STR8 vs Gay Male RN

Nurses General Nursing

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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?

Specializes in L & D; Postpartum.
Originally posted by TEXASWAG

We generally laugh together, cry some, get angry at one another, attend weddings, gossip a little, talk politics, give each emotional support and talk about our family. [/b]

Sounds so utterly normal to me:)

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Specializes in Nursing Education.
Originally posted by Ah life!

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?

When I first read this post, I actually passed it by and did not give it another thought. But I felt compelled to come back to it and provide a response from my perspective.

I have been a nurse that happens to be male for almost 21 years. I was 18 years old when I graduated from nursing school. In those days (and this was the early 80's - 1982), men were not entering into nursing school all to frequently. There was a great deal of sterotyping. If you were becoming a nurse and you were male, then you were gay. I struggled with this a lot as a young guy that was not gay. I was very passionate (and still am) about nursing and really thought that it was a great career decision for me. Interesting how I even had the foresight at that age .... anyway, I digress ..... By the time I was 23 or so, I saw the sterotyping as one of the pitfalls for me and decided I would no longer let it bother me.

Fast forward to today .... more nurses in the field are men .... there are times when I work that the entire unit might be male RN's ... now that is totally strange for me, but its all good. I really do not think people sterotype men as nurses like they use to. There are many straight men as well as gay men that are nurses and are damn good ones. As technology advances and the role of the nurse becomes far more advanced, our profession will draw more men.

As far as the original question .... I can not give you a percentage (someone else already posted 16.8%) of men that are gay and nurses. II can tell you that men make up 6% of the registered nurses in this country.

Reference: http://www.malenursemagazine.com

Take care and good luck in nursing school.:D

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Specializes in ED staff.

I don't see how this makes a difference at all. Whatever you do at home is your business. I do not see gender, I do not see sexual orientation, I don't see color but show me a nurse that can't do their job.... then I'll notice!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Hi. I hope by now you realize that it's not really an issue in nursing. I've have found in nursing more than other jobs I've had sexual orientation doesn't matter. What matters is the skill, caring and compassion of the nurse. Being a team player helps as well.

Nurses, while we face accusation from students that we eat our young, are some of the most tolerant group of people I've found.

I'm way out of the closet as a gay man where I work. Everyone knows my spouse and always asks about him. It's never hindered me, nor helped me, it's not an issue.

Good luck!

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I am amazed at the venom dumped here in response to a simple question. Ah, Life--welcome to the cruel hard world of nursing! LOL.

The suggestion that the thread's author has some ulterior motive just smacked of homophobia, as did most of the responses.

Kudos to the people who just responded with a plain old response.

To the rest of us, for shame. What a way to welcome a new BB member! What a way to treat anyone for that matter!

I doubt that anyone gathers the information, but it might be interesting to know, especially in light of the tendency in the last century (not the 80's, but certainly in the 50's) of nurses who happened to be male to also happen to be gay.

And why did we ever start saying "male nurse?" Because males make up a very small percentage of the total number of nurses.

So there. Big whup. Get a life, and quit jumping on people who post a legitimate question!

Sheesh!

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Specializes in ICU.
Originally posted by traumaRUs

I don't care if you are black, white, brown, purple with green spots, gay, straight, married, single, divorced, etc...just please send me some more RNs!!!!!

So - how do you feel about green alien RN's????

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Originally posted by FNP grrl

hmmm...

are you saying that gay males only like certain kinds of work? work that isn't physically challenging, in particular? taking it a step further- do you think of gay men as mostly effeminate &/ or weak?

are you surprised that females have been doing this kind of intimate, messy, backbreaking work since, um, the dawn of time?

(one word: childbirth!)

are you saying females aren't interested in hard work that requires physical strength?

are you saying the desire/ ability to be a nurse is somehow related to one's gender or sexual orientation?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

I don't know. I suppose I'm saying whatever you think I'm saying. After all, how could I convince you of anything to the contrary?

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Gwenith - as long as the RN is on their nametag and they breathe - come on over!!! lol...

I do want to clarify that my first post to this thread wasn't meant to be flippant or not to recognize people as individuals. Its just when the ER is full, we are holding 6 ICU admits and a peds arrest comes through the door - I don't have time to discuss much! I guess I'm showing my age because I take my political activism out of the ER - I enjoy working with good, solid nurses (and I work with some of the best), but your individuality, sexuality, race, etc., just doesn''t matter...

Certainly didn't mean to offend.

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Originally posted by ADNRN

I don't know. I suppose I'm saying whatever you think I'm saying. After all, how could I convince you of anything to the contrary?

wait a minute.....actually, i am a pretty open-minded person & i am eager to learn about everyone's perspectives. i have already learned a ton from these boards in the few days i have been posting here. this is a fabulously diverse place- and your voice counts to me as much as anyone else's.

i just felt quite confused as to your point after i read your post & truly am seeking to dialogue with you about it. i might've sounded a wee bit flip- sorry for that. but i am genuinely interested to hear a clarification...i might be totally misinterpreting your words. and i am quite open to re-framing my point of view when others share theirs.

at any rate, what i am looking for around here is dialogue & exchange of information- i don't have a requirement that we all agree w/ each other.

so come back & play, ok?

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Originally posted by gwenith

So - how do you feel about green alien RN's???? [/

what the HEY with all the trips to MARS we are taking maybe we can recruit some from THERE?????? just a thought........it will help stem the shortage some, anyhow right? :roll :roll

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Specializes in Telemetry, Case Management.

I have worked with nurses of both genders who were gay, and some were obvious about it and some were not. As long as they do their work, and don't give me half their load to carry indefiintitely -as some nurses of all orientations do - I do not care what they do at home. I keep my views to myself and respect their privacy.

Some people, due to their religious/moral views, might not approve of the fact that I have been divorced or have five children. However, that does not affect my nursing judgment, and people's sexual orientation shouldn't affect theirs.

Some nurses may have personal feelings about homosexuality, but they usually do not say anything against it in the presence of a fellow nurse whom they know to be gay.

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To answer the first question my response is:

11 Males started my RN-BSN program.

3 Males graduated this program.

2 Males passed the RN Boards

1 Male was straight (me) and 1 Male was not (my friend)

So much for the completely random sample as noted in your question.

For me the issue is only relevant when I am mistaken for a gay male and people act on that mistaken assumption. I had only been approached for sex by another male twice in my life before I entered nursing. While in nursing school both my male nursing professors solicited me for sex (one professor backed off when I declined and one remained persistent until I graduated). I also had a male nurse manager approach me for sex in exchange for a favorable recommendation for a promotion. When I reported this to my "chain of command" (all female) I was not taken seriously and was made to feel like a total idiot for reporting the incident. I could go on but I think I have made my point.

So if you are gay I really don't care. What offends me are the unwelcome and inappropriate sexual advances (male or female) and the consequences of that behavior.

-HBS

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