The Male Nurse

Tim-GNP · Apr 20, 2001

By the way... what's all the rhetoric about gay nurses, anyway. Please tell me there aren't a bunch of bigots in the room.

mustangsheba · Apr 20, 2001

Haji: Why don't you just go with "Mary?" One of my classmates was hired right out of school for L&D. You'll get there eventually. I am frequently called "doctor". I am a short female. Maybe it has something to do with attitude. I confess to asking the big guys help in moving heavy patients. I ask the biggest women too. I try to make it up to them in other ways.

Jason-ACNP · Apr 20, 2001

I can relate with most of the perceptions you listed. I'm an acute care nurse practitioner. More often than not, I have to introduce myself to patients and families up to three times with a brief explanation of what a nurse practitioner is. Yet, it usually falls on deaf ears. The patients know that I order and interpret diagnostic tests and x-rays, as well as prescribe their meds. Thus, they are unable to comprehend the concept of nurse practitioners. The time I spend with them always ends with "Thank you doctor." That's just a part of it. I'm glad to say however that the patients who are familiar with the concept of nurse practitioners are very pleased with the care they receive and hold APNs in high regard.

CEN35 · Apr 20, 2001

The most common for me are the, "I had a male nurse once before", or "Ok doc". Then tell them, I am a nurse. they say, "you are?" they just get it through their head, and then they keep calling you doc.....or your a nurse huh? That's great for now. How much longer before you get your MD?

LMAO.....morons! I feel like saying, I have my MD already. According to some of the attendins I am Mentally Disabled.....lmao!!!

Rick

TLynn · Apr 20, 2001

Originally posted by HotSpam:
Not to start a ***** session - just light hearted.

I noticed a few male nurses post here. Do you guys ever get tired of these comments?

1. Are you a male nurse?
2. Are you going to get your MD?
3. Can you get me the nurse Doctor?
4. Patients who call you doc and doctor when they fully know you are a nurse.
5. Hollywood portrayels like in "Meet the Parents"
6. Those idiot male nurses who rape, abuse, or mercy kill.
7. The patients who feel compelled to recall their experience with male nurses in the past and tell you they feel male nurses are far superior to female nurse.

I love being a nurse sometimes. I always love being a male. Occasionally I love being a male nurse. I know it isn't just me who hears all these things. Some times it is a hoot. I want to say oops you missed a line. LOL

HotSpam

Some of the most caring, warm hearted nurses I have ever been blessed to work with as a nurse and a CNA were males. I have found in most cases they have the most tender touch and heart. I pray that men will overlook the comments, the sneers the rude questions and bless our world with more of what we need--male nurses. My belief is if you love patient care, and have a warm heart and tender touch you don't need to be a doctor for they are more times than not have cold hearts and hands. My hats off to you and God bless a truly rare breed of nurse. TLynn

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HotSpam · Apr 20, 2001

I purposefully left the whole male nurse = gay nurse off my original post because I never hear that from co-workers or patients.

It is a fair guess that it was assumed a male nurse was gay many years ago. In my (only) 10 years experience I haven't had the issue come up.

Tim-GNP, If it did come up I couldn't care less what people thought.At the same time though I bet it would be annoying if I was a hairdresser.

Not to change the subject of the thread but... Working at a nursing home when I was in nursing school I had two friends who were Gay. I used to go to the clubs with them and I had a lot of fun. In those alternative clubs it was assumed by the other patrons that I was gay. Of course, I expected it and was used to dealing with it. Soon though I got tired of turning down dances and drinks and the conversations were always about men, so I stopped. guess that was a little of a tangent though.

HotSpam

HotSpam · Apr 20, 2001

I purposefully left the whole male nurse = gay nurse off my original post because I never hear that from co-workers or patients.

It is a fair guess that it was assumed a male nurse was gay many years ago. In my (only) 10 years experience I haven't had the issue come up.

Tim-GNP, If it did come up I couldn't care less what people thought.At the same time though I bet it would be annoying if I was a hairdresser.

Not to change the subject of the thread but... Working at a nursing home when I was in nursing school I had two friends who were Gay. I used to go to the clubs with them and I had a lot of fun. In those alternative clubs it was assumed by the other patrons that I was gay. Of course, I expected it and was used to dealing with it. Soon though I got tired of turning down dances and drinks and the conversations were always about men, so I stopped. guess that was a little of a tangent though.

HotSpam

dragonLPN · Apr 21, 2001

well, I have gotten the "doc" thing, but I just stopped saying no, I am a nurse....I don't care (personally) if someone thinks I am gay or not, but I DO understand the problems some people have when a male dresses them....I have had to be "extra" careful when working with women. It really has to be a concious effert on all our parts to CYA.

I still get called to be a forklift for the nursing assistants even though there are three of them at a time. lol (actually, it makes me feel like I am there for more than pill pushing.) I love what I do, and have lots of laughs about being a male nurse, so don't think I am doing a b**** session on a soapbox. )

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Phil (DragonLPN)

Louie18 · Apr 23, 2001

Are you a male nurse really cracks me up. I say no female.

Jenny P · Apr 23, 2001

I've worked with so many great nurses who were guys through the years; and I had a very sheltered upbringing; so was very innocent and unaware of homosexuality until I was in my mid 30s. I'd worked with this one guy straight nights for about 2 years and we'd talked about the difficulty of maintaining a relationship, how you were always crawling into bed as your partner was crawling out; etc. I never knew his partner was also a male until one of my female co-workers brought it up-- and here I'd thought he'd used the word "partners" because we were talking about his wife and my husband! LOL! To me, the whole thing of straight or gay makes no difference- it has no place in the workplace.

The arguement about guys being given the heaviest patients or being asked to help lift doesn't hold true everywhere. As a member of the team of nurses working a particular shift, we all can get heavy patients and help each other lift. The thing that gets me, though, is the guy who voluntarily comes from 4 rooms down to help with a lift for some "sweet young thing;" THEN complains once he's got her "trained" to seek him out for every boost and lift!

gpip · Apr 23, 2001

Hotspam of all the things on the post I am usuallt not offended by any of them although I have heard most of them. At times I am offended by the "male" nurse comment because I think of myself as a nurse period and while I found Meet the Parents funny at times I was not offended by the movie until I started hearing others make comments or ask questions because of it and think they were funny.

SUBQ · Apr 24, 2001

Ha!

I hear the doctor thing more than any other. Other than that, I don't get any flack.

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http://members.tripod.com/~SUBQ/