Where will I have the least amount of contact with men?

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My passion is in women's health and I'm continuously looking for open positions, literally all over the country. I would go anywhere.

I am wondering if there is an area within the field where I will have contact with the least amount of men (labor and delivery, postpartum, NICU). Or if I should stop applying to hospital positions and only look for gynecology offices, women's health clinics, etc.

Specializes in OB.

Forget about OB/L&D. Fathers/male partners are part of the family and deserve consideration and inclusion in the care and teaching about their new baby.

If you are too uncomfortable to interact with them appropriately it would not be a good situation for either you or them.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

I don't mean to be snarky, but I think your dream job exists just there, IN YOUR DREAMS. Clearly you have deep issues that drive this extreme thought process, I wish you well.

I definitely don't want men as patients, which is one reason I want to be in women's health. Infants and children are completely fine. Just not adults. I understand I may have to work with male physicians and other employees, but in a perfect world I would only work in an environment of women. I don't want to be around husbands/partners if I don't have to be.

I feel much more comfortable around women.

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Women's prison or breast cancer center??

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Specializes in LTC, PACU, Psych, OB/GYN, ED.
My passion is in women's health and I'm continuously looking for open positions, literally all over the country. I would go anywhere.

I am wondering if there is an area within the field where I will have contact with the least amount of men (labor and delivery, postpartum, NICU). Or if I should stop applying to hospital positions and only look for gynecology offices, women's health clinics, etc.

Stop applying for nursing jobs and seek therapy to get down to the cause of your issues with mine. You will not thrive or last as a nurse with this attitude, trust me.

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Specializes in Critical Care/Vascular Access.

As others have said, OP, it would be very wise of you to take a long hard look at where your issue with men comes from and possibly even get help to deal with it.

This would probably help you in many more ways than just the nursing world too.

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I work in L&D, and at least in terms of staff, there are almost no men here, even in ancillary positions. (This varies from facility to facility, I'm sure.) There are also a fair number of patients who don't have the father in their lives, and so they're supported by other women, like their mothers.

I've always enjoyed the women-serving-women aspect of the job, but as others have said, you must make sure that you can support and educate the fathers and other male family members. And while L&D is mostly a happy place, there are times when things go wrong (like a mom who needs a stat C-section) and you have fathers (and other family/friends) that are scared and therefore loud and angry. You must be able to (or learn to) stand your ground as necessary and calm and educate them.

In terms of sheer percentage, there are fewer men in L&D than in other nursing areas, but just make sure you can still interact with them without bias. I feel the same would be true of Antepartum, Postpartum, Nursery, and NICU positions.

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How about a nursing care facility for retired nuns?

I, personally, would be more scared of the old nuns than I would be of any men!

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

I don't think the OP is being honest with herself or with us. There's no normal reason to prefer to avoid half the world's population.

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Everyone comes with their own stuff but this seems more than a simple preference.

Gender issues are different but if a male came on here saying he needed to work with as little exposure to women as possible due to some opposition, I would immediately think he had an aversion that potentially made him inappropriate for patient care.

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This is a most unusual question. Nursing, by definition, requires grace and strength and the ability to do your job even if the situation isn't ideal. Not to say we should welcome unsafe situations, but you literally cannot pick and choose your patients. With this in mind, I would suggest taking a job where you will have access to a good Employee Assistance counselor. You may prefer working with women, but actively seeking to avoid men is not realistic for anyone working in healthcare.

This question reminds me of ones we've seen lately where people have unrealistic expectations about nursing in general: "Failed all of my prereqs, how do I get into nursing school?" "Want a job with no patient contact after nursing school" "Want to be a NP without working as a nurse" "Don't like urine, can I still be a nurse?"

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To simply answer the question that was asked, without delving into "the issue at hand"...I second the Nursing care for "retired nuns." My mom did this and the only man she ever encountered was the grounds keeper who wasnt even allowed in most of the building

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Specializes in Critical care.
Work from home... Unless you have a husband or male children...

Classic, hands-down beats any reply I was thinking of to this offensive post. :yes:

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