Well-worn debate. Men in OB

[nt28]

hi everyone. i'm in my last semester of nursing school and am looking at what areas i would like to work. during my rotations i've always had a good time, except psych, and found all areas interesting. however, i had the absolute best time of them all during my ob rotation. i loved the atmosphere and working with the mother and newborn. surprisingly, being a male, i was well accepted with all of my patients as i cannot remember a time when i was asked not to be in the room. for my senior preceptorship i am going to be working in the nicu and am excited for that opportunity. the only opposition i have received is from instructors who seem to try and discourage me from working in l&d, an area i loved. even though it is a vulnerable time for them, patients seem to feel comfortable with me caring for them. i wanted to know what some of your experiences are with male ob nurses, especially on l&d. were they well received, good at their jobs, etc? also, would you say there aren't many because the department doesn't tend to hire them or because many men don't apply for those jobs? thanks for your help!

nate

[Music in My Heart]

Hiring men into the NICU doesn't seem to be a problem. Men in L&D, though... we ran into tons of resistance from the staff nurses in nursing school. Only a sample of one facility, but enough to tell me that I don't want to fight the battle. Let that dept. stay "women's work" for all I care. NICU, though... I did my preceptorship there, too, and LOVED it.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

Go for it! Do what you love. I can see where there would be resistance but honestly, they can't stop you from putting yourself out there. People think nothing of packing the l & d room full of male doctors and residents.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I don't understand the resistance, personally. Most of our OBs are male.

[MiahMSN, MSN, RN]

Klone, I was thinking the same thing. Why the resistance, when a good number (not sure of the percantage of women and men MDs in L&D) are OBs??? I really don't understand what the issue would be. I mean how much more of an intimate and vulnerable interaction could a L&D nurse have with patients than their own OB???

[ItsTheDude]

1. surprisingly, being a male, i was well accepted with all of my patients as i cannot remember a time when i was asked not to be in the room.

2. also, would you say there aren't many because the department doesn't tend to hire them or because many men don't apply for those jobs?

1. some females and most males just look uncomfortable/incompetent in ob, it doesn't breed confidence in patients. sounds like you looked like you belonged (looked the part), so you were accepted.

2. i'd say it's because most men don't apply (it just doesn't interest many males, for differ reasons). if you apply for a new grad ob job and don't get it, you've got a ready made lawsuit. it's gonna be interesting to see what excuse a hospital tries to come up with for hiring all (99%+) females with no experience over a male with no experience when 99%+ of the ob nursing staff is female, while many of the ob doc's and residents are male.

with all that said, some female patients pick female ob's for a reason, they don't want a male (except for some family members) to be any part of their special moment.

[tammy777]

Had a male lvn in l& d at my last job, no big deal. Heard they had a male l&d rn there to. Again, it's not a big deal. Perfectly acceptable. Pt's are used to seeing men in the room because, as most of the other posters mentioned, many of the docs are male. As long as you get the job done it doesn't matter if you're a man or woman right. If L&D is where you want to be, well go for it! I bet you'd be surprised how well received you'll be by 98% of people out there :0) Good luck!

[klone, MSN, RN]

One concern that was raised when we discussed this recently at work, is that due to potential litigation, when a male healthcare professional is examining a female patient, a witness must be in the room. Wouldn't that get a bit inconvenient and cumbersome if a male RN needed another nurse with him every time he did a cervical exam or a fundal check?

[streptococcus]

Male physicians assist with infant deliveries and as a male RN/ Paramedic, I also have assisted patients with the births of their infants.

Just because one is a female most certainly does not prove they know more about deliveries. Most female nurses probably could not explain their own menstrual cycle to you if you asked them to.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Most female nurses probably could not explain their own menstrual cycle to you if you asked them to.

I would certainly hope that an OB/Gyn nurse would be able to explain the menstrual cycle.

[StudentGrace]

Being a female I never really thought much of this as an issue, but I guess I can see where it would be. When I had my son I had a male OBGYN (because it was who my sister had and also who my insurance included), my previous OBGYN was also male. One the day of delivery (one month earlier than due date), my OB was out and the other MD in his office (also male) had to deliver my son. Near time for the final moment, a nurse came in to ask if I minded a few students to come in. Sure, no problem . . . and 13 students came in. By the time I had my son I belive there were 17 people in the delivery room. And I honestly could have cared less who was male and female and what percentage of students were what.

If you enjoy L&D, go for it. It is more important to a patient that the nurse loves the job they are doing because it shows in the care. I cared more about the care received and the experience of the moment to care if my nurse was male or female.

[nt28]

Thanks for all the great insight so far. Klone made a good point about needed another member of the healthcare team present during examinations. I'm sure that would be an obstacle many hospitals wouldn't want to deal with. Hopefully with the increase of men in nursing, some barriers will eventually be broken down.