nursing career

ErinLee14 · Nov 25, 2009

I am a nursing student, so I can't comment much.. but just wanted to say I volunteer in an ER & there are 3 male nurses who I have meet & seen at work & they are awesome!! I also have a two male friends that I went to HS with who are nurses and they love it ! Goodluck :up:

MedSurgeMess · Nov 25, 2009

Male nurses are great. Unfortunately, some out there automatically think that any male nurse a) must be gay, and b) couldn't make it in medical school. Neither is automatically true. Come on and join us, nursing, although a tough field right now due to the recession is an awesome field to work in.

sunnycalifRN · Nov 25, 2009

yes, most of your colleagues will be women but, where I work, they definitely appreciate their male colleagues, especially our "upper body strength" for the heavy lifting. I haven't found any issue with being accepted by my female colleagues. The societal view of nursing as a "women's job" may still be out there but "who cares?" Go for it!

iluvdetroit · Nov 25, 2009

Male nurses are being accepted more and more and stereotyped as being gay less and less because a lot of people realize that men, just like women, want to go into a field where they stand a chance of getting a job, can help people, and can make a decent wage. There's nothing gender specific about wanting those things. I have worked with several male nurses. Some were gay, most weren't. Some were on an ego trip and actually talked down to the female nurses, most didn't. Some of my favorite co-workers in the profession have been men. I think there is still somewhat of a stigma for older patients, some of whom still would like to see all female nurses wearing white dresses and hose and a white cap, but for the most part, people accept you no matter what your gender. With the current recession and terrible job market (although, admittedly, it isn't much better for nurses right now) I think you will see more and more men going into nursing.

Had to add: I have seen EXTREME bias of some male doctors towards male nurses, as in, they treat them better and assume that they are more knowledgable. Kind of burns me up, but it is what it is...:angryfire

MsDiva812 · Nov 25, 2009

hello everyone. i joined this website to check things out. Im a man and have been thinking about going into nursing for a while now. as we know nursing is a female dominated field, and thats one of the things i've been thinking about. are male nurses accepted the same as female nurses or is there any negative views about male nurse? if anyone wants to comment on this it would be very much apprechated.
thanks.

Have you tried the "Men in Nursing" forum on this site? I think it may help a bit.

Good Luck

zrc2009 · Nov 25, 2009

I am entering nursing school next semester and know that in the Army, male nurses are very highly respected. As an EMT, I also know that at least EMT's respect male nurses a lot. We encounter them frequently in the ER.

CR727 · Nov 26, 2009

I'm finishing my first semester RN program. Over a third of our class is made up of men. There is absolutely no bias or behavioral treatment differences I've seen. I'm also a flight attendant and work on our hiring and interview team for the airline. Both of these professions were women dominated in the past. Again, we have gay and straight flight attendants and all of us are a team, regardless of gender or orientation. Nearly half of our open house last month was made up of men, and we granted just as many men interviews as women. Pilots treat us all the same, and in clinical the doctors and hospital staff has treated all of the students the same. Do NOT let your gender get in the way of pursuing an amazing career.

Music in My Heart · Nov 26, 2009

My experience thus far has been that I've been accepted completely -- except during the OB rotation during nursing school. I've mostly received very positive feedback from people.

The "gay nurse" stereotype makes me chuckle. Sure, some male nurses are gay... and so are some female ones.

bumble bee 15 · Nov 26, 2009

Back in the day there were misconceptions about male nurses. But now we are living in the 21 century things have changed toward male nurses drastically (although there are some ignorant ones) I"ve encountered some male nurses, and They had such a great attitude and spirit. So I say go for it, You will make a wonderful nurse.