OB Unit for Male Student

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi. I'm a male nursing student about to start OB Clinicals. Since I'm a male, most hospitals would not let me do clinicals. My instructor could only find one hospital to accept me, but the problem is that the hospital is an hour and a half from my house. I'd have to leave super early in the morning and go back home late at night. The clinical rotation is over a month and I would be using almost half a tank of gas a day. My instructor said this is the only place she could find. Does anyone have ideas of how I could get a site closer, like maybe call a nearby hospital and ask if I can do clinicals there, like as long as a woman is in the room with me, or if they just approve in general? Thanks. ?

You stay out of the patients' rooms, and you still get your clinical hours. That's straight discrimination if you're banned from the hospital for being a male, and your CC is catering to that facility's demand.

1 Votes
10 hours ago, sam619 said:

WOW. This is discrimination and completely unacceptable. I HIGHLY doubt this rule apply's to male MD's and/or med students. Unsure how your school remains accredited...?

I'm not sure. I wanted to call hospitals myself to see if they would accept me, but was advised against it. I'm going there next week to see if it's worth the drive. I may just pay for a hotel next time if I feel like it's too dark or I'm too tired to drive after the 12 hour clinical shift.

10 hours ago, Horseshoe said:

Would a 30 something male doctor describe this as being "awkward as hell"? I sincerely doubt it. In fact, I'm betting that there are many 30 something male doctors doing all kinds of OB stuff since they are...you know...OBs. How is this any different for you? Why should it be awkward?

I really don't get it. Nor do I get women rejecting male nursing students in the labor and delivery unit while crossing their fingers that their male OB is not off on vacation when they deliver. It just seems like a very weird double standard.

Yes, it did seem like a double standard. I wanted to ask hopsitals if I can be in the room as long as a woman was there with me because I doubt every woman would say that they don't want males. I was told not to do this; I guess to not make the school look bad.

9 hours ago, labordude said:

It's only awkward when someone makes it awkward. I generally see male students rejected more when they are presented poorly by the nurse they are with. "Hey, I'm Jackie and this is John, he's a nursing student working with me today and we're going to take great care of you" is DRAMATICALLY more successful than "Hey, I'm Susan, I'll be your nurse today. We also have a male nursing student, would it be okay if he helped care for you today?" If we keep presenting it in a way that makes it seem weird or suspect, we do no one any favors. I can't even imagine how my career would have gone if my experience had been like that. I had an amazing clinical instructor who saw that me (at the time, a 21-yr old clueless nursing student) really, really liked OB and she made it so that the experience was as successful as it could have been. That is what students (especially men) need to have in OB/Peds. Men can thrive in those areas and both the clinical instructors and the nursing staff need to ensure the same high quality education gets to every single one of their students.

Haha, yeah, I don't think it would be awkward for every woman. Some don't care in general, and I doubt EVERY woman would feel the same way.

8 hours ago, Katherin7 said:

What did they do for previous classes? Surely you can’t be the first male student...

I have no idea what previous males had to go through. This may be a first time thing, or they just accepted the clinical arrangements.

1 Votes
Specializes in Dialysis.
11 hours ago, sam619 said:

WOW. This is discrimination and completely unacceptable. I HIGHLY doubt this rule apply's to male MD's and/or med students. Unsure how your school remains accredited...?

It's not the school, but the hospital. They can refuse any student that they wish for pretty much any reason, although it's usually for criminal background check reasons and the like. I can't believe that the nearby hospital(s) would risk the negative publicity

1 Votes
Specializes in Med/Surg, Women's Health, LTC.

I had 5 males in my local community college nursing program. They did every single clinical right along side of us females. Not one hospital ever batted an eye, even in OB.

I am sorry you are dealing with this. I cannot believe the program has not addressed this before now. You cannot be the very first male to ever go through their program.

Good luck!

1 Votes

If there is zero presence of males in that hospital caring for a female pt, there is no need for explanation. Is it a facility that specializes in female patients that find males to be uncomfortable?

1 Votes
Specializes in New Grad 2020.
21 hours ago, Horseshoe said:

Would a 30 something male doctor describe this as being "awkward as hell"? I sincerely doubt it. In fact, I'm betting that there are many 30 something male doctors doing all kinds of OB stuff since they are...you know...OBs. How is this any different for you? Why should it be awkward?

I really don't get it. Nor do I get women rejecting male nursing students in the labor and delivery unit while crossing their fingers that their male OB is not off on vacation when they deliver. It just seems like a very weird double standard.

Well I NOT a doctor so I couldn’t say. I’m not an OB again can’t say. Those patients have EVERY RIGHT not to have me in there. Or do you not believe patient should be able to say what goes on with their care? I was talking about me. I am like a lot of people I am not someone who likes to look at women’s parts all day. Im not interested in that. It makes me uncomfortable due to the same age and I would t want a woman the same age looking at my bits. It is part of schooling but I dont have to like it. No it is not a double standard for that would be me ***ing about women in male medical Situations then getting mad because I was cut out of a woman’s care for the same reason. A school being cagey and a patient dictating what they do and don’t want are not the same.

Those in OB chose that I didn’t. If that was something I was ok with maybe I’d do it then.

you got any thing else to say?

1 Votes
9 hours ago, rn1965 said:

I had 5 males in my local community college nursing program. They did every single clinical right along side of us females. Not one hospital ever batted an eye, even in OB.

I am sorry you are dealing with this. I cannot believe the program has not addressed this before now. You cannot be the very first male to ever go through their program.

Good luck!

Thanks so much!

6 hours ago, Megarline said:

If there is zero presence of males in that hospital caring for a female pt, there is no need for explanation. Is it a facility that specializes in female patients that find males to be uncomfortable?

I'm not sure the facility. They just told me the one I was assigned to. The only info I got was that males generally aren't to be around the female patients. I don't know if it's the hospital's protocol or the female patients who made the rule.

1 Votes
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
1 hour ago, 0.5GPA said:

Those patients have EVERY RIGHT not to have me in there. Or do you not believe patient should be able to say what goes on with their care?

But it never got tot the point of the patient making the decision or not- OP didn't even have the opportunity to set foot in one of those facilities.

2 Votes
13 hours ago, Hoosier_RN said:

It's not the school, but the hospital. They can refuse any student that they wish for pretty much any reason, although it's usually for criminal background check reasons and the like. I can't believe that the nearby hospital(s) would risk the negative publicity

That is correct, however, how would the board feel about a school barley being able to place (male) nursing students in clinical rotations? The school should be negotiating better non discriminatory contracts.

Honestly thank god I live in California and this wouldn't ever happen. Personally, if this happened to me I would bring it to the press.

1 Votes
17 hours ago, Hoosier_RN said:

It's not the school, but the hospital. They can refuse any student that they wish for pretty much any reason,

Quote

although it's usually for criminal background check reasons

and the like. I can't believe that the nearby hospital(s) would risk the negative publicity

I wonder if the OP forgets to disclose this in his post. I think that one of the reasons I can think of is sexual harassment of an opposite sex, but this case can probably disqualify him or her in a selection process.?

1 Votes

Even though I'm a female, this protocol where a male is not allowed---that is made up by a hospital, I won't get in it. It can change its rules quicker than my mood swings change their mode. No, thanks.?

1 Votes
Specializes in Dialysis.
10 hours ago, sam619 said:

That is correct, however, how would the board feel about a school barley being able to place (male) nursing students in clinical rotations? The school should be negotiating better non discriminatory contracts.

Honestly thank god I live in California and this wouldn't ever happen. Personally, if this happened to me I would bring it to the press.

I did say that I can't believe that the hospitals would risk negative press. By the same token, many schools, CA programs included, fight for clinical space for students. This said, many schools won't rock the boat by breaking a relationship with a facility. If this male student is in a rural area, choices may be limited.

By some of the comments the OP offered, I kinda wondered if this was some kind of troll post...

2 Votes
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