erikrn

I didn't mead to imply that my female co-workers SHOULD go on maternity leave before they give birth. I work with plenty of women who work right up to delivery and do great. I was just saying that if you come to work and claim that you are physically incapable of doing your job and require special treatment, regardless of your physical incapacitation, you should be staying home until you've recovered. If you can't do your job effectively, you are putting unnecessary stress on your co-workers, yourself, and could be putting your patients at risk. Additionally, I agree that maternity leave in the US is a joke, but I feel that as a man, I get an even shorter end of the stick.

BSN with prior BA in Anthropology. 4+ years experience in traumatic brain/spinal cord injury, as well as critical care in the civilian world. Working on MPH, considering military (active or reserve) for education benefits. Would like any info available about public health or environmental health in the military. thanks

I just joined allnurses, and stumbled across this thread. I read the first couple of pages, but must admit I have not read all 15 pages, so if my comments are redundant, I apologize. I feel like the discrimination I run into comes in a variety of forms: It is not uncommon for both male and female patients to request female RNs and techs at my facility (I work in Traumatic Brain/Spinal Cord Injury). In the case of men, it often seems to be some kind of homophobia, and women seem to feel it's inappropriate for me to work with them (even though there's a pretty good chance they have seen a male OB/GYN at some point who was a lot more invasive and personal than I will ever be). Unfortunately, these requests are often complied with, because we have so many female staff, it is easy to find a woman to work with these patients. If the request was made the other way, it would often be denied, because no male staff is available. The flip side of this issue, that works in my favor and is really rewarding, is that after a male patient has been in our facility for awhile, they often find it nice to have a male nurse because they don't feel wierd about swearing and being crude, and we can turn on Sportscenter or a show with good looking women on it and talk about "guy stuff" and they sometimes feel a little more "normal" after that. I am often called to help move large patients, which at first was kind of flattering, but is now just annoying. I think female RNs need to put themselves in our shoes, and think of how they would feel if they were constantly asked to perform certain tasks "because you're so pretty". At first it might seem nice and complementary, but it would get old pretty quick. I am always called to contend with violent/aggressive patients. I don't want to get punched in the face any more than anyone else. The place where it is the most annoying, though, is in terms of benefits, specifically in the area of pregnancy. Female staff at our facility are routinely given easier assignments as they progress in their pregnancy, either because their doctor tells them they need to take it easy, or because they have complained about how hard it is, or simply because someone feels sorry for them. Because of the very physical nature of our jobs, everyone in our facility needs to pass a physical strength and endurance test to remain employed and avoid injury(moving a 400# tetraplegic patient is no easy task). My thoughts are: if you can't perform the tasks because you're 33 weeks pregnant, go on maternity leave now. If I showed up for work with a badly sprained ankle and said "I need an easier assignment until this ankle heals up", I would be promptly sent home and told to return when cleared by a doctor. It doesn't matter the reason, if you are physically unable to perform the job, stay home until you can, end of story. Then, after delivery, our female staff are able to use their extended illness leave for the duration of their maternity leave, up to 12 weeks. This is designed to be used if you are physically UNABLE to perform your job due to illness or injury. In the case of most routine pregnancies/deliveries, women are able to return to full physical activity long before 12 weeks, but our facility seems to just let that little fact slide, allowing staff to stay out for the full duration of their maternity leave, while getting paid, without exhausting their normal vacation time. The reason that this bothers me so much, is that when my wife delivers, I will be required to burn up all of my normal vacation time and then, if I want to remain on leave for my entire legally allotted 12 weeks, any additional time off will be unpaid. This hurts me in multiple ways: First off, I obviously will not be paid for my time off if I want to stay home with my wife and newborn child. Secondly, after returning to work, my normal vacation/sick time will be exhausted, if I need to take time off due to my own illness or to take my child to the doctor, or just to stay home with him because he's sick and my wife can't stay home that day, I will need to miss work without pay, or try to make up the shift later in the week. Meanwhile, female staff who have given birth still have their saved sick/vacation time to take days off for their kids. Interestingly, I have found some real support recently from female nurses I work with who are adopting and are really feeling the sting of not being able to use their extended illness leave to stay home with their adopted children, they are essentially in the same boat that I am. The one place that discrimination seems to work in my favor is that I tend to get left out of many of the petty disputes that my co-workers seem to get into, and they often seem to feel that they can trust me more with personal/private information that some of the other nurses. In addition, I have gotten some great insight into female behavior (including my wife's) by just sitting quietly in the nurse's station and listening. The stereotype that men don't listen or pay attention can come in real handy if you are just quiet and play dumb.

It looks like I've stumbled across the right thread for my questions about public health nursing in the military. I have a BSN, 4+ years hospital experience in traumatic brain/spinal cord injury, as well as some critical care. Am currently working on my MPH and looking for a way to pay for it. I've always been interested in the military, and some years ago I looked at the Reserve/National Guard (enlisted) as a way to pay for my education, but was so disenchanted by the recruiters I met with and the MEPS experience, that I walked out before signing my final commitment paperwork at MEPS. My prior loans are all paid off, but the current degree I'm working on (MPH) is very pricey, and I don't want to spend the next 20 years paying it off. There's already been some good info in this thread, but I'm wondering if anyone else out there can shed some more light for me: Previous posts seemed to provide mixed answers - will an MPH and prior experience (not in Public Health) qualify me to attend Public Health school as an Army RN? How much does schooling and other experience count in terms of rank upon commission? It looks like the person with the PH doctorate will still start as an O-2? Don't MDs start as an O-3? Seems a little skewed. How about other branches/specialities? I know that the Navy and Air Force have Environmental Health Officers that are not part of the Nurse Corps, but are still part of the Medical fields within these branches, does the Army have something similar? From the job descriptions I have read about EHOs, their duties are very similar to a PH RN, and even include work with NBC, etc. (I am not tied to the idea of joining as a nurse, but more to joining in the PH field, I would love to work in Civil Affairs, or other arenas that allow me not only contact with military personnel, but with foreign nationals, whether in a peace-time humanitarian crisis (tsunami), or in a war-time situation as we are currently facing). What are the differences in opportunities for Reserve vs Active Duty? It almost seems like Reserve is pretty much Active Duty these days, at least in terms of deployment schedules. How about loan repayment? The information I have seen at the various official military websites seems to indicate that they will pay off various portions of loans for Nursing School, depending on the committment you make, but will these incentives apply to my loans for MPH school? My NURSING loans are already paid for. Finally, are there any programs that will help me pay for school while I am attending? Some type of ROTC for advanced degree students? I know this is a lot of questions, but I would love to hear from anyone with any info from any branch of the military or USPHS that pertains to these questions. Also, I'm not trying to hijack this thread, merely to piggyback on, as the thread I started has not recieved any replies. Thanks

I gotta put in a plug for my Carhartt carpenter pants. I work in a hospital where casual, "street clothes" are encouraged (as if scrubs aren't casual, I can't count how many times i've heard a nurse say "I love wearing my pajamas to work"). The Carhartts have multiple pockets that hold scissors, alcohol wipes, etc. very well, come in multiple styles, and frankly are much more comfortable than scrubs, especially since they are not drawstring and don't fall down when you put anything heavier than a pen in your pocket.

I'm a BSN-prepared RN with over 4 years experience (Brain and Spinal Cord Injury, as well as some Critical Care) and an additional unrelated BA. Currently working on my Master's in Public Health and am looking for a way to help pay for this degree. I have paid off my prior education debt, but this one will be a killer. The military/USPHS looks like a good avenue for this, as well as offering ample opportunities to practice in the field in some pretty remote regions where health care is very lacking, and military service is something that I have always been drawn to. I have visited the various official military and USPHS websites, but can't find a lot of detailed info. I requested written materials and am still waiting for the Navy to send some, but what I have received has also not been very helpful. Mostly what I've gotten has been a brief blurb and an urging to "go see a recruiter". I visited recruiters in the past while looking for a way to finance prior education, but was so turned off by the pressure and (I hate to say it) dishonesty (or at least very creative truth-telling) of the enlisted recruiters that I met with, that I have been very hesitant to go meet with more recruiters. Maybe the recruiters for commissioned healthcare officers are different, but I am wary. My questions are as follows: (I am willing to consider both Reserve and Active Duty, as well as all branches) Can anyone speak to the opportunities available in the military for public/environmental health jobs? These do not need to be strictly nursing, either, as I am working to move away from the hospital setting with this new degree. What kind of rank can I expect to start at? I know I qualify for commissioning, but will my multiple college degrees and experience, as well as my master's increase my rank or pay at all? It appears that Public Health Nursing in the Army is an advanced course for higher ranking officers, how long does it take to qualify for this opportunity? Are there any programs that will pay me while I am still in school, before I am officially "qualified" with my MPH, some kind of ROTC for advanced degrees? I am also interested in hearing about the experiences of anyone involved in military or USPHS nursing or related public health fields, and what they thought of it. By the way, I in no way meant to disparage military recruiters in general, I know that they perform an extremely difficult job, especially in the current global environment and as a rule they are not dishonest or untrustworthy, but are under extreme pressure to perform their jobs and meet their quotas. That being said, I can only speak to my own experiences, including being encouraged to leave various things off of my MEPS paperwork because "it doesn't really matter, and it will make everything easier", and being dropped off at MEPS by a recruiter who promised me certain things, and then sitting down with a Sergeant inside MEPS who was to process me, who told me a completely different story, finally leading me to walk out. Any light that can be shed on these topics would be greatly appreciated.