I try not to be too sensitive about stuff like this, but it is discouraging that even today people sometimes feel they have to preface the word "nurse" with the word "male," when their nurse happens to be a man. It is discouraging to see a supposedly progressive news organization like Yahoo! continuing to "otherize" us males by using such verbiage:
London (AFP) - A Filipino male nurse was jailed for life with a minimum of 35 years on Tuesday for poisoning 21 patients with insulin at a British hospital, two of whom died. Nurse jailed for life for poisoning patients - Yahoo News
It reminds me of when I was telling my friends and family I was going to nursing school. I remember how my pastor told me, "Do you really want to spend your life being a male nurse?" To which I replied, "No, I want to spend my life being a nurse."
Seriously? What if people called someone a "female doctor" or a "female lawyer?" This is silly.
I remember way back in clinicals at the VA a male veteran asked me if I was gay. I said no, I was married to a woman, etc. He asked to see a picture of her. I obliged. He said okay, you can touch me. Afterwards I felt embarrassed for myself. I should not have to defend my profession or throw my gay colleagues under the bus like that.
I know, flame me or say these are "microaggressions." Maybe you are right. But it is not fair either to our male or female colleagues.
If half or anywhere close to half of nurses were male I could see getting upset about using the qualification "male" when referring to a nurse, but we only make up about 9% of nurses (unlike women Physicians who make up about a third of Physicians). It's normal to clarify a term when it doesn't meet the prevailing definition, I don't think there's generally anything demeaning or offensive about it.
I get called a female engineer all the time. Although it is annoying and potentially harms the work environment, it does have advantages. Ex- more likely to get hired to promote "diversity"
It's the one time in life I can claim minority status and reap the benefits of "diversity". I don't mind it but no one has every called me one either. Just nurse....or doctor.
Sorry, no - I'm not a "murse" I'm a Nurse. The APPROPRIATE term is NURSE.
Thank you Thank you Thank you.
I soooooo dislike that M-urse term!!!
And like OP, I dislike identifying our male counterparts as 'male'nurses. Many years ago when new to our profession myself, I may have done so. But over they years I have come to recognize and appreciate their presence.
Sorry, no - I'm not a "murse" I'm a Nurse. The APPROPRIATE term is NURSE.
At the risk of being a smart aleck, its kinda funny that you don't like being specified as a male nurse (vs just nurse) when your avatar is the title RN surrounded by the male gender symbol.
At the risk of being a smart aleck, its kinda funny that you don't like being specified as a male nurse (vs just nurse) when your avatar is the title RN surrounded by the male gender symbol.
Valid point, but it's more the term "murse" that I don't like. I don't have any problem being identified as male. I used to have my picture as an avatar, this was just something I replaced it with. It's not my favorite either.
I'm not a fan of the "murse" joke either. Not because I find it offensive, the joke is just really, really stale at this point. In a "gee, I've never heard *that* one before" sort of way.
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ixchel
4,547 Posts
This plus the Zach avatar.... Totally made me giggle.