daveman

Good points by all, except for the fact that arrogance or know-it-all attitude was NEVER used. People just assume that it was. I introduced myself appropriately and did everything professionally as the school mandates. I know how some people may not want to be seen by a student that MAY know them or know of them, but in this particular instance that was far from true. It was an extreme case. It's just too bad that the one female in the class who was studying in the same hospital as myself wound up with 4 times the births as the guys. Hospitals can and will dictate who does or sees what, and nobody has issues with that, however, I don't think too many women in labor at home will refuse an all male crew to wait for a female to show up! Thats the irony of the whole thing, beggers can't be choosers in the real world!

No, the end comment was just a frustration, not serious. Anyhow, good question, and the mother was NOT made aware of any students by anyone. Ever. And she was as unhappy as I was when her husband told her the story. They were both unhappy about it, actually. Especially the fact that I was told they did not want a student when they were never asked if they did.

This is a true story. Period. I am not making any of this up. It is a sad story for the medical field in general. Not being a nurse, but loving newborn infants is a very tough situation for a male nursing student. I have 2 questions I want answered. 1) Why is it so difficult for men to be "baby nurses"? Really, it is. 2) Why as a paramedic student was I flat out lied to about deliveries? I mean, this is true, I was in OB rotation and looking forward to my first births when the charge nurse for the unit told me "this mother does not want students". OK. No problem. That is her right. The problem is this: I was in the elevator with a guy who seemed very happy to be a new father. We struck up conversation based on the fact that I was a paramedic student and in the OB portion of school. He has been a firefighter/paramedic for 22 years. His wife- the pt who requested no students- was also a paramedic for 11 years. He told me to watch his childs birth for school, etc,etc. This was the SAME couple that the nurse told me did not want students to watch. I guess I caught her in a lie? I did not see the birth based on sexual discrimination. Obvioulsly. I let him know, as well. The hospital had "no response" other than to say that staff members are often overworked and make mistakes.

Interesting discussion on this topic. Luckily, I have never been arrested, but my little cousin was and he wants to take the Police exam. I told him what my best friend (an attorney) explained to me. Be upfront, but also keep in mind that one misdemeanor 8 yrs ago is likely more forgiveable than one 2 years ago. Your case is closed, it only happened once, you learned from it and you have moved on. Keep in mind with DUI/DWI or whatever they call it in your state, there have been so many of them that practically everybody knows someone who has one. I know a Firefighter with 1 within the last 5 yrs before he was hired and Firefighting is one field that has NO shortage of qualified applicants. It's not a felony, just be prepared to defend yourself. Good luck