So..You're going to be a MALE nurse?

[mingez]

I was out having drinks with some friends, some new guy was sitting with us...kinda jerky.

With about 6 if us sitting at a table he asked me what I'm going to school for. I told him I'm in nursing school, and then plan to bridge over to a PA program or (If possible) go on to become a CRNA. To which he replied, "So, you're going to be a MALE nurse?" and then laughed about it.

I then asked him what he does, he's in auto sales. I quickly retorted, "So, you're a FEMALE car salesmen?" He didn't like that much. Just gave me a chuckle and proved a point.

I'm really getting tired of getting these types of comments.

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

In my previous job, along with patient transport, part of my duty was keeping patient rooms clean. One of my colleagues told a story of the evening he went into a patient room and overheard a family member say on the phone, "Oh, I don't know, but the doctor just came in. I'll ask him as soon as he finishes emptying the wastebaskets."

True story.

Sometimes I wonder whether all the t.v. hospital dramas in the world will ever be enough to educate the general public about the roles of healthcare professionals.

[bluegrassboy]

I usually respond with "Last time I checked" while glancing down at my crotch area...

Lawl.

[x3xsolxdierx3x]

I think the auto sales guy is kind of jealous..You see, that type of position does not require any schooling or anything and I guess he was insecure..

Exactly, what I was thinking....

[mknight]

Don't worry about the auto salesman. I have been one for the last 3 years and will be completing my ADN in May. Believe me if he had any sense he would start school next fall. The auto business is totaly cut-throat. I can't even beging to describe the difference in the peers I deal with in that group and the type of people I deal with in nursing. I just couldn't go on with that sort of thing for the rest of my life. It really makes me apprecicate my choice for nursing and they kind of people (most) I come in contact with in that profession.

[ralegen]

I liked both responses "i take care of females too" and "complimentary sex change.".. LOL I'm still laughing!..

But honestly, I have co-workers here who give me a hard time, but only one who is serious about it. The rest apologize later admitting to the fact that I would make double what they do. The one who is always seriously asking me, "I don't understand why you don't go all the way? Like study to be a doctor. Why a nurse?" This is a guy who talks about getting a degree soon, registers for 8 semester units, and then drops it because he's too lazy to complete it. Oh and of course his reason of dropping is because he had family issues, "I might move" anyways, or "should I drop it?" confusion remarks.

Deep down, I think that these guys are insecure, jealous of our ambition/goals (afraid we might succeed), and just ignorant. I once told him that I see the nursing profession as a clock in clock out job, whereas being a doctor is oncall after oncall worth of headache. Sometimes, I wish I can go the doctor route, but I see the Nursing as a flexible profession.

[gentle_ben_RN, ASN]

I can honestly say there is nothing else I'd rather do than be a nurse. In the PACU, the patients are still pretty loopy from the anesthesia and often think that I'm their surgeon and start asking me how everything went and if I really had to cut them open and so on. They never think I'm a nurse, probably because we all wear scrub attire and look very similar. Occasionally they think I'm some evil monster that is trying to kill them (that's when the versed comes in handy)

[jimthorp]

Hey guys,

Way back when I was school I had met a lady who I told her what I in school for and she asked me, "so, when you graduate will you be "Male" nurse??" I merely looked her in the eye, smiled and said, "nope, at graduation we get a complimentary sex change with the diploma and personally I can't wait since I tired of lugging testicles around all day". With that turned on my heel and walked away leaving to think about that answer.

Paul :angryfire

:rotfl:

[Thanet]

'Are you a 'Male nurse'?'

My set answer is...

'Nope, I'm a female nurse - I'm just in drag at the moment'

[wjf00]

It is kind of odd getting that from a car salesman. Nurses once again were voted the most trusted profession in the nation... and car salesman were once again dead last. That bozo surely contributed to that last statistic.

[wjp9]

You should go buy a car from him when you are rolling in the dough....with cash!!!

[styRN]

I worked with a buddy who once responded, "I prefer 'nurse with a member' ", after which he was verbally smacked around by his supervisor while we all laughed.

Graduating 18 years ago, I think there was much more of a stigma, and I used to more often get the question, "so, are you going through for a doctor?". In my early years, I used to answer, "no, I'm just a nurse" until one day, I was looking after an elderly male patient whose wife was in the room. When he asked me about the MD thing and I gave my usual 'no, just a nurse' response, his wife immediately looked up at me and said, "what do you mean, 'just a nurse'? No, not just a nurse! You should be proud of who you are and what you do, and never feel that you are "just" anything. You are a nurse, so be proud in that, son!" She was a long-retired head nurse, and I have never forgotten her words, and in fact, am filled with pride when I'm asked about the MD thing.

Now as for the "are you a male nurse", I DO answer back, "no, just a nurse. We're all the same". If it comes from someone I can get away with talking back to, I like to rip "just 'nurse' is fine, but if you're really stuck on the 'male nurse' thing, then fine by me, but it really dates you, man!"

[insa]

I'm still doing prerequisites and it hasn't come up much. I'm also a stay-at-home dad right now and I live overseas in an embassy community, where people are often highly educated and reasonably progressive. If they think my current and future occupations are odd, they don't dare admit it. The only funny reaction I've got was from an older foreign service officer, who asked me what I planned to do at our next post. "Attend nursing school." I said.

"Oh, you're going to be an MD," he said.

"No, a nurse." I looked him in the eye with a straight but friendly face.

He literally turned away, mortified.

Come to think of it, the straight-but-friendly face treatment also worked great last time I had to deal with a used-car salesman (returning a just-bought car I'd had a mechanic friend inspect), although in that incident I was mad as hell and it was all I could do to keep my cool.