Men In Nursing Issues

[adpie28]

I need your input! I am in a debate in nursing school. The topic is "Men in Nursing." (I'm on the "pro" side of the debate). If any of you have ever had an experience with a male nurse, or you are one, please, send me your thoughts on the care, how you felt when receiving the care, the possible stereotypical feelings you had, what this nurse contributed overall that surprised you, and ultimately, how this affected you in the end. ALL the feedback I can get would be so greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

[adpie28]

Thank you everyone for your very candid responses. First, I want to clarify that this debate is merely an exercise for us in a Bachelor's program of nursing. I am doing one of about 15 topics. Our group of 4 was assigned this topic. Our instructor is keenly aware that the notion of males not being accepted into the workplace is antiquated, however, the real focus is on patient reactions. I received great feedback on that as well. That this is a very deep emotional feeling was clearly apparent and you expressed that this topic was ludicrous! In a sense, it is... but the reality is that we are faced with gender biases every day. When it comes to human touch it is even more evident. Because, as a society, we are taught that men touching women in any way is inappropriate. Where we draw the line in an occupation makes it the topic at hand. So, just to make sure, I didn't mean to offend anyone - I'm merely trying to complete an assignment. I will tell you that I am bringing your emotions and your comments into it because it really does matter in the long run how society keeps up this issue of touch. Sexual harassment is so much on top of everyone's radar that it makes doing a job of caring for someone questionable, which is where the problem lies.

If you want to continue to leave comments on what I've said here, I welcome them!

Thanks again to all of you! I will be going to my debate on Friday and plan to make an impact!

[ArrowRN, BSN, RN]

Yeah adpie28 we all understand that, but let me be really blunt.

If it was just a gender issue and sexual harassment was the concern, then why is it not the same attitude across the board with male doctors? For example, in clinicals, the nurse would like have to announce to the female patient that "HEY WE GOT A MALE NURSE STUDENT COMING IN YOUR ROOM, IS THAT OK?"...yet you never hear "HEY WAS GOT A MALE DOCTOR COMING IN YOUR ROOM IS THAT OK?".

Why are male nurses being treated like pedophiles and sex predators and male doctors are not? This in itself conflicts with another male nurse stereotype that all male nurses are gay. You figure that one out cause its all up in society's head and in the patient's head that male nurses are perverts and male doctors are medical professionals. I know that in private offices there are females who go to particular female doctors, but looking at say OB/GYN,a lot of those doctors are males, my wife had one, and there is no issue. Then if you look at coming to a hospital, most patients have no choice in what gender doctor they get, yet we give them a gender choice in what nurse they get? What are we really saying?

And on the flip side, male patients never get the announcement ""HEY WE GOT A FEMALE NURSE STUDENT COMING IN YOUR ROOM, IS THAT OK?" so what the heck? And don't tell me that crap about female nurses don't talk about some of the male privates that they see(i don't mean sexually), cause I've heard it from their own mouths.

I've said this in forums before, in my view that whole gender announcement by our nurses needs to go away and the patient needs to be stuck with what ever gender they get and if they don't like it then they can take their sick butts and crawl to another hospital. The only time gender should be a concern is if it was like a rape case or something like that. So the issue is its not a gender bias in the medical profession, its a gender bias with male nurses.

I still remember my first emergency pregnancy way back when I was an EMT, and you know what I remember most? My female counterpart was flipping out cause it was her first too and she was scared at what to do and I had to take charge...She was like we have to get her to the ambulance now! I was like, there is crowning, this baby is coming now and their's no way we would make it to the hospital, we have to deliver. I've been in lots of situations where I noticed male nurses tend to be more calm and directed and that is good for the profession, if we don't see that, will then we are lost as a society.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I agree - silly topic for a debate. It would have been wiser to narrow the issue to something that is actually arguable like the issues posed in this thread; how does the perception of male as 'sexual aggressor affect men in nursing or why do male nurses earn more than females??

Most organizations that I have worked in have a 'chaperone' policy for male nurses, physicians & other direct care providers - establishing rules that protect these guys from false accusations by female patients. They include things like requiring a female staff member to be present if the intervention/procedure is in a closed room. Remember that patients are ill, and this can affect their ability to clearly understand and process what is happening. I know of two instances in which confused elderly females have interpreted the actions of male nurses inserting a foley as 'rape'... because that is how they interpreted it.

As for the salary issues - this is a never ending battle in the US for all professions and jobs. See the large collection of studies amassed by the AAUW for more information.

[kabfighter]

In my two years of nursing, I've only had one patient request a female caregiver, and that was only for when she was getting up to use the commode. Since a lot of the ER nurses are men, the novelty seems to wear off by the time they get to my floor. Most patients don't seem to care about the gender of their nurse, really.

[YoungStud]

Gender doesn't really matter except maybe in OB

[ArmyMedicRN]

I wrote a paper on that very topic.... It was titled "The sexualization of Man's Touch." And the evidence and articles support that it is true that a male nurse's touch is sexualized versus a male doctor or female nurses. It's ludicrous, of course, that every male is just a rapist or sexual predator waiting to attack, but that is what some people think. You will find a lot of articles on this, just search your article database at your school. I personally like having the odds stacked against, it makes me a better nurse.

[RN-LOGIC]

I am a male RN. I highly doubt that my open chest, IABP and centrally cannulated ECMO female patient or her family have an issue with me touching such patient. I guess my definition of nursing and genders play a different role in my specialty. My advice, Focus yourself in the things that matter and stop the nonsense.

[ANnot4me]

Why should you need a man to move a patient?

[ANnot4me]

Gender doesn't really matter except maybe in OB

As there are no male OB/Gyns out there. Really?

[leatrn44]

Yeah adpie28 we all understand that, but let me be really blunt.

If it was just a gender issue and sexual harassment was the concern, then why is it not the same attitude across the board with male doctors? For example, in clinicals, the nurse would like have to announce to the female patient that "HEY WE GOT A MALE NURSE STUDENT COMING IN YOUR ROOM, IS THAT OK?"...yet you never hear "HEY WAS GOT A MALE DOCTOR COMING IN YOUR ROOM IS THAT OK?".

Why are male nurses being treated like pedophiles and sex predators and male doctors are not? This in itself conflicts with another male nurse stereotype that all male nurses are gay. You figure that one out cause its all up in society's head and in the patient's head that male nurses are perverts and male doctors are medical professionals. I know that in private offices there are females who go to particular female doctors, but looking at say OB/GYN,a lot of those doctors are males, my wife had one, and there is no issue. Then if you look at coming to a hospital, most patients have no choice in what gender doctor they get, yet we give them a gender choice in what nurse they get? What are we really saying?

And on the flip side, male patients never get the announcement ""HEY WE GOT A FEMALE NURSE STUDENT COMING IN YOUR ROOM, IS THAT OK?" so what the heck? And don't tell me that crap about female nurses don't talk about some of the male privates that they see(i don't mean sexually), cause I've heard it from their own mouths.

I've said this in forums before, in my view that whole gender announcement by our nurses needs to go away and the patient needs to be stuck with what ever gender they get and if they don't like it then they can take their sick butts and crawl to another hospital. The only time gender should be a concern is if it was like a rape case or something like that. So the issue is its not a gender bias in the medical profession, its a gender bias with male nurses.

I still remember my first emergency pregnancy way back when I was an EMT, and you know what I remember most? My female counterpart was flipping out cause it was her first too and she was scared at what to do and I had to take charge...She was like we have to get her to the ambulance now! I was like, there is crowning, this baby is coming now and their's no way we would make it to the hospital, we have to deliver. I've been in lots of situations where I noticed male nurses tend to be more calm and directed and that is good for the profession, if we don't see that, will then we are lost as a society.

You bring up many good points, for the most part I agree. What I'm getting from the OP is that, while gender discrimination is not ok, it's still a part of reality. I understand others comments about why this is even a subject in this day and age but lets face it people...big or small it is. I actually enjoyed the discussion. And really, honest discussion, in part, is what helps us to understand the problem, as big or small as it may be, which we need in order to correct the problem. I disagree, in part, with your comments about what you get,male or female, is what you get. What I mean is, I try to make my patients as comfortable is possible. I am female and work in psych. If I have a male pt and I have male staff available, I will utilize male staff in assisting my pt, for ex, with using a bed pan or urinal if say the pt is in restraints. If male staff is not available I have no problem doing this myself. And let me say, doing it myself was the norm for me until I just got used to the males around me saying they would do it in order to make the pt more comfortable. Many times I was grabbing gloves and heading into a pts room when I was stopped for this reason. Personally, I don't think men and women are equal....however I believe they should be treated equal. If I have a pt that is aggressive and has assaulted staff I may feel a tad safer with a male around. However, I work with males who are so oblivious to what is going on that I may feel safer and more comfortable with certain females. When it comes down to it, yes, males in nursing are the minority but that doesn't mean any given female rn is better than any given male. Like any situation you have bad and good on both sexes. I have no problem seeing a male provider for female issues and feel it should be the same for nurses. My point is ...is this a problem the profession still faces? Yes. Is it justified? No. But open, honest discussion is appropriate to me for trying to understand and improve on the problem.

[ANnot4me]

You bring up many good points, for the most part I agree. What I'm getting from the OP is that, while gender discrimination is not ok, it's still a part of reality. I understand others comments about why this is even a subject in this day and age but lets face it people...big or small it is. I actually enjoyed the discussion. And really, honest discussion, in part, is what helps us to understand the problem, as big or small as it may be, which we need in order to correct the problem. I disagree, in part, with your comments about what you get,male or female, is what you get. What I mean is, I try to make my patients as comfortable is possible. I am female and work in psych. If I have a male pt and I have male staff available, I will utilize male staff in assisting my pt, for ex, with using a bed pan or urinal if say the pt is in restraints. If male staff is not available I have no problem doing this myself. And let me say, doing it myself was the norm for me until I just got used to the males around me saying they would do it in order to make the pt more comfortable. Many times I was grabbing gloves and heading into a pts room when I was stopped for this reason. Personally, I don't think men and women are equal....however I believe they should be treated equal. If I have a pt that is aggressive and has assaulted staff I may feel a tad safer with a male around. However, I work with males who are so oblivious to what is going on that I may feel safer and more comfortable with certain females. When it comes down to it, yes, males in nursing are the minority but that doesn't mean any given female rn is better than any given male. Like any situation you have bad and good on both sexes. I have no problem seeing a male provider for female issues and feel it should be the same for nurses. My point is ...is this a problem the profession still faces? Yes. Is it justified? No. But open, honest discussion is appropriate to me for trying to understand and improve on the problem.

Personally, I don't think men and women are equal....however I believe they should be treated equal.

I just wonder who you think are the lesser and the greater?

[leatrn44]

Personally, I don't think men and women are equal....however I believe they should be treated equal.

I just wonder who you think are the lesser and the greater?

May not have been the best way to say. But in general, I think women are more sensitive than men, I think woman are more gossipy than men, I think men are physically stronger, I think woman cry more than men. Just a few silly examples of how I believe the sexes are different and not the same across the board. So while I did say I don't think they are equal I don't believe one is lesser than the other.