Man = muscle, being taken advantage of

[DrkCocoMurse215]

How many guys have felt taken advantage of being the man on staff? I'm a cna and nursing student and I'm always being called to do the heavy lifting and a lot of times even left alone to do certain heavy tasks alone simply because I'm a "strong young man". Half of my shift is helping other staff and I don't mind helping and being a team member but sometimes it does feel like I'm the go-to guy and when I need the help no one is there.

[Bacon_And_Eggs]

Im on a 30 bed medical ICU at a level 1 trauma/teaching center in a fairly large city and for some reason our bariatric room is always occupied with smaller patients. I am very good about taking larger patient's and have only had to stick up for my back once since I've been working here. I have also had similar situations were families demand that I hold patients in compromising positions. For example I had a research MD from India who demanded I stand her 85+ year old 120lb trembling contracted mother on a stool over a bedside commode until she went. I declined and she called me culturally incompetent, I told her that my regard for my own back and her mom's safety guided my decision. She had my charge nurse page my clinical administrator. I refused to and luckily the clinical administrator was on my side or should I say "had my back" ;)and was able to mobilize other resources for the circus act

[Guest219794]

How many guys have felt taken advantage of being the man on staff? I'm a cna and nursing student and I'm always being called to do the heavy lifting and a lot of times even left alone to do certain heavy tasks alone simply because I'm a "strong young man". Half of my shift is helping other staff and I don't mind helping and being a team member but sometimes it does feel like I'm the go-to guy and when I need the help no one is there.

Man up. What's the big deal?

5'11", 190, male. Working with one injured shoulder, and still significantly stronger than most women.

My wife is unusually strong- 49, and can do pull ups. Doesn't train or go to a gym, just active. Guys her weight are still much stronger than her.

[Boozer4life]

Be the go-to guy now. Dividends will pay off in the future. After all; you are the MAN...

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

I'm lift tech and it is my job to help turn, transport, and discharge patients, big or small. As some have said, regardless if it's my job description to do so or not, I do not mind at all to help out. I believe it should be our duty as gentlemen to help out even if it's all day, every. I've been doing this job for 3 years now and I'm still not complaining. As long as you use proper techniques, it's REALLY easy to turn and transport patient. I'm not gonna let me 110lb auntie that's a nurse turn or discharge a 300 pounder with another nurse or by herself. Even IF the patient is 50 lbs, I can turn them with my pinkie, makes the aide's or nurse's job easier. Makes my job easier too because if they're happy, I'm happy too.

My ONLY complaint is when other male nurses, of same stature as me or bigger, want me to turn their patient because they are busy doing something else. That is my only pet-peeve and qualm when doing muscle-jobs in the hospital lol.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

My ONLY complaint is when other male nurses, of same stature as me or bigger, want me to turn their patient because they are busy doing something else. That is my only pet-peeve and qualm when doing muscle-jobs in the hospital lol.

But if you're a lift tech, isn't that your job?

Im of similar stature (avatar notwithstanding), and if my facility had a lift team, I'd expect them to do for me what they do for the 105 lbs female RN if I were busy.

[ixchel]

My ONLY complaint is when other male nurses, of same stature as me or bigger, want me to turn their patient because they are busy doing something else. That is my only pet-peeve and qualm when doing muscle-jobs in the hospital lol.

The thing is, I suspect your position exists so that those nurses CAN be doing something else. Love, we nurses are generally not too lazy to do the heavy lifting and icky stuff. What it boils down to is that there are parts of our job that we can ask someone else to do, and there are parts that we have to do ourselves. If we want any chance of clocking out within an hour of our scheduled shift ending, YES, we will need to ask you to help while we are busy doing something else. If this still seems unfair to you, or if you don't see it the same way, look at what time you click out, vs. what time the nurses clock out, and then compute how much later they would clock out if they did every delegatable task themselves.

Many of us genuinely do not want to add to the workloads of others, but have to. There just isn't a choice.

[ixchel]

P.S. I'm 5'2", 115 lbs, with a (literally) broken spine. If I am in the room, I will always, ALWAYS help. For my stature and set back, I have more strength than most expect. But if I have a 300 lb patient, I may grab the biggest guy on the unit, but I'll grab 2 other people, too. No sense in the big, strong guys getting a broken spine, too. 😊

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

I must have hit a nerve with "busy" comment which I'll remove and replace it with the "sitting in the nursing station on the phone or socially talking to others". That's really the definition of busy I get at the hospital I work at and see all the time. But yeah, it's my job, I guess I shouldn't be complaining right?

[ixchel]

I must have hit a nerve with "busy" comment which I'll remove and replace it with the "sitting in the nursing station on the phone or socially talking to others". That's really the definition of busy I get at the hospital I work at and see all the time. But yeah, it's my job, I guess I shouldn't be complaining right?

If it makes you feel any better, the ones sitting around actually doing nothing but barking orders at the CNAs make my blood boil, too.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

If it makes you feel any better, the ones sitting around actually doing nothing but barking orders at the CNAs make my blood boil, too.

But that's the best part of the job.

[Libby1987]

I couldn't stand it if another nurse could not only do everything as well as I but then some. Might as well replace me.

*Everyone* needs to bring something to the table or don't ask for help.

And I would think men will start to push back if they're finding themselves doing a majority of the labor, they might as well as call for more male hires, if they're doing their job as well as others', that would get old.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

When those situations with a bariatric patient arise, I ask for man power and girl power, just to get it done quickly and to make it clear that this is everybody's job. No one can say no to me when I ask for some "girl power."