a male women's health nurse practitioner

[srleslie]

Hello there. I am approaching completion of my BSN program and am trying to decide which APN field I want to pursue. I am very interested in psych and ob - the medicine and health problems covered in my OB course is probably the most fascinating thing I have studied in nursing schoo. I am wondering how males are preceived in this field as NPs and if they are readily welcomed, especially in private practice. Are male OB docs more likely to employ a male NP? Do the female patients generally have a preference? Thanks.

[Heidi the nurse, BSN, RN]

Interesting question. If you were going to medical school and wanted to specialize in OB/GYN no one would bat an eye. But as a patient I prefer a female MD/ARNP.

[ktliz]

I second everything Heidi said. Just wanted to add that if you are interested in OB, I do know there are male nurse-midwives out there!

[zenman]

As an OB person, you can only help pregnant people. In psych your patients get pregnant, therefore you have the best of both worlds.

[jer_sd]

i am a male and a whnp (one of my np certs) i do not work as a whnp but use the skills and knowledge frequently.

great education, can do a lot of health promotion and preventive care

job market is limited, male obs tend to prefer female support staff, many women prefer a female provider

special fields such as gyn onc may not have as much limitation as general ob/gyn

great training gook skill set to develop but you will be at a disadvantage for employment in private practice. but i do not regret this as part of my education.

jeremy

[mammac5]

OB/GYN is typically seen as a surgical specialty for physicians...and lots of men are drawn to surgery. I think it is less common to see male midwives or WHNP because (speaking nonscientifically) women tend to prefer a female to do their annual GYN exam, screen for STDs, discuss particular sexual habits that may be more risky, etc. This is why you may see male family practice docs who have a female NP that actually ends up doing nearly all the annual Pap & pelvics for patients of the practice.

Personally, I find it unfair that I got ding'd for my lack of finesse with a lady partsl speculum while my male FNP student counterpart did NO exams of this type and was not ding'd because of "patient preference."

[caregiver1977]

As a patient I personally would feel bad accepting a male OBGYN and rejecting a male NP in the same field. That's just me.

[labbio]

I hear what patient1977 said. Just want to add that I would think (could be wrong here) there are more male OBGYNs and female NPs than female OBGYNs and male NPs. So there is more room for preference for a female provider in the NP profession vs in the OBGYN profession.

[srleslie]

Thanks for the advice. I know what a midwife does, but can someone tell me the difference between midwifery and WHNP as far as education, training, scope, etc.? What's the real difference?

I see myself probably ending up in rural Alaska for a while. I have been thinking about doing both FNP/MHNP but women's health also is interesting to me and certainly would be of use in the frontier.

[Demonbreun]

MUSC College of Nursing: MUSC College of Nursing News - December 2011

[SycamoreGuy]

I imagine being a midwife and FNP could be pretty lucrative in rural alaska, I'm guessing alaska allows independent practice.

I know my wife always tries to find a female Family Practitioner and usually has her do her annual exam. I don't know that she has ever seen a male provider for anything except a derm consult.