I would like to ask men in nursing school and those already in the nursing field for their opinions here.
1. What made you want to go into the nursing profession?
2. Did you have any reservations about it specifically since you are male? (I am trying to determine if stereotypes actually are a barrier to men entering the field)
3. Do you feel as though your nursing education is tailored to meet the needs of male and females alike? (One study I read states that men do not feel as though they were taught how to properly clean a female or even how to properly touch a female. They assumed it was because if you are a female nursing student you would already know how to do this and it didnt need to be explained)
4. Do you feel like you are or have ever been discriminated against because you are a male in the nursing field?
4. Do you find that coworkers either do or do not ask you to do things because you are male? ie. heavy lifting, female exams
5. Do you feel as though you need to be cautious when caring for a female pt? (I had never given it any thought but three of the men I interviewed said that they are always aware of what they are doing or saying to female because of the fear of the pt. thinking they are being inappropriate)
5. is there anything you would like to add specifically about being a man and a nurse?
5. Do you feel as though you need to be cautious when caring for a female pt?
My personal view is any female younger than about 27 is a lawsuit waiting to happen, so I'd be extra clear if they would prefer a female nurse instead.
FYI, I'm in a Surgical/Trauma ICU. Here's my take:
1. I wanted to care for patients. End of story. Improving people's lives at whatever cost, the challenging environment of the ICU and building relationships is at my core.
2. No reservations whatsoever. Most recent studies show that men are being more accepted into the field as they are found to be a great asset to the units. This is because there is a different perspective, and men can add great benefits (both in strength and wisdom).
3. If your nursing education is tailored to a female demographic, then switch colleges. This is archaic. The absurdity of the study about men touching women is equally absurd if the roles were switched. A) you would be surprised at the amount of women who do not know how to properly clean themselves, and B) it would be more imperative that nursing educators insure that all students know how to properly care for patients.
4. No discrimination here. I've actually been embraced as a male.
5. Only with bariatric patients do they ask me to help turn, compressions, etc. I usually don't focus on the feministic/misogynistic mentalities, and focus on the patient.
6. This is actually a good point. It's my license. They teach you in nursing school about dignity and privacy, but because some patients may not be aware, etc., I don't ever put myself in a position to ever be scrutinized in that way. If I'm giving a patient a bath, foley, etc., I make sure that either another female is there to assist (foley), or the door is open in a way that other nurses can help me if need be.
7. The gender stereotyping of nurses has diminished in quite some time. If you feel that your gender is a hindrance to your success as a nurse, you need to re-evaluate your plans. Your focus should be about providing safe, effective, efficient and evidence-based care to patients in an effort to promote wellness and healing. If your gender is getting in the way of that, then you should change your mindset.
Regarding your questions, I am a Male Nurse ("Murse") and have been for 5 years now. I am a retired Marine of 21 years and after military retirement I became a deputy Sheriff. I didn't enjoy being in law enforcement as I was in what was at the time the "Meth capital of the country". I got out of it and decided I wanted to start helping people instead of take the abuse by them. So, I became a nurse. One of my main reasons was because I wanted to help veterans and felt I had more to contribute to my fellow service members. We have a big Veterans hospital in my area so I knew I could do some good there. I am now certified as a surgical nurse as well as work in the Opthal. dept. My first two years I worked in the Emergency room, 2nd two years were in our Pops unit which is "Pre-op, Post Surg recovery".
Now regarding your questions. Are there stereotypes for male nurses? very much so. Our they a detriment to us as males? No. Yes when I see a female patient I ask if they are comfortable with seeing a male and if not they go to another nurse. Simple as that. Maybe since our patient population are ALL veterans I have never had an issue as of yet. Could one ever come up? of course, but so far so good. I am lucky enough to have the gift of gab and can ease about 99% of the patients I have ever met. And the extra 1% came in with issues so it wasn't anything I had done.
Is it detrimental to be a male in this profession? not at all!!! As a matter of fact I have been told by numerous HR depts. at local hospitals that they are hiring more and more men basically because we don't "break" as easy as female nurses. The workmans comp claims by females compared to males (percentages equalized regarding numbers) is much higher so many facilities are hiring males because physically we can handle the most fat country in the worlds population that comes into our facilities.
Regarding any other questions feel free to ask. All in all I love being a nurse and have no regrets. The only issues I had was the fact that I am a retired Marine and am not always politically correct in what I say. I have a habit of being very straight forward with people and its not always welcomed. But happy nursing and enjoy the profession!!!!! Don't be afraid of it.
1. What made you want to go into the nursing profession?
When i was on deployment in Afganistan , we had some army nurses teach us some basic field triage. That sowed the seed for me, many years later after the army and a move to Denmark i went for nursing .
2. Did you have any reservations about it specifically since you are male? (I am trying to determine if stereotypes actually are a barrier to men entering the field)
No reservations because i'm male no, about the pay ? yea
3. Do you feel as though your nursing education is tailored to meet the needs of male and females alike? (One study I read states that men do not feel as though they were taught how to properly clean a female or even how to properly touch a female. They assumed it was because if you are a female nursing student you would already know how to do this and it didnt need to be explained)
I wouldnt say it was tailored to either sex however some of the older text books were , the doctor was always he and the nurse always always a she.
also the Danish title for RN is "sygeplerske" which is a female Word.. kinda like "seamstress" or "actress" . I cant say it bothers me though
4. Do you feel like you are or have ever been discriminated against because you are a male in the nursing field?
I would say that some will have a certain expectation of you because you are male, for example at an interview for an abdominal Ward i was told i would be expected to do alot of personal care and she knew men didnt like that. Nothing worse than that sort of thing. Well and maybe the odd look of suprise when new colleagues find out i'm not gay .
4. Do you find that coworkers either do or do not ask you to do things because you are male? ie. heavy lifting, female exams
Yes sometimes, i'm a big strong guy and get asked often to help with moving heavy patients but that's understandable really, i dont feel discriminated against.
5. Do you feel as though you need to be cautious when caring for a female pt? (I had never given it any thought but three of the men I interviewed said that they are always aware of what they are doing or saying to female because of the fear of the pt. thinking they are being inappropriate
I felt a bit awkard the first few times i helped bath a female patient or put in a KAD, now i take the same amount of care with everyone as it's just as invasive for men as women. I find people can tell if you feel comfortable, if you do so do they.
5. is there anything you would like to add specifically about being a man and a nurse?
I feel it's sometimes easier to land a job being male, i think only 2% of nurses in Denmark are male and are sought after .
Why does everyone focus on the type of equipment in someone's pants when discussing their ability to be a good coworker? I'm just as tired as being called catty and dramatic based solely on my genitals as you are supposedly being asked to do all the heavy lifting.
Maybe you do not do this but a great many do. I worked in one hospital were only men were assigned to the violent behavior code pager. This stopped only after the men all stated that this policy put men at a greater risk of injury because of our gender so they changed the policy to rotate the pager. Personally, I have found it is always good to have both male and female staff on violent behavior codes because the patient may deal with one or the other gender better and often can be talked down.
Specializes in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
I like surveys :)
1. What made you want to go into the nursing profession?
Initially it was because I kinda had nowhere to go at 18 years old so my family (especially my older brother who was/is a nurse at the time) told me to go into nursing. It wasn't until I started working as a lift tech at age 22 that I realized my passion for nursing. It wasn't just about the pay, the good hours, the great benefits. It was about simple interventions that I did that would make my patient's day a little better. It didn't matter if it was just an extra pillow, giving coffee, or giving pain meds, etc. Their disease process may not have been cured or their questions left unanswered, but the fact that the smallest things I did/do as a nurse that makes my patient smile, have a sigh of relief, or just makes their day a little better/lighter is what makes the job for me entirely worth it.That became my reason for going into nursing and sticking to it.
2. Did you have any reservations about it specifically since you are male? (I am trying to determine if stereotypes actually are a barrier to men entering the field)
Only real reservation I had was that I was told male nurses were more likely to get a job because we are a minority in terms of gender in the field of nursing. Aside from that, being a male did not change my aspect on nursing. Knowing that I might have a slight increase chance in getting a job kept my hopes up for after getting my license, but that's about it in terms of stereotypes.
3. Do you feel as though your nursing education is tailored to meet the needs of male and females alike? (One study I read states that men do not feel as though they were taught how to properly clean a female or even how to properly touch a female. They assumed it was because if you are a female nursing student you would already know how to do this and it didnt need to be explained)
Not in the slightest bit. Front to back, get in the cracks. As simple as that haha.
4. Do you feel like you are or have ever been discriminated against because you are a male in the nursing field?
Nope.
4. Do you find that coworkers either do or do not ask you to do things because you are male? ie. heavy lifting, female exams
Sometimes. I honestly don't care. We are there to work as a team and if I'm the only guy that is the strongest there, I SHOULD be there to help. It's not a "man-code", again it's called teamwork and we're there to help the patients.
5. Do you feel as though you need to be cautious when caring for a female pt? (I had never given it any thought but three of the men I interviewed said that they are always aware of what they are doing or saying to female because of the fear of the pt. thinking they are being inappropriate)
It does come to mind, but I ALWAYS make sure I let my patient know what I am going to do and why I am doing it regardless of gender. I would definitely be more sensitive to much younger female patients (and have). I have had no issues so far though.
5. is there anything you would like to add specifically about being a man and a nurse?
I do notice that I tend to get along better with physicians compared to my female coworkers, and I am much newer (still a new grad). I've been cautioned about several doctors, but all of them I have met in person, dealt with in terms of patient issues, and have had 0 problems so far (crosses fingers to not jinx it for the future lol). I'd even say I'm on good terms with them. Not sure if it's just me but I think male physicians tend to respond "better" to male nurses because of maybe that general man-to-man respect? Not sure how to explain it too well...
Nursing — like teaching and waitressing — is among the occupations that economists call "pink-collared jobs," or professions long dominated by women. I am personally with all my fears , concerns and conscious thoughts , will never dream to go to any profession dominated by men.
So, every male student needs to be proud of himself.
Specializes in Psych., Rehabilitation, Developmental Di.
I just have to jump in here. Let me preface my responses with my opinion that nursing is not a female dominated profession. I write again, NOT FEMALE DOMINATED. I have almost 30 years working in the field. 27 years licenced. If you going to be successful and accepted in nursing, get off the gender boat. There are no gender lines. We are all professionally trained health care providers that out into action proven scientific principles. It doesn't matter what gender you're born with. If you are a nurse, you are a nurse. If you start categorizing colleagues by gender, well, you might as well add sexual orientation to the mix, right? No!
Now your questions,
#1 I became a nurse because healing is in my dna. My grandmother was a curandera, some say witch, I don't. She healed. My Relatives from South Dakota are andvwere venerated Medicine Men and Women. It was destiny.
#2 I have ZERO reservations. Every colleague is my equal. Period. Don't forget that all humabs start iff as female. That's right! We are both genders until our dna decides what we get assigned. Stereotypes are sociological prejudices. They exist inly if you guve them power, I do not.
#3 Nursing science is geared towards learning scientific principles and theory. Gender is not a factor that determines how well you learn what is taught.
#4 Discrimination hapoens every where and in all circles if the human experience. Was I ever treated differebtly? Yes. Were my civil rights violated? Never.
#5 Help is not gender based. I ask whoever is available. Sometimes a male presence us needed abd vuce versa. Cautious is not the word I would use. Prudent works fir me. Prudence is the undustry standard. Protect yoyr self at all times. Male or female.
#5 a. I would like to add that my favorite part of being a nurse was that I was able, in many instances, to show the women how to do it. In my humble opinion, in my experience, I did the job with a little more compassion than my female counterparts. I was especialky proud of one patient evaluation that read " I would like to thank Joe for giving me the most discreet bedbath, and only bath offered, during my six day hospitalization". Leave it to the guys to show the girls how to do it.
Thank you fir the chance to express what I've wanted to express for many years. Have a great career as a nurse, no gender please. Do what you've learned and yiu will have no problems. When you get to the bare essentials, we're all equal.
I know I'm not a dude, but I have to say, I'd rather work with most male nurses any time of the week than most women. I know that there are good/nice female nurses out there by the thousands, but any issue at work has always been made worse by cattiness and gossip and most men aren't like that (at least the ones I've been able to work with). They're awesome, very smart, and a great deal more laid back/calm than the majority of the female nurses. I know you may think that doesn't matter, but having a hostile work environment makes work suck. Again, I don't want anyone to think I don't really value my good female coworkers (because I do and dearly love them), but stereotypes are there for a reason.
Sure, you get the "can you help me lift...?", but I think it's more important that men can and DO do the "job of a woman" with as much skill, smarts, and compassion as a woman can. Anyone who is able should be able to do any job, if they want to and nursing, to me, is no different.
As an ICU nurse I will never perform peri care on a female within 25 years of my age without another RN in the room with me. It's just safe practice, you never know who you are taking care of or what their history is.
25 years is a little dramatic, especially depending on what your age is. I mean I'm 24 so I definitely wouldn't want to perform peri/Foley care on a female who is my age or within 10 years of my age without another RN present, but it also would be dependent on the situation. If its a 50 year old I would have no issues. I'll be working ER trauma 1, so If someone comes in and is in need of a Foley immediately or some kind of peri care, Ill probably just do it, not waste time looking for a nurse to step away from her patient to awkwardly watch me. That being said, my issue is mainly with other nurses. As I said earlier, I haven't had any patients deny me, but I have been able to read their face and realize they weren't comfortable with it, so I offered a female. As a student, graduating in 12 days, I have had nurses who were uncomfortable with me providing care to a female, despite the patients being 100% ok with it, and that, for lack of a better word, pisses me off. 2 days ago in my peds clinical, my instructor asked me to go into a room and watch the nurse straight-cath a 3 year old girl as I have yet to see a straight cath perfomed. The pt was paralyzed and was very used to the procedure. I stepped in with my peers (females) and I was immediately (and rudely I might add) asked to get out†as the nurse didn't feel comfortable with me there. The patient obviously didn't care. There was no history of no male caregivers†or issues with males, so what the hell? This was the third time this happened to me in a year of clinicals. The two other times were in my OB clinical with two other nurses. I honesty was pretty livid, and as I left made sure to say I am glad I get the same opportunities for education as my female peersâ€, she just scoffed. I didn't go any further with it as I want to graduate and didn't want to make waves, but when another nurse plays this kind of bull, I think it's wrong, discriminatory, embarrassing and unprofessional, my instructor completely agreed.
I am personally with all my fears , concerns and conscious thoughts , will never dream to go to any profession dominated by men.
TheCommuter, BSN, RN
102 Articles; 27,612 Posts
Thread has been moved to our Male Nursing Student forum.