Male OR Nurse

[ib4au]

Please forgive my ignorance but are there any reasons why males would be less likely to be hired in the OR? I was thinking that maybe certain issues like having to prep a female patient, female catheters, or something similar that a male would also need to have a female nurse present also. Does this pose any problems? I would think it would be inconvenient to have to tie up two RNs in one room where it would just take one(female). I really hope I'm just thinking deeper into this issue than I should but I want to get into OR as soon as I graduate, and I'm just trying to think of anything that might pose a potential problem/roadblock in the future. Thanks!

[Charity, RN, APRN]

Well, since we have well over a dozen OR nurses of the male persuasion, it never occurred to me that a guy would have any problem. This is not counting our techs and perfusionists. As far as I know, I doubt a chaperone would be needed as the OR suite is such a public place, with the other team members present. BTW, it isn't only males who need to consider a chaperone these days, for certain procedures. Want to be an OR nurse? Great! Get to it!

[ewattsjt]

The only thing that I have run into is that the facility where I work will sometimes grant requests from female patients for no males in the room. No big deal. They don’t double up the staff; they simply reassign you during that case (trade rooms with a female). The only thing that bothers me with that; is they don’t honor it the other way around. Had a friend’s husband to request an all male staff and was told they couldn’t do it (we do have the ability to grant it).

Most people having surgeries performed don’t worry about discriminatory things such as the sex, race, religion, age, et… of the person doing the job. They realize it will be a professional working on them.

Within the same token; some people may have had a past that would make having a male in the room difficult.

The bottom line is there are not any real problems with being a male in surgery. As Charity said, “Great! Get to it!”

[brewerpaul]

I haven't had any problems as a male OR nurse. Since I started back in June, I've seen only two cases where a female patient requested females only in the room and the staff was adjusted accordingly. No biggie. OTOH, I've also worked with a male cysto patient who requested no females in the room.

I routinely insert foleys in males and females. For surgery this is done after the patient is asleep, so embarassment is not really an issue.

If you're truly interested in OR nursing, go for it!

[openheartmary]

Go for it! I agree with ewattsjt. Assignment rearrangements are utilized when necessary and appropriate. Best of luck to you!

[MamaCheese]

We have about half a dozen male nurses in our OR. I haven't heard of any having a problem with the female patients even in the GYN services. If we had a special request from a patient for a male or female nurse to be present we would certainly honor that. Follow your dreams

[MamaCheese]

And I'm also going to hijack this thread for a moment to give a shout out to brewerpaul from Cohoes, NY :) My mother was born and raised in Cohoes and we moved back there in my teenage years and spent several years there.

[shodobe]

I have been in the OR for over 30 years with no problems. I work in a small unit and there is another guy here with me who has been here for almost 20 years. I don't think any of your concerns should be a reason to go for it. I started back when guys usually went to the ER or ICU and not the OR. I was the only guy for many years and haven't looked back. Good luck.

[jwk]

The only thing that I have run into is that the facility where I work will sometimes grant requests from female patients for no males in the room. No big deal. They don't double up the staff; they simply reassign you during that case (trade rooms with a female). The only thing that bothers me with that; is they don't honor it the other way around. Had a friend's husband to request an all male staff and was told they couldn't do it (we do have the ability to grant it).

Total sexist crap on your hospital's part. If they grant requests from female patients to have no males in the room, then they should also grant requests from males to have no females in the room. Why is their right to privacy any less important than a female patient?

Granted - I've never heard of a guy asking for all male staff - but to just blow it off is blatant discrimination. Either you honor both requests, or you don't honor either one.

[brewerpaul]

Another quick hijack...

Thanks MamaCheese. If you're ever planning on coming to the Cohoes area, give me a holler.

[ewattsjt]

This is just another note. I also would never want to be in a room that the patient requested an all female staff. There is too much politics for me in that one.

[brewerpaul]

This is just another note. I also would never want to be in a room that the patient requested an all female staff. There is too much politics for me in that one.

I don't think I'd call it politics... some women simply don't want men looking at their private parts. Agree with it or not, it's their choice and we need to respect it.