Rather work with men or women?

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Feb 29, 2008

With out a doubt,,,,,MEN,,,,,,,and it does nt hurt if there is a bit of eye candy involved either.

Eegads! I'm sorry for you. I could care less about 'eye candy' at work. Shouldn't you be focused on your work instead of 'eye candy'? How embarrassing.

To be perfectly honest as a young female I feel like I have an advantage around males that I do not have around females. Most men when they see a younger, relatively attractive female they will be super nice right off the bat. So it is an advantage that you don't have around the same sex.

This is sad too.

I don't want anyone to treat me based on how I look in pink scrubs. I want fellow nurses and Drs (men and women) to treat me based on me, and how well I do my job, how well I advocate for my patients, and how well I treat others.

You know, being treated well because someone respects you feels a lot better then being treated well because you're the only pretty one around. I never knew that there were nurses around who didn't want to work with other women because they feared or sensed 'competition'.

Ugh, what a shame.

For me, like everyone else says, I like a mix of both genders. Preferrable competent ones.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Feb 29, 2008

what if you are given a choice to work with one of the two equally competent nurses which who happened to be male and female?

of course, the choice depends on each of our own individual work experience with different genders.

it’s not an absolute truth that one gender is better than the other, but somehow we “tend” to think based on our subjective experience that different genders are “more” suitable for different tasks like lifting or taking care tiny babies. to express one’s opinions based on that does not mean he or she is gender biased. however, because our basic tenet based on the declaration of independence here in the u.s. that “all men
(meaning all people, not just men or women) are created equal …” makes it sound politically incorrect to express of which gender we preferred to work with especially if both different genders are equally competent.

the issue that i have with the op's question:

to demonstrate....per your question above. say you have two nurses that are equally competent but one is black and the other is white.

which nurse would you prefer to work with?

would anyone post this question, without having the wrath of the bb coming down on them? i don't think so.

or one nurse is muslim and the other is jewish....which would you prefer to work with?

or one nurse is a poor country clean tidy plain nurse and the other is a wealthy sophisticated attractive nurse - education and competency identical, who would you prefer to work with?

and let us not forget the overweight vs. the excessively thin, or young nurses vs. old nurses.

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yes, we all have our preferences of which of the above we might wish to work with, based on our experiences and culture. and all of them are generally incorrect and inappropriate for us to judge the qualities of all of the individuals carrying those traits, based on our limited experiences.

i have had perhaps the worst experience of my nursing career involving a male nurse that threatened to go postal - ie. shoot up the unit that i worked on, and/or kill himself. thankfully, his spouse alerted us to the fact that he was angry and armed and cops found him, first, with the weapons in his car.

i have yet to have had a female nurse ever push things that far.

now, i could blame it on him being a bsn, or being white, or on being a christian (he preached at me a lot), or on being a male.

but it would very wrong to blame it on any of those things and would putting down a whole lot of great nurses that belong to those groups.

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for some reason, some posters go about playing the men against women game. and for some bizarre reason, that is acceptable, while it would unacceptable to play comparison games with other groups (race, class). though some do play the "don't christians make the best nurses" game.

none of these games are appropriate, though.

Runman1914, MSN, RN · Feb 29, 2008

The main difference i have with working with all women than men is the workload. When i was a fireman paramedic the work load was split evenly. Now that i work with all women im expected to take more patients. Im always assigned all the difficult families and combative patients . Also all the lifting on the floor is assigned to me.

allnurses Guide · Mar 2, 2008

The main difference i have with working with all women than men is the workload. When i was a fireman paramedic the work load was split evenly. Now that i work with all women im expected to take more patients. Im always assigned all the difficult families and combative patients . Also all the lifting on the floor is assigned to me.

Post #34 kinda makes your last point . . . . . :icon_roll Sorry about that.

steph

mr normandy · Mar 2, 2008

After bad experiences with female nurses as my caregivers I'll never again

want a female nurse taking care of me. No respect for privacy what so ever. I've no comment working with them. From no on I'll ask for a male nurse!

zenman · Mar 3, 2008

Perhaps it is a gender issue for you.
For me, it is an issue of the qualities of the individual.

It's a gender issue also. You must be aware that men and women are different.

"Discoveries by scientists over the past 10 years have elucidated biological sex differences in brain structure, chemistry and function. "These variations occur throughout the brain, in regions involved in language, memory, emotion, vision, hearing and navigation," explains Larry Cahill, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California, Irvine.

While women and men struggle to communicate with each other and ponder why they don't think and react to things in similar ways, science is proving that the differences in our brains may have more serious implications beyond our everyday social interactions."

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Mar 3, 2008

I don't care if you are from Mars, Venus, or Pluto. Just treat me with respect, do your job, and be kind to your patients.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2008

It's a gender issue also. You must be aware that men and women are different.
"Discoveries by scientists over the past 10 years have elucidated biological sex differences in brain structure, chemistry and function. "These variations occur throughout the brain, in regions involved in language, memory, emotion, vision, hearing and navigation," explains Larry Cahill, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California, Irvine.
While women and men struggle to communicate with each other and ponder why they don't think and react to things in similar ways, science is proving that the differences in our brains may have more serious implications beyond our everyday social interactions."

Nowhere have I stated that I think men and women are the same. I've simply stated that for me, my preference for who I would rather work alongside is not a gender issue, but an issue of individual qualities.

vashtee, RN · Mar 3, 2008

I have to admit I have seen more females with attitude than males in the hospital (except for the doctors)... Maybe this is because there are more women working as nurses and CNAs?

Also, I don't think it's so awful to notice that males treat the cute young girls nicely (so long as that isn't used as an excuse to not excel in your work). It's a fact of life; may as well enjoy it while it lasts.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2008

The main difference i have with working with all women than men is the workload. When i was a fireman paramedic the work load was split evenly. Now that i work with all women im expected to take more patients. Im always assigned all the difficult families and combative patients . Also all the lifting on the floor is assigned to me.

Then your problem has to do with your assignment, not with a specific gender issue.

Again, if the people making the assignments and your fellow coworkers were of another race (class, religion), would you automatically assume that to be the issue, and post a thread titled, "Would you rather work with black or with white nurses", or "Would you rather work with muslim/christian/jewish/hindu nurses, etc.

Posting the OP also does not help solve your problem, which is, I presume, that you feel that you are being treated unfairly.

In that case, you need to approach your manager/charge nurse, share your concerns about the assignments and they can present their information as to why the assignment is fair and appropriate. If indeed, it is a gender bias, please explain how that is not appropriate and work it out. Or if it continues after appropriate channels are followed, you will know that you have to change workplaces or take action. However, often there are other issues at play and that can be explained to you.

It also puts them on notice that you will stand for your rights. And often, that makes a big difference.

(The above is the same advice that I would give, no matter whether the issue is gender oriented or race/sexual orientation/class/etc. oriented -and it is more likely to be useful than posting threads on whether people prefer to work with men or women)

And quite bluntly, how is assuming that women are some how deficit as coworkers any different than your coworkers assuming that you as a male should qualify better for the combative patients. Isn't it still the same thing....bias about gender creating inappropriate assumptions?

Yes, men and women are different. No one says that the are not. Just as religion, culture, race and sexual orientations are different. That does not exclude us from all having to act appropriately.

Runman1914, MSN, RN · Mar 3, 2008

Then your problem has to do with your assignment, not with a specific gender issue.
Again, if the people making the assignments and your fellow coworkers were of another race (class, religion), would you automatically assume that to be the issue, and post a thread titled, "Would you rather work with black or with white nurses", or "Would you rather work with muslim/christian/jewish/hindu nurses, etc.
Posting the OP also does not help solve your problem, which is, I presume, that you feel that you are being treated unfairly.
In that case, you need to approach your manager/charge nurse, share your concerns about the assignments and they can present their information as to why the assignment is fair and appropriate. If indeed, it is a gender bias, please explain how that is not appropriate and work it out. Or if it continues after appropriate channels are followed, you will know that you have to change workplaces or take action. However, often there are other issues at play and that can be explained to you.
It also puts them on notice that you will stand for your rights. And often, that makes a big difference.
(The above is the same advice that I would give, no matter whether the issue is gender oriented or race/sexual orientation/class/etc. oriented -and it is more likely to be useful than posting threads on whether people prefer to work with men or women)
And quite bluntly, how is assuming that women are some how deficit as coworkers any different than your coworkers assuming that you as a male should qualify better for the combative patients. Isn't it still the same thing....bias about gender creating inappropriate assumptions?
Yes, men and women are different. No one says that the are not. Just as religion, culture, race and sexual orientations are different. That does not exclude us from all having to act appropriately.

I would love to believe this politically correct post. I have been a travel nurse for 8 years . I have worked at 15 different hospitals and i have the same experience every where i go. Over and over im assigned the problem family and patients. All lifting is mine and even told to call the hostile doctors for other nurses.

Also i have spoken to numerous other male nurses with the same experience. I am in no way gender bias but experience speaks for itself.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2008

I would love to believe this politically correct post. I have been a travel nurse for 8 years . I have worked at 15 different hospitals and i have the same experience every where i go. Over and over im assigned the problem family and patients. All lifting is mine and even told to call the hostile doctors for other nurses.
Also i have spoken to numerous other male nurses with the same experience. I am in no way gender bias but experience speaks for itself.

Then why ask, and why not just speak up as advised. You solve nothing by discussing things unrelated on a BB. You may solve them by speaking up. Or at least find where you stand.

I am a traveler also. And as a rule in many places, the traveler gets the short end of the stick....regardless of gender/race/etc. You either speak up if it bothers you so much or you deal with it. I have spoken and won , and I have spoken up and lost. As a traveler and a nurse, that is how it works....regardless of gender, race, etc.

Politically correct or just correct doesn't matter. You either post a meaningless post on a BB, which does no good and has nothing to do with why you are upset, or you actually speak up and change things. Which makes more sense?????

It also doesn't make a lot of sense to work in a female dominated profession, if you are going to assume that they are naturally biased against you. Especially if you are not willing to speak up against that treatment.