New male student in clinicals, all women, feeling isolated

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So sometimes im feeling isolated all around women, I am a new male nursing student and Im feeling a little bit isolated in clinicals, most of the time in the break time that they speak about their things and there is nothing to do.

any advice? how to behave when im feeling unintegrated?

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day, Matucm:

We had seven males, myself included, in our December 2016 graduating class. Our graduating class was approximately 85% female and 15% male. Out of two years of clinicals, I might have been grouped up with some of my fellow male counterparts a handful of times; and generally just one or two of them. So the majority of the time it was all female nursing students and myself. I didn't find that odd because of the statistical chance to be paired with a fellow male nurse were slim given the number of clinical sites, hometowns, etc. (we all commuted); yet, what did bother me is that the female nurses were often paired with a male RN if there was a male RN on the floor.

Yes it was isolating and lonely from a point of view; adding in that I was the age of their father for most of my classmates didn't help either.

My advice is to continue to try and reach out to them, and offer to help them if they need help in any of the actual clinical tasks.

Nursing school is a fine tunnel with a known light at the end of the tunnel. Press onward, and conquer the dream!

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

You are only as isolated as you make yourself out to be. I was the only guy in my class and had the time of my life all through school.

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Specializes in Neuro.

Female working in law enforcement...I only get this too well & all the time. From someone who gets no slack, just be you & put yourself out there & be heard. I was probably 4 years old the first time I felt "left out" by males. If I can overcome it so can you. Be yourself, don't look at as you & a bunch of chicks, woman have interests other that being of the female persuasion, find it & incorporate yourself in the conversations.

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Specializes in ICU + 25 years as Nursing Faculty.

From a guy who has been a nurse for 35 years. When I stared as a nurse, guys were even less common than today!

1. Dude.... you are headed into a profession where you will most often be either the only, or the rare male in the group. You need to get beyond this issue!

2. Here is the thing: Women are.... wait for it.... people! If you ignore the fact that you are the "only guy" and treat them just like people... you will be fine.

3. Big hint from a Grumpy Old Bastard: Be damned careful about pursuing romance in your nursing school class. It might be fine, or it might make you as popular as nuclear waste. I was careful, and things worked out fine.

4. You have PLENTY to talk about between your schoolwork and your shared experiences at the bedside.

5. This is an issue only because you think it is. Treat your classmates like people, find shared stuff to talk about, look out for them just as you want them to look out for you, and this "problem" will disappear.

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If all you guys are in nursing school and sharing clinical together, surely there's something you have in common to talk about! We're humans, not some weird aliens that just talk about "girl" stuff (whatever that means, anyway...)

Good luck, OP :)

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

My advice is to use what you've got and help your classmates with bed baths, toileting and heavy lifting stuff.

My absolute favorite classmates were the 2 guys who helped me all the time and were never rude or sexist.

If either of them ever needs anything from me, they have my lifelong loyalty.

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Specializes in NICU.
From a guy who has been a nurse for 35 years. When I stared as a nurse, guys were even less common than today!

1. Dude.... you are headed into a profession where you will most often be either the only, or the rare male in the group. You need to get beyond this issue!

2. Here is the thing: Women are.... wait for it.... people! If you ignore the fact that you are the "only guy" and treat them just like people... you will be fine.

3. Big hint from a Grumpy Old Bastard: Be damned careful about pursuing romance in your nursing school class. It might be fine, or it might make you as popular as nuclear waste. I was careful, and things worked out fine.

4. You have PLENTY to talk about between your schoolwork and your shared experiences at the bedside.

5. This is an issue only because you think it is. Treat your classmates like people, find shared stuff to talk about, look out for them just as you want them to look out for you, and this "problem" will disappear.

Exactly. I am 1 of 2 male nurses is a 300 nurse unit. I treat the females as people. We have plenty to talk about. I just avoid the bridal shower, wedding, baby shower conversations.

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.
Man bites dog. Golly.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to belittle your feelings. But you know what, after years of life as a woman and now as an older one, I have had sooooo many opportunities to be invisible and devalued in groups of men that my sympathy for this turn-about is allllll dried up. You wanna be invisible, walk into a tech store ready to spend a lot of money as an older woman, as I did last weekend. If I hadn't been in a hurry I'd have waited longer, as a data collecting opportunity, to see how just how long it would take one of the customer service types to say, "Can I help you?" and how many men who arrived after me got helped first. I can tell you it was 1) too damn long and 2) at least three.

Try starting a conversation about that, why doncha.

I could would not agree more, I was almost ignored and dismissed, till the salesman realize the 05 new covertable corvette, I was paying cash for....... Funny how perceptions change.......

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
So sometimes im feeling isolated all around women, I am a new male nursing student and Im feeling a little bit isolated in clinicals, most of the time in the break time that they speak about their things and there is nothing to do.

any advice? how to behave when im feeling unintegrated?

You are too sensitive. Get over your "unintegrated" feelings (whatever that means). You want to be a nurse? Man up.

Quit quitting clinicals and finish what you started.

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You are too sensitive. Get over your "unintegrated" feelings (whatever that means). You want to be a nurse? Man up.

Quit quitting clinicals and finish what you started.

Line up the threads and read them one after the other. Come away with a feeling of "special snowflake".

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"This is the one time in my life where I am not surrounded by other men and I feel sad and alone." Oh no, so sad. Women are constantly undermined, outcasted, and treated as inferior out in the world as well as in their careers. But it must be hard to be the only man while the women "talk about their things." Suck it up.

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Specializes in Pushing a rock ....

In 1973, I was the only male in a class of 32 at a hospital diploma school. By the end of our 3 years+ there, 12 of us graduated and sat for our boards. None of us would have been able to do this without the love and support of each other....

Support not just in scholastics and clinicals, but things like inspecting each other in the morning before class, being a 'shoulder and an ear', baby sitting, car pooling, grocery shopping etc etc..to top it off I was 22, single and just out of the Army.. whoo hoo!

Get with the program and try taking the first step forward, you might be amazed of what such can do. Unless your a total loser, then gawd help you....

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