Kiwiguy

so let me get this straight.. you applied for a job, didnt get it so discrimination is the reason you were not successful?

It depends on the style of martial arts you wish to study. the topic of martial arts and mental health instantly makes people think that you want to become a Bruce Lee and use techniques on patients. I have studied Aikido in the past and the main lesson i have taken from that style is to not place myself in any compromising situations where either myself or others could be potentially at risk. Common sense goes along way in mental health as a nurse, trust your gut instinct and apply the knowledge you have learnt so far and you should be ok.

How do you think you went?

Hey Lads. I am not sure if this has been done before, but i am interested in where everyone is located in the world, and i think it would help to add to the sense of community that we have in this male nurse forum. Ill start. Im from New Zealand

I personally dont see how dating a doctor makes you inferior? or lowly? Be proud of what you are doing and the profession you are entering.

good work sport!

Being a male in Nursing is terrific! Its well worth the journey!

Gender shouldnt be an issue, at the end of the day you will be a nurse, and that is all that really should matter.

1) WHY NURSING? An interesting question. I have always been a caring person. When i was younger i cared for animals and as i grew older that caring attitude was applied to other people as well. I spent 8 months in and out of hospital when i was 19 after being diagnosed with bone cancer. The experiences i had during that year i believe is the primary reason i am in nursing school now, It was a lonley time for me and while my family played the largest role in my treatment and recovery, i had a great nursing team and a male nurse who were magic for me. I guess i am aspiring to be like them. 2) AGE? 27 3) LIFE GOAL AFTER NURSING? At the moment i have one year left in my degree, I am considering getting into Oncology because of my past, but mental health and medical have also proven to be interesting. I am interested in trying out rural health. My main aim is to be happy, and i have found that helping people enables me to be happy. so its a win win career for me.

It sounds like you are basing your argument on leaving nursing school based on the people around you. Yes nursing is a stressful environment to work in, and yes the system can abuse people if they let it happen. The important thing to to avoid burn out at all costs, make time for yourself and ensure that when you leave the ward/nursing environment you leave your work there too.. dont bring work and all the stresses it may have home with you. You sound like a smart cookie and i know you have a great career ahead of you, stick at it and finish your degree.

I think one of the worst things you can do is get offended when people poke fun at our chosen profession. Instead i have found through trial and error that a humorous response is often the best way to go, one of those one liner responses you can easily find on google is a safe bet. Ive found that if you match their mocking with a joke about it they quickly stop, while if you get offended it only encourages them to continue as they see that their comments have hit a nerve.

Firstly welcome to the site mate. With most of your questions a good way i have found is to volunteer with a local community group/national group to get qualifications and experiences. Do some SAR type stuff, the experience and knowledge alone are well worth the investment of your time, and it also means that when you apply to jobs you have a nice reference to include in your CV

^This!

welcome buddy :)

That arrogant attitude of yours will continue to get you in trouble mate, you might be an intelligent guy, but you have to remember that some of the nurses you will be working with will have been nurses for a very very long time. Their level of knowledge and experience will trump your 'intelligence' anytime.. Get used to your new environment, there will be times when you love nursing and times when you dont, but as long as you can get on with the people around you and you are competent you'll be fine. Also citicism is great, nursing is deffinitly not a my way or the highway profession, the sooner you understand that the better i think :)

Pretty much what Nurse2033 said. Nursing is a profession and people in the community expect you to look and act professionally as a nurse. Im sure it works withthe girls too who wear to revealing clothing and what not, it doesnt mean you have to wear tailored suits like james bond, but yeah a professional look and manner does go along way in nursing school

Mate the only advice i have is get stuck in and be yourself. Another thing i have found as being very important is when you are on clinical placements, be nice to the staff, especially orderlies/reception staff as it really goes along way and they really appreaciate it. you nver know when you might need to ask a favour, and word does get around if your a nice person in hospital environments But yeah go hard buddy, im nearly at the end of my second year here in NZ and i am amazed at how fast the year has gone :)

keep your head down and go hard buddy, you'll be amazed how quick time flies by!

As a Nurse and especially as a student you are going to be on your feet alot! buy comfortable shoes, mine are leather and have an air cushion for comfort, i got them on sale too. Buy something classy that you can wear outside of school eg when you go to the clubs/ on dates.

Tell her she has nothing to fear, your going to be far too busy learning to have time to do that. Besides those girls quickly become your friends and at school a class can easily become like a family, id tell her not to worry :)

Mate the thing i suspect with nursing school is that they try and teach you how nursing should be done in theory, so when you do eventually practice you have the skills/knowledge and ability to do so when you graduate and start working. ER is also a high stress environment that has its own unique culture, but it doesnt mean that key nursing considerations cant be used.

The wards here normally have a nursing locker where staff can put their things, bring only the basics with you.

keep your head down,work hard and you'll be fine mate :)

Hey Floridatrail2006, I chose to enter nursing after doing alot of soul searching. When i left high school i went to university where i studied for a BA. Just after my first year however i was diagnosed with Bone Cancer in my right lower leg and ended up spending the best of the following year in and out of hospital for treatment including high grade chemotherapy and surgery. then battled hard to get back to uni and compete my degree, although it was hard because i was still comming to terms with my new disabilities of partial hearing loss and mobility issues, due to extensive surgery on my leg to remove the tumor. I graduated, but then the global recession hit and i found it virtually impossible to find employment. I then had a long hard look at myself and ultimately decided to give 'something back' and started down the path which has led me to nursing school. :) I had some amazing nurses when i was sick, and im not proud to say i treated them horribly during my chemo, but i have met most of them since and appologised for my behaviour, now i want to be just like them, especially a male nurse who seemed to understand what i needed to be comfortable, he was great. on reflection i can honestly say he was one of the main influences that made me chose nursing as a career to follow. I dont think ill ever get over the strange feeling of being on the other side of the bed though, its a very strange feeling indeed, and i avoid the oncology ward, too many bad memories to face in that place.

Sometimes it sure does feel like there is a double standard in classes. But then again when you have a profession that only has about 10% being guys, you expect some type of double standards to come up, but its mostly because guys and girls are so different. I think its mostly from the other students and to a degree from some lecturers not knowing how to handle us guys, and I dont mind it though personally.