STR8 vs Gay Male RN

Published

Hey all,

I'm a 43 y/o first year nursing student and am wondering about the percentage of straight vs gay male nurses. I'm attending a very small college with six males in our class, one of whom is gay. Noone seems to care but I was wondering what the prevelance of gay male RN's is in the hospital setting, and is it a generally non-issue with other healthcare team workers?

I guess the question that would come to my mind, is .... how would you know if the guys in your class were gay or not? I mean, had this been a topic of conversation? It was certainly never a topic of conversation in my RN program, nor would I have wanted it to be. Quite frankly, I never really cared if the guys (or girls for that matter), were gay or straight. It just was not an issue in nursing achool. Then again, maybe it was and maybe I was just to involved with the immense amount of reading to notice. :)

The group I hung around with was older. We were all on friend terms (babysitting each others children, etc). So topics of every sort came up. So it's not a matter of if we cared if a particular student was gay/straight. Hope nobody else misunderstood my previous post.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
while i do appreciate your neutral viewpoint, i do have a problem with this quote. many times i hear straight people say that as long whatever we do is "behind closed doors" then it's ok that we're gay. however, this implies that being gay is purely about having sex, and that our identity is only founded by what we do in bed. this is innaccurate and sadly lacking. firstly, being gay is so much more than who we sleep with or what we do in bed...and has everything to do with identity and our own place in the world and our right to exist in it.

rocknurse: i could not agree more with what you said here!

nuff said.

on the original topic though, most of my fellow nursing students (both female and male) are in nice safe heterosexual relationships. i don't know very many whom are as of now uncloseted.

though i can agree with some that it's a non-issue whether there are nurses who are both male and gay, but it is an issue for some. if a person is a caring, intelligent nurse...i welcome all, plaid, green, martian, or *eek* american *lol*.

example: a fellow classmate (male) had an elderly female client this week whom did not wish to allow him to help bathe her, thus she requested to have some of the "girls" help her. i wonder what she would have said if she knew i was gay? just being devil's advocate there though. :coollook:

nota bene: please take no offense to my comment about the elderly female patient, i (like all the other nurses that i know) have a complete absence of sexual feelings towards clients. i have a feeling that someone could potentially be offended by what i said. it was purely speculative.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Just for the record I will repeat myself from another thread..:angryfire

I am not a "Male Nurse"

I am a Registered Nurse who happens to be male.

One of our "male nurses" has officially changed his title (taped on badge), "NWP''..

:rotfl:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

I say "nurse of the male gender". The charge nurse on my shift (refers to himself as this.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency/Critical Care Transport.

When pts ask me if I am a male nurse I just reply: "No, I treat women too."

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Heard the reply of "no i'm not a male nurse, i take care of people, not packages and letters"

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU/CCU (PCCN); Heme/Onc/BMT.
When pts ask me if I am a male nurse I just reply: "No, I treat women too."

Heard the reply of "no i'm not a male nurse, i take care of people, not packages and letters"

:chuckle

Very funny! :)

Ted

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Just FYI, when my husband had back surgery, his nurse (male and obviously gay) was WONDERFUL. Also, had a mutual acquaintance who was a nurse and gay and was EXCELLENT at his job.

However, my male cousin is a nurse and is straight. So, really, what does it matter? Long as they are caring, and competent, just be grateful that if you have a loved on in the hosp, someone that cares is helping them. Also, be kind to all your fellow students and co-workers. We're all people. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
... Their sexual preference does not make the nurse, it is who they are inside that makes the nurse....

While I appreciate the point made by the quoted poster, I have to take issue with a phrase which is all too common: the phrase "sexual preference" is extremely troubling to me. My sexual orientation is as a much a "preference" as my height, or my skin color. In other words, not a "preference" at all. I wouldn't suggest that a straight person's orientation was anything but innate.

It may seem like semantics, but I urge everyone to think about their sexual orientation, and reflect on how it would feel if someone implied or suggested it was a choice, especially in light of the sociopolitical events occurring in our country which remind us everyday that the love of "one man, and one woman" is the only acceptable kind.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Goodness, why are all these old threads popping up?!?!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in vascular, med surg, home health , rehab,.

The perfect "wind up" thread; I suspect this is entertaining them no end. On to page 13 already and spats left and right.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i have worked with 2 male nurses who were gay. i do not understand the gay thing, but i respect them and they respect me and we worked together nicely. i had no business with their sexuality, so i did not get involved. as for their number in nursing, i do not know if there many or not.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion