has the second lowest male nurse percentage with L&D being first lowest. My sex was never an issue during my interview.

4. Do you find that coworkers either do or do not ask you to do things because you are male? ie. heavy lifting, female exams

Not applicable. My female coworkers are more than capable of lifting a baby and I have had my fair share of female patients. Although, I am the go-to person for killing bugs in the breakroom.

5. Do you feel as though you need to be cautious when caring for a female pt? (I had never given it any thought but three of the men I interviewed said that they are always aware of what they are doing or saying to female because of the fear of the pt. thinking they are being inappropriate)

Once again, not applicable. I have yet to have a parent have a problem with me taking care of their girl.

5. is there anything you would like to add specifically about being a man and a nurse?

There is not that big of controversy over having male nurses in health care. As a whole, patients and families during nursing school had no issues with male nursing students. As a nurse, I have not had any issues with my patients' parents or family, no issues with my family or friends, no issues with the public in general when I tell them I am a nurse.

Kuriin, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2016

1. What made you want to go into the nursing profession?

- My brother was diagnosed with a disease and I wanted to be a nurse practitioner with this specialty. However, I didn't get accepted into the program and went for bedside nursing and fell in love with it (and emergency nursing).

2. Did you have any reservations about it specifically since you are male? (I am trying to determine if stereotypes actually are a barrier to men entering the field)

- The only stereotype that I know of for men in nursing is that we are all gay, which is completely untrue. Our nursing cohort had about 12 men and only about 4? were gay.

3. Do you feel as though your nursing education is tailored to meet the needs of male and females alike? (One study I read states that men do not feel as though they were taught how to properly clean a female or even how to properly touch a female. They assumed it was because if you are a female nursing student you would already know how to do this and it didnt need to be explained)

- Not true. We are told how to clean a woman.

4. Do you feel like you are or have ever been discriminated against because you are a male in the nursing field?

- No.

4. Do you find that coworkers either do or do not ask you to do things because you are male? ie. heavy lifting, female exams

- They will perhaps ask me to help lift. But, emergency nursing, everyone gets asked for help. I know women would prefer other women for their bodily parts.

5. Do you feel as though you need to be cautious when caring for a female pt? (I had never given it any thought but three of the men I interviewed said that they are always aware of what they are doing or saying to female because of the fear of the pt. thinking they are being inappropriate)

- I would be cautious with a female when I was beginning nursing school. WRONG IDEA. You need to treat each patient the same or else the patient will know. Be professional and you will be fine.

5. is there anything you would like to add specifically about being a man and a nurse?

- Not that I know of.