Question for nurses that are male...

Nurses General Nursing

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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?

The connotation of the term "nurse" is inherently feminine.

Haven't heard it in a while, but being called a 'Male Nurse' is a bit annoying—for all the reasons previously mentioned. My favorite title is simply "RN."

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I just identify male nurses' as 'nurse'. It is irrelevant really, I don't hear it as much as I used to and there never seemed to be any point to it unless one is describing another person (e.g. "dear new hire, the nurse from whom you are getting report from is the tall, male nurse in the blue scrubs.") It is used to point out a 'novelty', such as 'lady cop', I believe when something is not such a novelty any longer we all hear less of it. Older patients tend to use it as a more common descriptive just as they would 'female doctor' I've noticed. I don't use it unless I need the adjective for describing someone, I think it is benign, after all one is only saying the individual is a nurse and a male.

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Thanks for all the responses and opinions! Seems pretty uniform though that most just want to be referred to as Nurse or RN.Which makes perfect sense. I figure that I dont identify my firefighter sister as a female firefighter. Nor do I tell a patient that Jack the male nurse will be the one to take over when im off :) Thanks for sharing!

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Call me whatever you want but we should be getting paid more for doing more lifting and taking on more difficult or high risk pts. I'm sorry but it's not my problem that a nurse is small or pregnant etc. those are not good enough reasons for not wanting to take an obese pt or one with HIV, hepatitis, or TB.

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I take it that you must be neither Jewish, gay, nor African-American. Odd combination of choices for this topic.

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It's rather difficult for me to get worked up over the rights of "subservient males" when women's rights are being systematically torn away -- even from women who are trying to exercise their rights. It is now legal NOT to pay women equally for the same work -- not that women ever have been paid equally for the same work. What are we up to now -- 82 cents for every dollar that men make?

"Protecting unborn humans" is the job (and the right) of the woman whose uterus it happens to be occupying. If you don't believe in abortion; don't have one. And if you aren't having an abortion only because you don't have a uterus, then it is none of your business unless you put the unborn human into that uterus with consensual sex and without stealth. In that case, you have long, honest discussions with the woman who owns the uterus that is holding your child -- and if she decides she wants an abortion anyway, it's her right. At least now it is, before the Orange One and his collection of old white men take away that right.

As far as women who are chattel and the men who "own" them being responsible for their transgressions? Bull pucky. Or why do we have women being stoned to death, shunned, burned alive for the crime of having been raped?

Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.

Double standard exemplar, or what - right there ..^..

Back in the day, legally - women were so restricted in matters of finance,

& property rights, yet did sheet home debts/fraud issues to their men, too..

There is a hang-over in this attitude today, where couples face joint charges

for crimes, & typically the male gets a more punitive sentence than the female..

& IMO, trite exclamations of putative fear-factor,

- as an attempted sexist put down -

presents as fitting the old '...fury...woman scorned.' axiom..

Sure I do have ethical qualms about abortion as ex post facto contraception,

esp' on the basis of casual convenience - but this is not the topic to discuss it..

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I make it easy... I'm a Nurse. If people want to press the issue, I clarify and say I'm an ICU Nurse. It's that simple!

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I think this is an interesting soap box to step upon, given that woman are seeing their rights systematically and deliberately eroded by the group of old white men with which The Donald surrounds himself. The panel of folks considering "women's issues" is male, and men are controlling our reproductive health.

It's simply true, and for anyone that has studied the issue, the entire concept of "women inequality" has more to do with politics than reality. Your responses tell me you've been drinking the kool-aid as well.

The bottom line, if any coworker calling a male nurse a "murse" should be handled the same way a man would be calling a women anything else than the politically correct norm nowadays. Anything else is a double standard.

Also on the fat, old, ugly, bitter nurse, we don't seem to have a shortage of them. Congrats on the achievement! The industry would do well to have more male influence IMO, and there is a clear reason a male gets paid more as a nurse in many settings, albeit how small that difference may be. It's supply, demand, as well as the other traits a man brings to the table such as less call offs, more reliable, more physical, less backstabbing drama among coworkers, etc..

If women want to be "equal" in other settings such as business, they can also take on the "equality" of the required hours worked, productivity standards etc.

Just the facts.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
It's simply true, and for anyone that has studied the issue, the entire concept of "women inequality" has more to do with politics than reality. Your responses tell me you've been drinking the kool-aid as well.

The bottom line, if any coworker calling a male nurse a "murse" should be handled the same way a man would be calling a women anything else than the politically correct norm nowadays. Anything else is a double standard.

Also on the fat, old, ugly, bitter nurse, we don't seem to have a shortage of them. Congrats on the achievement! The industry would do well to have more male influence IMO, and there is a clear reason a male gets paid more as a nurse in many settings, albeit how small that difference may be. It's supply, demand, as well as the other traits a man brings to the table such as less call offs, more reliable, more physical, less backstabbing drama among coworkers, etc..

If women want to be "equal" in other settings such as business, they can also take on the "equality" of the required hours worked, productivity standards etc.

Just the facts.

It's "biter" nurse. As for the rest of your post -- WOW!

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Specializes in ..

I prefer to be called by my name or RN. I have never heard of someone being referred to by their gender in nursing. It would seem very odd. It wouldn't offend me but just realizing the world is greater than me and my surroundings, I'd try to be more professional and courteous.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

I hate being referred to as "that black person" or "black nurse" because being black doesn't define me, and I hate being deduced to my race (and often negatively stereotyped or barred from equal opportunities because of it).

On the other hand...historically speaking, men haven't been barred from professions due to their sex so while I see why some nurses who are male may get annoyed or even offended by it, I can't help but not feel the anger.

I won't go out of my way to call male nurses "murses" or "male nurses" however.

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It's simply true, and for anyone that has studied the issue, the entire concept of "women inequality" has more to do with politics than reality. Your responses tell me you've been drinking the kool-aid as well.

The bottom line, if any coworker calling a male nurse a "murse" should be handled the same way a man would be calling a women anything else than the politically correct norm nowadays. Anything else is a double standard.

Also on the fat, old, ugly, bitter nurse, we don't seem to have a shortage of them. Congrats on the achievement! The industry would do well to have more male influence IMO, and there is a clear reason a male gets paid more as a nurse in many settings, albeit how small that difference may be. It's supply, demand, as well as the other traits a man brings to the table such as less call offs, more reliable, more physical, less backstabbing drama among coworkers, etc..

If women want to be "equal" in other settings such as business, they can also take on the "equality" of the required hours worked, productivity standards etc.

Just the facts.

How long have you been single?

Let me guess. Forever n ever?

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