jchap12

I am a junior nursing student with one more year to go! This past semester, I had the opportunity to visit the NICU a few times during my OB clinical rotation and I loved everything about it! After some thought over the past few months, I'm certain that this is what I want to do with my nursing career. However, I am a little worried because I am a male. I've heard that historically, there has been somewhat of a stigma attached to male nurses, especially in fields like maternity and labor & delivery (from both patients and other nurses). While this wasn't my experience in clinical, I'm wondering if this is/was generally true, and if so, is it still true today? I'm not going to let anything keep me from doing what I want, but it would be helpful to know what I'm up against (if anything). Also, do you have any general suggestions for someone like me going into this field? As I understand it, I would probably need to start out in a well baby nursery and work my way up to the NICU. I'm currently seeking unpaid internships or student nurse positions at local hospitals to get experience. After I graduate and once I begin working in this field, I plan to get my RNC-NIC and ultimately become an NNP. Thanks for your help!