Just curious, especially for other males, why did you get into nursing?

Going to be brutally honest, nursing do not really interest me (only the idea of ER, ICU, CCT, Flight, etc nursing interest me because of the "rush" and how cool it is). The idea of caring for someone in a non critical situation does not interest me. Of course I care about people, but unless they are about to die or in serious condition, it doesn't really interest me.

I am mainly getting into nursing because I am a bit older (late 20's) and need to find a stable, good paying career. I would like to have a family one day and want to make enough money to live comfortably and be able to take care of my family. I have some medical experience through the military so naturally I look into this as the next step.

My true "passion" for medicine lies with military/tactical medicine, and paramedicine. I can't do the military thing forever, and paramedic don't get paid enough for what they do. So here I am pursuing nursing.

I don't hate it, but I am definitely not "passionate" about it coming in. 

Did you guys get into nursing because of pure 'passion'? or what was your motivation?

There is a bit of a dilemma I have, as a Muslim American and aspiring male nurse. Islam allows males to see and touch any part of a woman in cases of MEDICAL NECESSITY. But in Western medical culture, men indiscriminately do intimate procedures on women even when there is no urgency and there are female staff around.

There is more gender separation in a number of conservative environments in the middle east and muslim countries, but how to get over there and get a job without first having years of experience here? I thought of getting a BSN in the middle east instead of an ADN at a community college here, but I probably can't afford that.

Are there any Muslim male nurses here who have some input?

It's my opinion "nursing," collectively, is considered a female profession in spite of male participation and notwithstanding the conscious efforts to express the contrary or to express the word "nurse" as gender neutral. I believe this arises from our subconscious mental state and has been established, maybe even with subliminal contributions, from everything we've been exposed to in regard to real life and media representation of "nursing." Over the years, as females entered traditionally male professions, "Fireman" became "Firefighter," "Policeman" became "Police Officer," "Mailman" became "Mail Carrier," etc. As a result, the description changes call attention and introduce the possibility the profession could be female or male. The term "Nurse" has nowhere to go in this regard and, to date, I'm not aware of any effort to replace "Nurse" with any other descriptor.

When you hear the word "nurse," is your immediate mental image a male or female? Say, for instance, if "nurse" came up in a word association game, would you instantaneously see a man or a woman? I see a woman. I believe most of the population sees a woman and I'd like to offer up two personal observations as an explanation.

First, and you can find a multitude of examples just on this site if a writer is not consciously trying to be gender neutral when they refer to a nurse they will use, "she" or "her." Yes, I've seen some exceptions but, overall, this had been my observation. Maybe you could attribute this to female nurse writers on this site but when you expand it to the general population you'll find male's referring to nurses as "she" or "her."

Second; and this one has been the most interesting to me over the years...and the most conclusive to my theory. On a regular basis, at least every week for sure, when I make a phone call and introduce myself..."Hi, this is OldDude, school nurse at XYZ Elementary School," the first response I get is, "Yes ma'am -(micro pause)- I mean yes sir." Same thing when I work at Urgent Care..."Hi, this is OldDude, I'm a nurse at XYZ Urgent care," same thing..."Yes, ma'am -(micro pause)- I mean yes sir." The person I'm talking to realizes I am a man. I have a normal to lower pitched man voice. I introduce myself with a man's name - a name that is only a man's name. But I end the introduction with "nurse." I believe "nurse" is what produces the subconscious response of "Yes ma'am." And then the tail end of their mental slinky arrives and they remember I am a man and say "Yes sir." Some of the people get frustrated and apologize and I assure them it's OK and not to worry. It really doesn't worry me and I kinda find it entertaining. I've never been upset with nurses being referred to as "she" or "her."

So, I'm saying, here we are in 2019, in the world of PC and the likes, nurses are still perceived as women...and I'm exactly OK with that...just an observation.

If you have an opinion about this, I'd like to hear it.

I'd like to hear from other man nurses if you have experienced the same telephone responses.

Or, I'd like to hear from female nurses if they've received a response to their phone calls as "Yes sir - I mean yes ma'am."

Otherwise, thank you for reading.

Not trying to start a gender war here, but would like to get someone to defend the idea that there is a wage gap. This video pretty much sums up why there isn't one to me:

It is all about personal choice of the individual. If you make an apples to apples comparison of a man and a woman who make the same life choices, but there is a statistically significant difference in pay I will be all on board for correcting it. But I am a male in my mid 40's who just graduated and started working in nursing. Regardless of the reason I got into nursing so late (other prof., taking care of kids, whatever), I do not deserve, nor am I entitled to making the same $ as a female (or male) nurse who has been in the workforce for 2 decades.

Other life decisions count too. For example:

Male Nursing Statistics | Fastaff Travel Nursing

Highlights from this are:

• While 3.2 million (91 percent) nurses are female, only 330,000 (9 percent) are male.
• Men are best represented among nurse anesthetists. In 2011, 41 percent of nurse anesthetists are male.

So for the highest paid nursing job men represent more than 4x their general number. In addition to that Men make up 24% of the NPs.

Going further, men statistically take off less time from work, and work more overtime. You can chalk that up to child care if you like, but that is a decision made by the mother and father. There is no way to legislate that, nor should there be.

I do not buy the societal pressures argument either. My wife supported me when I went to nursing school... so what. That is what we decided. Nobody is putting a gun to anyone head saying what they can or can not do. Hell, I just had someone ask me last week "so what do they call a male nurse?"

On on the other hand if I have a make patient who needs and exam, foley, straight cats or STD swabs I have to do these myself. If I ask a male nurse (even the ones who just had you do a female foley) they look at me like I am not only crazy but I am being lazy and trying to get out of work and push it off onto them.

I dont understand this double standard. It has happened in every hospital I have worked in. Maybe someone could explain the thinking.. Also is their a good way to approach this with a male colleague without hurting feelings or pointing fingers.

One other thing... does this logic or thinking apply to the lesbian nurse. She she not be required to do these for the same reason the male nurse is not....?

any insight is extremely valuable

I am sure some of it is probably dependent on the facility you work in, but I was wondering if there is a general standard among most places as far as male nurses wearing beards? Although I would definitely shave in order to get a job somewhere, I generally like to wear a beard as it is more comfortable to me and I'm not a big fan of shaving everyday because my hair grows rather quickly.

I have heard that it can be an issue with the N95 masks as well and some places will issue you a PAPR instead if you sport facial hair, but I know this doesn't encompass everywhere. At any rate, attached below you will see a picture of me currently and about the lenght I usually wear my beard. Would this be okay, or is it too long? Any help is appreciated.

Current picture of my beard: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Curious did you switch over to days? How did you survive?

Thinking Wife works 3 in a row. I work 3 in a row after her. Then just keep rotating.

     Recently, I was in an ABSN and had a very toxic run-in with a professor. She ended up writing a false report of unprofessional conduct on my part. I was dismissed from the program bc of it, attempted to resolve it with a lawyer, but it didn't work. The school would not budge in not giving me a letter of good standing either. I have disciplinary history at this school now after having a spotless record my entire life. My question is...has anybody been in this boat, dismissed from one program and concerned that your disciplinary history from the old school will prevent you from getting into another school? Has anybody been able to successfully go to another school despite that disciplinary history? Please share. Thanks. 

Torn and worn out mentally with nights. Nights can be chaotic, messy, and beautiful all in one.

Weekends have the morning with my child if need be. Have early evenings on days going into work. Have mornings as well 3 times a week in general.

Prefer to sleep in the afternoon may have to adjust when my child starts going to school 4 to 5 days a week sleep during the morning hours. See how that goes.

Days coming off work not coming back on can get an hour of sleep carry on with the day.

It does mess with my emotions and mood noticed at times moments mood is low/down.

I don't know if want days. I wonder if I have more time with my child if I did days. I have 4 solid days compared to 3 days and 2 half days.

What shift do you prefer?

I have a question about becoming a firefighter after nursing school. Prior to going to school I worked as an EMT-B. I'm going into my third semester of nursing school and while I like it, I would like to work as both a nurse and firefighter when I'm done. My plan is to work my into ER nursing, start volunteering at a fire department, obtain my EMT-P, then continue to work full time as a nurse until I eventually get hired on as a career firefighter (I know is crazy competitive). I know it sounds crazy. Why go to nursing school in the first place right? Well as it turns out I do like nursing, but I like firefighting/EMS more. Eventually I'd like to do full time firefighter and part-time nursing. Does that sound like it might work? Any advice from anybody about how to go about this?

I'm a "mom"--my son (caregiver/ in nursing school) came home from work telling me about an unusual event at work. A male RN told him that he, "used a special cocktail" for pericare on male patients..Chlorhexidene, rinse-free shampoo....and mint mouthwash.

The item of concern is the mouthwash.

Any insight as to why this might be used?

Thank you..I appreciate it very much.

Family History of Cancer

We have a big history of cancer in my family, and because of this, cancer is always in the back of my mind.  After watching my Grandma pass away from malignant Breast Cancer when I was in high school, I decided I wanted to become a nurse. I eventually became an Oncology nurse. I wanted to be a part of helping people beat cancer.

My Dad is the sole survivor of his immediate family.  Every other one of his five immediate family members has died of some type of cancer, yet all of them had different kinds of cancer. His Mom's side of the family had multiple people with a history of Cancer as well. My Dad's Mom died of Breast Cancer at age 72. His Father was diagnosed and treated for Lymphoma but lived past 90. His oldest brother died of Melanoma from a mole he had on his toe all his life when the cancer was caught late.  He didn't realize that he should be concerned when the mole started bleeding.  His 2nd brother died of Prostate Cancer in 2020. We won't go into detail about how the doctor stopped his chemo treatments for Stage IV Cancer due to COVID when they were afraid the hospitals would be overwhelmed. At least he was able to be home at the end to be with his family while on Hospice for a few weeks.

Dad Aware Of Risk

My Dad has had skin Cancer.  It was found early, and he was able to easily have it taken care of in a doctor's office this Summer. He also has regular colonoscopies because he has had several benign polyps in the past and has an extended family history of colon cancer. So, I knew he was doing good with being aware of his risks and any changes that he should be concerned about.

But Not Aware of Breast Cancer in Men

One thing that wasn't on our radar was the risk of Breast Cancer for him. His Mom did have Breast Cancer, but since it's not as common in men, it's not one we really worried about. Even though only about 1 in 100 cases of Cancer diagnosed are for men, it's important to know it's still a risk and something we all need to be aware of and watch out for with the men in our lives. As an Oncology nurse, I am embarrassed to say; I should have been more aware of how much he was at risk for Breast Cancer.

Sore Chest / Lump From Accident

My Dad accidentally got hit in the chest at work about a month ago and noticed it was sore for a while. He didn't think much of it, but it kept feeling sore, and then he realized he had more of a lump or nodule on his chest than what would be there from a basic injury. It didn't go away, so he did schedule an appointment with his doctor. It got canceled. We should talk about how often that seems to happen post-Covid, and how it can affect patient outcomes. Anyway, after he found out his appointment was canceled, he wisely decided he would go to Urgent Care to make sure he didn't have an infection from his sore. The NP there was very good and very concerned about the lump, its location, and his family history and scheduled him right away for some tests.  He is currently scheduled for an ultrasound and a mammogram. That's right; men can have mammograms too! I am glad they are taking this all so seriously. I am praying it comes back as something benign, but with his family history, he definitely needs to get it checked out.

Cancer Warning Signs / Symptoms

According to the American Cancer Society, here are some warning signs and symptoms that men and the people in their lives should be aware of:

• A lump or swelling in the breast
• Skin dimpling or puckering
• Nipple inversion
• Redness or scaling of the nipple or skin
• Discharge from the nipple
• Pain or no pain associated with the lump

So, men, the next time you are drying off after a shower, take time to check out your muscles in the mirror.  Examine your chest and breasts and even the areas underneath your armpits.  If you notice any of the symptoms above, schedule an appointment with your doctor to get it checked out. 

Men At Risk If They...

According to the CDC's webpage, Breast Cancer in Men, Men are more at risk for Breast Cancer if they:

• Have A Family History of Breast, Prostate, Ovarian, or Pancreatic Cancer in their immediate family
• Are above 50 
• Are overweight or obese
• Had Radiation, especially of the Chest area in the past
• Have had Hormone replacement therapy
• Had an injury to the testicles, previous removal of testicles, or a testicle that wasn't fully descended.
• Have Genetic Mutations
• Have Liver Disease
• Have Klinefelter Syndrome

We all know that women should perform regular breast checks for any visible changes and possible lumps or nodules, and now I hope we all know that men should, too, especially if they have any of these conditions or a family history that could increase their risks. 

Cheers,

Darth Practicus, FNP

The nursing field is mostly women, approximately 80% women. The ratio has improved over the years from 90%.  We will focus on some male nurses after we take a glimpse at a few women first. 

Her career began as a nurse and then branching out into politics, she has used her knowledge and experience to better her community, her name is Eddie Bernice Johnson. She was the first woman elected to the Senate (1972), representing Dallas, the first woman to chair a major state House committee for Texas, and the first woman, and first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress (1986) from Texas. She continues to serve the state of Texas, even well into her 80s.

Beverly Malone is another nurse who went on to build on her nursing degree and knowledge to specialize in clinical psychology with a doctorate degree. She has had a wide variety of jobs in her 73 years, from surgical nurse, Director of Nursing, to the highest political position held by a nurse; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She also has served in the Royal College of Nursing, a professional nurses union in the United Kingdom as the general secretary. She was part of many other federations as well as presently the CEO of the National League of Nursing.

These women along with many others have a mind-boggling list of awards and accomplishments in the nursing and political world. They have used their abilities and resources to improve their  community professionally at the grassroots level. However, rare are the Black male nurses on our list. Therefore, we will look at Ernest Grant and also a friend of mine, Melvin. Both a minority in the nursing field, both to be celebrated this month of Black History.

Black Men In Nursing

Ernest Grant

Reading Ernest Grant’s list of accomplishments is a lesson in what one person can do to help their fellow man. His list of degrees, awards, and positions are very impressive,  but even more impressive, is his work using his experience as a nurse to help those tragically burned; specifically those from the World Trade Center. 

Each of us have talents and passions, but not all of us use them to the extent possible.  But there are some people that are blessed to be able to make a difference on a larger scale, and we should be proud and celebrate them. Grant is one of those. Earlier in his 30 year career as a nurse, he worked as a burn educator to all levels of healthcare professionals. He ran the burn prevention program for the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill. He was able to make a difference through his job in the legislative process and public education. 

Grant is an adjunct educator for nurses, a popular public speaker, and an active member of professional organizations including his position as the present ANA president. He is the first male to hold that position. And as mentioned earlier, he has done some very noble work educating  burn victims and caregivers of burn victims.

Several branches of the military have utilized his expertise with burn victims to educate soldiers. These soldiers were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and through Grant, they knew how to treat burns in the battlefield. As mentioned earlier, he worked with burn victims from the World Trade Center tragedy. In fact, he was awarded Nurse of the Year in 2002 by President Bush. His work was also recognized by the North Carolina Fire and Life Safety Education Council. They gave him the B.T. Fowler Lifetime Achievement Award for his help in prevention of fire and burn deaths and injuries. Grant has many more accolades to brag about, but his focus throughout his career is to educate and enhance  his community.

Melvin (coworker)

I want to introduce you to a nurse that I have worked with, his name is Melvin. I asked him a few questions about his experience as a Black male in the nursing field and he was nice enough to give me some perspective. 

Melvin found himself providing nursing care to his great grandmother at the age of 16 after she suffered a stroke. His life changed forever at that moment, at a time in his life when he was enjoying his friends and going to high school. He helped his grandmother take care of his great-grandmother who was now bedridden. Melvin had the physical strength to move her, but lacked the skill to help with tube feedings and the other issues that come with full-time care. Although he was helping, he felt incompetent. His experience with his great-grandmother led him to seek out the knowledge and skills so he wouldn’t feel that way again.

As soon as Melvin graduated, he joined the Navy and served as a hospital corpsman in 1990 (Thank you for your service!). He became an EMT a year later, and then got his LPN in 2007, then RN in 2014. His goal is to obtain his BSN, and possibly MSN. 

When asked if he had encountered obstacles due to gender or skin color, Melvin said mostly he had experienced issues related to race more than gender. As he said, it’s difficult to prove subtle racism, “I don’t waste a lot of time worrying about is this racist or not, but concentrate on is this situation or issue right or wrong because that is something I can prove easier”. He went on to say that his being male has not been a hindrance, he has been accepted by his female counterparts and patients.

Melvin has worked in the ER, medical-surgical, Psych, CDU, and surgery. He presently works in surgery which he finds to be a good fit at this point in his life. I can say that Melvin has helped me in the GI lab and he has always been a stand-out for professionalism. He is great with patients, friendly, and hard-working. I tried a few times to recruit him, but he preferred surgery. So on that note, thank you for answering my questions Melvin, you are a great addition to the nursing field!!

Nursing is a career that combines passion, skill, and perseverance. It is not an easy way to go, but can be very fulfilling. Thanks to those who bring their diversity to the nursing field. 

References

Ernest Grant PhD, RN, FAAN ANA President

Ernest Grant, Ph.D. - U.S. NEWS

Looking for some advice. My goals are to become and APRN with FNP specialty. I originally started a DNP program at my school (in first semester currently) but I think I want to drop down to the MSN - FNP to make it a year or so quicker to graduation. Thoughts? 

Thanks

MX

Thanks!

how do girls react when you tell them you are a nurse? If you have any cool stories please tell!