Men have it harder?

[fabiusgile]

I was doing my midterm eval and my clinical instructor said something l thought was interesting. Basically she came out and said to me that I would have it harder being a male and more would be expected of me by patients/doctors versus a female. That I would have to know more and be more competant than my female peers. That if I didn't I would be respected less.. Can anyone explain there experience being a man stuck in a womens world? Maybe some examples of personal experiences

[fabiusgile]

Where I do my Clinical rotation there's one male who works on the floor he is completely incompetant and lazy.. When you have his patients his orders are never noted, never signs his meds, never fills out his flow sheets. I don't get how he has a job. I also have a friend who works as a RN at that hospital and she told me he was just promoted to night manager... Her shift.. I kinda laughed but honestly feel bad for her.

[markisrn]

As a male nurse, I have never noticed that I have had to work any harder than my hardworking, female counterparts. I have a done several different nursing jobs over the years, and the main thing that you need to know is that nursing is hard work and is usually stressful and busy. It doesn't matter what the setting is, that tends to be the case. What nurses do is very special and unique compared to other jobs. There is nothing else like it.

I have noticed one difference over the years though, and it's subtle, but it's there. Most of our superiors in the nursing world are women, at least where I work. Let's face it, women have been nursing longer than men have, therefore more of them have been promoted, so most of your bosses will be female. What I have noticed, is that some of my superiors have been less receptive to my input then they are to the input of my female counterparts. I don't think they necessarily do this on a conscious lever, but no matter how gently I approach the situation, when I come to them with a concern or a suggestion, they tend to treat it as if they feel like it's just another man trying to tell them what to do, and after all, I guess they get enough of that at home from their husbands and just don't want to hear it. Sometimes they even act defensive as if I am telling them how to do their job, almost like a husband/wife dynamic can be at times. (I have a great marriage to another hard working nurse by the way) One of my female counterparts can come up with the same suggestion, and it is well received. It' not that I am not a sensitive guy or anything like that, it's just that there is a difference there. I feel it and my friends have noticed it. Also, in some of my past jobs with female bosses, I have applied for jobs that would constitute a promotion, and have never been accepted in those positions, and I am a solid, hard working nurse, who deserved being promoted. During the past 3 years, for the first time in my nursing career, I have been working under a male supervisor (non-nurse) who also works under a male supervisor, and I have been, recongized for my skills and hard work, and have been promoted 3 times. Many times during my first 10 or so years of nursing, I felt like my hard work and talent went unnoticed. In hindsight, and in light of my recent promotions, it definitely seems as though that was the case.

I hope this doesn't rub anyone the wrong way. It is just my observation. Men, in general have unjustly done the same thing to women in the workplace over the years, so maybe we, as whole have it coming, but I certainly have never agreed with that kind of thinking.

[AragornSkywalker]

the worst nightmare you ever had pales in comparison to ob:chair:

ahhh... thats what i was thinking of.

ob and l&d, thought they were more or less the same. can you explain the difference?