What are your views on male nurses

Farawyn · May 2, 2016

My husband is a nurse. He's not common or boring, but the idea that male nurses are rare birds IS.
FWIW, I get called "doctor" all the time too. And I'm a chick. IMO it has more to do with patients' health literacy, rather than some pre-conceived notion of how a physician (sorry, pet peeve of mine, saying "doctor" instead of "physician") should appear.

Chicks can be doctors.

Cola89 · May 2, 2016

I dont ask men why they've gone into nursing. It's a skilled trade that commands a living wage. I like working in a diverse team.

NotYourMamasRN · May 2, 2016

One of the absolute best nurses I have ever worked with was a male nurse! I love great nurses, no matter who or what they are! :-)

dec2007 · May 3, 2016

I can say, and be very certain when I say it, I'm the BEST male nurse at our hospital. I'm the only one at our hospital too. I get along well with all the ladies, I try to treat them like ladies. Just like with everything, some guys are cool, some are jerks.

Gosh, the only guy nurse at your hospital? On my unit (ICU) we are about half and half. It's a nice mix. And like all co-workers, most are great, some not so much. It's just kind of a non-issue anymore, at least where I am.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 3, 2016

I hate them. Stealing all the good jobs. Getting into nursing school easier. And those dashing good looks.

dinkyandbaby · May 3, 2016

Male nurses are Great!!! I was just telling my mom yesterday that the men I have worked with are so much easier to get along with than most female nurses. They have been No BS Drama Mongers. Less drama means increase in patient safety. Also men are more helpful. They usually don't play mind games like women. You can tell the people who ask you the truth. You will always have a job in healthcare. :)

Dany102 · May 3, 2016

Male nurses are Great!!! I was just telling my mom yesterday that the men I have worked with are so much easier to get along with than most female nurses. They have been No BS Drama Mongers. Less drama means increase in patient safety. Also men are more helpful. They usually don't play mind games like women. You can tell the people who ask you the truth. You will always have a job in healthcare. :)

Could this have something to do with the differences from how men and women socialize?

tokmom, BSN, RN · May 3, 2016

I married one, so I'd say I'm pretty ok with them.

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · May 3, 2016

And then comes your career choice. 'You're a male nurse? You must want to go into cardiac, or psych, or the OR, or trauma' - where the excitement is. God forbid you're a man drawn to NICU, or medicine, or oncology, or pediatrics... because those are soft specialties, where the delicate, fragile women belong.

When I started nursing school wanting to go into one of the stereotypical male nurse specialties (ER, trauma, ICU). It wasn't until I did a rotation in the NICU that I found the ideal specialty for me. You have the Adult ICU environment without the 300 pound adult in the bed. We deal with the same types of patients as adult ICUs (Cardiac, Respiratory, Gastro, Neuro). Try maintaining an airway on an intubated micro-preemie with an ETT tube smaller than a straw or starting an IV in a preemie.

It may be thought of as a "soft" specialty, but the nurses are not delicate, fragile women. They are highly skilled ICU nurses. ER nurses dread pediatric codes. They are far more emotionally taxing than an adult code. NICUs deal with them far more frequently. I would rather code a 95 yr old patient that has had a long life than a 24 week preemie with first time parents crying and praying for a miracle in the hallway.

Unfortunately, it seems that more and more of the public have known of relatives/friends that have had babies in the NICU and witnessed first hand NICU nurses jobs. I have yet to get the "dealing with babies is a female's job". It has been the "I could never deal with taking care of those tiny babies"

To paraphrase the Marine motto: "The few, the proud, the male NICU Nurse"

dec2007 · May 3, 2016

When I started nursing school wanting to go into one of the stereotypical male nurse specialties (ER, trauma, ICU). It wasn't until I did a rotation in the NICU that I found the ideal specialty for me. You have the Adult ICU environment without the 300 pound adult in the bed. We deal with the same types of patients as adult ICUs (Cardiac, Respiratory, Gastro, Neuro). Try maintaining an airway on an intubated micro-preemie with an ETT tube smaller than a straw or starting an IV in a preemie.
It may be thought of as a "soft" specialty, but the nurses are not delicate, fragile women. They are highly skilled ICU nurses. ER nurses dread pediatric codes. They are far more emotionally taxing than an adult code. NICUs deal with them far more frequently. I would rather code a 95 yr old patient that has had a long life than a 24 week preemie with first time parents crying and praying for a miracle in the hallway.
Unfortunately, it seems that more and more of the public have known of relatives/friends that have had babies in the NICU and witnessed first hand NICU nurses jobs. I have yet to get the "dealing with babies is a female's job". It has been the "I could never deal with taking care of those tiny babies"
To paraphrase the Marine motto: "The few, the proud, the male NICU Nurse"

I have to say, I admire ALL nurses who work with the tiny folks! I couldn't handle it! I agree whole-heartedly about the codes. As an adult ICU nurse I had to respond to one pediatric code. Big people nurses are lost in a baby code, at least I was! Little tiny veins, meds I have no clue how to dose, just terrifying! Thank you all for being able to care for our most vulnerable patients!

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · May 4, 2016

Big people nurses are lost in a baby code, at least I was! Little tiny veins, meds I have no clue how to dose, just terrifying!

Fortunately, every baby is required to have a code dosing sheet on their crib/isolette and in their chart. Every Sunday night a new code sheet is printed out based on their current weight. So, the calculations are already done for us. We also have 2 people responsible for drawing up meds as a verification that the dose is correct.

barcode120x, RN, NP · May 4, 2016

Being one is chill