"That's why I don't like working with women"

[clemmm78, RN]

You know, I've lost count of the number of times I've read this comment (just read it a few times in another thread).

What I don't get is most of the people (if not all) who write this are women themselves. Does this mean that the women who write this comment are better than all other women? Does this mean that if they were in charge, the other women they work with wouldn't want to work with them?

I know that these forums encourage complaints and that sometimes we write things we don't really think, but this comment is way too common and is said out loud.

You know what is going to solve this problem? If we stop blaming difficult work conditions on "working with women" and blame it on what it is: working with difficult people. I've worked with both men and women. Some great people in both groups and some horrid people in both groups.

I believe that some people should grow up and stop blaming "working with women" as the root of all problems in nursing. Sheesh.

[coast2coast]

But Clemm, don't you REALIZE that women are mealy-mouthed, backstabbing, passive-aggressive manipulators? All they do is talk about clothes and men and plot how to control the people around them. No man has ever been manipulative or less-than-straightforward and it's just such a shame that the species isn't 100% male.

You know, I'm a straight-talking, no-nonsense, no-gossiping kind of gal and in my purty little head this is the same as being MASCULINE. Gee being masculine is nice, I'm soooo direct and truthful, it's almost like my idea of being "direct" really means "mature" and I have difficult recognizing that others might reach that state despite their crippling genetic defect of lacking a Y chromosome. I mean *I* somehow overcame that enormous problem and *I* am perfectly polite and professional despite having two X chromosomes, but really 90% of the time it's a fatal disease and we should just put the poor dears down when they become symptomatic.

Anyways, I hate to speak against my own gender here, but women really ARE the problem. It's okay that I think this as long as I know that I, personally, am in no way part of that problem. Also you know they can't help it. It's those crazy baby-making hormones.

Did I miss anything ?

[manusko]

If anyone says that statement then they picked the wrong profession. Personally I tell people I left military dental assisting and joined nursing to get away from all the women.

[kvisintine, BSN, RN]

Honestly, I am a woman... but prefer to work with male peers. There is less drama, gossip and catty-ness. Some women have a tendency to let their emotions get the best of them (more so than their male counterparts)... this may make us the more nurturing of the sexes... but it also makes many females less rational in a work environment.

[vhern246]

When I started clinicals, one of my instructors was male and he pulled me aside and said under his breath,"Put your machismo aside and get ready to be one of the girls."

"What do you mean?", I replied.

"It's not that bad, but speak only when spoken to and stay out of the gossip"

Thats good advice for any workplace, but it was funny to me that he told me to be read to be "One of the girls"...

[AKAnurse4]

The comments here really BLOW ME.....you rather work males but when he starts doing Inappropriate things and sexually harasses you then you become one of those "women"....we need to uplift each other...if it wasn't for reproduction men would not exist...I don't understand how men stick together but us women CANNOT!...but anyway let's be real you're at your job to do a job not to make friends...mind your business and keep moving!!!! Oh yeah you can pvt msg if you had issue with what I've said :-)

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Before I became a nurse, I was a factory worker at a paper products plant for three years. Out of 500+ employees, I was one of the only female workers there. Virtually all of my coworkers were men.

During my three years of employment at this factory, I saw minimal or nonexistent gossip, backstabbing, politics, cat fighting, or manipulation. I'm cognizant that the following statement may sound like a generalization, but men can shove their personal feelings aside to get the job done. Two men might personally dislike each other, but they can work together professionally. This concept seems harder for many women to grasp.

I do have a preference for working around males.

[shoegalRN, RN]

I am one of those women who also prefer to work with mostly men.

Before I became a nurse, I worked in corporate america and learned how to deal with conflict. It also taught me about professionalism and most of my co-workers were men and straight business like.

In my previous career, there was a such thing as being direct, keeping eye contact, and getting straight to the point of the issue. If you had a conflict with someone, you hashed it out and moved on.

I find in nursing, if you are direct, confront the person who you have an issue with FIRST, then you are accused of being "mean", or a "bully". I've never understood the term "passive aggressive" until I became a nurse. And atleast in corporate america you see the knife coming at you, because it's aiming for your face, in nursing, the knife is in your back.

[itsmejuli]

You've no idea how happy I am that 3 out of 8 of my co-workers on the weekends are male :)

[Murse406]

By AKANurse4 "The comments here really BLOW ME....."

I am pretty sure there is a joke here somewhere...oh nevermind

[AgentBeast, MSN, RN]

Women tend to treat every little thing as some sort of personal affront. Not that there aren't men who don't do the same. It's just seems to be more prevalent among women. Why this is I have no real idea.

[gpwil3847]

Working with Women..."it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." As a bull in the china shop I can say men and women are different and science backs that statement up. There are good people and bad people everywhere. Nursing is and has been largly a woman's career field so men are in the minority. We enter the field and understand that. As a minority I have seen discrimination, and endured all the bad traits the fairer? sex has to throw out and they are many - we tend to remember the bad things that happen to us. I would recommend men think long and hard before making nursing a career choice it is much better mentally to work with people who have brains that work like ours - the thought processes are incompatable basically even if the results are often similar.