Question for nurses that are male...

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So I'm an avid reader of corny advice columns, just can't seem to get enough lol. Stumbled across a column this week. A nurse wrote in regarding some problems his wife had with his career choice as an RN. The part of this that stood out was he identified himself as a Nurse who is male and not a "male nurse" because he found that term to be offensive. I had never thought much about the term male nurse and didn't realize it could be construed as offensive to some men. Now I am curious as to how you nurses that are men like to be identified and/or how you identify yourself. I realize we don't say she is woman nurse so I got to thinking why it is many of say he is a male nurse, instead of just being a nurse. What do you think?

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I have no problem being referred to as a "male nurse" or "murse" for that matter. The overwhelming majority of nurses are women, it's normal to use descriptors to clarify something that is an exception to the expected norm.

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Specializes in tele, ICU, CVICU.

Sorry, i'm a rule-breaker!!!

No, I'm not male. But I think this is an interesting idea and am curious what the men-folk say.

Recently, my 80 YO grandmother was sharing family photos (her two brothers have both had large health issues the last 2 years and while sharing pics of her nieces/nephews it was interesting to see her say "and John's son Jim is... uh, is a... he's a male nurse." She wasn't being rude or condescending, in my opinion, but just was intriguing, the way she paused, hemmed & hawed while trying to spit it out.

(her two brothers are also both doctors: Neurosurgeon and veterinarian. And she was (in her words) 'just a cafeteria worker for the school'... I know it's the age thing and times have changed, but I'm curious to see other replies...

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Although I don't find use of either male nurse or murse offensive, I do find it humerous that while many professions are moving to gender neutral terminology (firefighter, police officer, flight attendent, etc.) nursing is still having this discussion.

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Specializes in NICU.

I am a nurse, not a male nurse or a "murse".

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Don't use it, it's just nurse. The phrase "male nurse" is not necessarily insulting as much as it is simply annoying. I could get on a soap box here and talk about gender inequality and how society views nursing as a "feminine" profession and therefore must inherently have negative characteristics not becoming of a "man" but I'm not gonna do that. Moral of the story... Don't use terms like "male nurse" or "murse" as they are stupid and annoying and nobody wants to be stupid and annoying. Thanks.

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Don't use it it's just nurse. The phrase "male nurse" is not necessarily insulting as much as it is simply annoying. I could get on a soap box here and talk about gender inequality and how society views nursing as a "feminine" profession and therefore must inherently have negative characteristics not becoming of a "man" but I'm not gonna do that. Moral of the story... Don't use terms like "male nurse" or "murse" as they are stupid and annoying and nobody wants to be stupid and annoying. Thanks.[/quote']

Thanks for the response. Interesting to see the difference in opinions. I myself usually say just nurse unless there is a specific reason the male part comes up. I can say I don't use the term murse either but that is just bc i dont like how it sounds lol. But thank you all for the opinions. Keep them coming. It's great to see others opinions and mindsets, and it can also open doors to help people better understand men who are nurses are still just that. Nurses.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
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Davey often got called to the carpet for having a too short skirt, the little minx.

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wow! this sounds so interesting. I would wish to say that it is a reflection of ones self esteem in the career. I am male nurse and because I find love in it, my self esteem is boosted when I am called nurse. I would encourage male nurses to find love in nursing so that we enjoy being male nurses. if there is no passion in nursing as a male, then it will be so traumatizing psychologically.

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wow! this sounds so interesting. I would wish to say that it is a reflection of ones self esteem in the career. I am male nurse and because I find love in it, my self esteem is boosted when I am called nurse. I would encourage male nurses to find love in nursing so that we enjoy being male nurses. if there is no passion in nursing as a male, then it will be so traumatizing psychologically.

What?

I don't understand your point, can you be more clear?

Welcome to AN!

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Specializes in NICU.

I think that calling yourself a "male nurse" does a disservice to the acceptance of men in nursing. Let's say you were male, Jewish, gay, and African-American and you were at a party. Someone comes up to you and asks "What do you do for a living?"

Is your response:

A. I am a nurse

B. I am a male nurse

C. I am a Jewish nurse

D. I am a gay nurse

E. I am an African-American nurse

F I am a male, Jewish, gay, African-American nurse

Although I do see the need in today's society that calling yourself a "male nurse" helps people know which sex you are self-identifying with.

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