I've been in an accelerated grad-entry program for six months and have collected about a dozen examples of subtle--the worst kind--discrimination against men in my nursing program. (Using "she" when instructors refer to a generic nurse in my courses is a pet peeve of mine. But, being left off a mailing list to form a chapter of AAMN because my gender was listed as F instead of M was embarassing.)
One question I have for the group is why we think the phrase "male nurse" is an appropriate title? I think the term "male nurse" is sexist. I'm studying to be a nurse, not a male nurse. Our language is always changing and we've eliminated some of the female employment bias by using "server" instead of "waiter or waitress", chairperson instead of "chairman or chairwoman", and mail carrier instead of "mailman or mailwoman".
the real problem here is not nomenclature, the real problem is that we care what people call us. sticks and stones....may break our bones....and a nurse will be there to fix it.
focus on your task at hand. stop worrying about your reputation. that distract you from what your doing. if you worry about your rep you'll be an errand boy trying to make others happy. if you pour yourself into your job without fear of your reputation, you will succeed far greater than you ever imagined.
trying to change other people's opinions and perceptions is fruitless.
btw....i am a taoist, and this is straight out of the tao de jing
From your other posts I am willing to bet you have few to no problems with your coworkers. Attitude is everything. I have worked with men whose use of "girls" was friendly (and thus OK)...and I have worked with men for whom it was a putdown (therefore not OK). :) For the other poster -- whose manager corrected him -- perhaps it was perceived as "not OK"...and therefore he should avoid that usage.
I have noticed that boys and girls like to be treated like grown-ups. I've also noticed that managers rarely have as much of a sense of humor about these things as staff does--for good reason.
I think things are changing. It used to tick me off when my mother in law would always introduce me and say "He is a male nurse". She always said it in a durrogitory (sp) tone. Now I hardly ever hear the term. Are times changing? Now when I tell people I meet that I'm a nurse they usually say "cool" but I can see by their face they are shocked. I guess I don't look the part.
Honestly, "Nurse" sounds good enough for me. As peeople say, I go to "Nursing school", not "Male nursing school".
If sex wern't important, why aren't we calling the women "Female nurses" ?
It's yet another label applied by society. And I happen to dislike labels phenomenally.
I also think instructors can use "The Nurse" instead of "she" for example. IIRC, the very first nurses in history were male - but in anycase, it's irrelevent. However, I do agree with the point brought up that instructors in a physics class for example might end up using "He" more than "she".
And last but not least, I do have a sense of humour. My group of friends are commonly known as "The Sisters" in our class. We have a lot of fun hanging out together.
And yes, one of my biggest per peeves is having to correct people who think I'm MD and they go "Ohh! So you're only a nurse".
I have been in the business for over 28 years and have heard it all also. it seems too many of you are to insecure with your jobs and are more worried about how you are percieved by the public or your fellow nurses. Who cares! If you are strong and have the confidence who cares what you are called. I work with other nurses who are also women who are also girls. They don't care what they are called as long as I can do my job. If people want to think of me as gay or hard up for a job, so be it. O know who I am and my co-workers know who I am so who cares what the public thinks of me. I do my job very well and give off that perception to my patients. I work in the OR so I am more intimate with my patients than most other nurses. No problem in 28 years because I reek of professionalism. See what I mean? Show everybody you know your stuff and then most, not all, will forget what gender you are. Male nurse, men in nursing, whatever. Good luck to all. Mike
PS, by the way I am not gay or hard up for a job, just like what I do.
Come on guys we work in a predominatly female profession quit trying to be what you are not (female), we will not change the culture in our lifetime. Think of all the others they have renamed to be gender specific: femailman, fefireman, fepoliceman, febossman, the supposed female senator from New York, former female Floridian Attornety General, and don"t forget Micheal Jackson who has given a whole new meaning to weirdo. Be thankful we have that distinction of being male nurses (even our gay counterparts). for those of you with vasectomys do they call you "neuter" nurse?
Come on guys we work in a predominatly female profession quit trying to be what you are not (female), we will not change the culture in our lifetime. Think of all the others they have renamed to be gender specific: femailman, fefireman, fepoliceman, febossman, the supposed female senator from New York, former female Floridian Attornety General, and don"t forget Micheal Jackson who has given a whole new meaning to weirdo. Be thankful we have that distinction of being male nurses (even our gay counterparts). for those of you with vasectomys do they call you "neuter" nurse?
Actually, a vasectomy leaves one hormonally intact, just as a tubal ligation does. A man with a vasectomy still has all the normal male functions related to testosterone, including beating the crap out of people who call him "neutered". Just thought you'd like to know.
In fact, in an adult, testicles and ovaries are just a small part of manhood or womanhood. The differences that count are in the brain, and I don't mean the minor structural ones. Men and women have different experiences and expectations, different ideas of themselves, and while these, too, are subtle, I think these are just the areas where men can be an asset to the profession of nursing--not better than our female peers, but a complement to them. That, and many of us are more able to lift things.
I used to get upset when someone used the term male nurse. I thought about for a while and I decided that some things are slow to change and being a male if what has historically been a female profession this is on of those things. Now when someone looks at me and says "Oh, you're a male nurse" I look at them and say yes I am but I also nurse females! It always elicits a smile and makes them more comfortable.
Just the other day I was watching "Friends" and Chandler referred to a male nurse as a "nurse man". He asked the nurse, "Nurse, not a doctor, huh? Kinda... 'girlie', isn't it?" The nurse replied by saying that he was headed to medical school and that nursing wasn't so 'girlie' during the Gulf War. Chandler found himself thanking the nurse for his service in the military. Hmm.
I work in the ER and sometimes there are many more male than female nurses. When I refer to another nurse, I never think in terms of gender. We are all nurses. I may be telling my husband about something that happens at work, and I will just say "another nurse" or refer to them by name if I think it is someone he knows about already. I really don't consider gender an issue, although I have been asked by certain patients if there is a male nurse they can talk to. Usually it is about an STD or something related to male genitalia. While it doesn't matter to me, it does matter to some patients so I try to accomodate as much as possible. On the flip side, if a female is more comfortable with a female in "delicate" conversation or procedures, they can be generally be accomodated as well.As far as the written word, that is a struggle in many professions. That is why we have "waitperson or server", flight attendant, fire fighter and police officer, all gender neutral. At one time all of these had distinct gender identities. While a teacher is a teacher, not a male teacher or female teacher, same with doctor, biologist, attorney.
I just call them nurse unless a more specific description is needed. It sort of blows my mind this is such an issue. A nurse is a nurse is a nurse in most cases.
ryanfocker
35 Posts
men.....troops....
the real problem here is not nomenclature, the real problem is that we care what people call us. sticks and stones....may break our bones....and a nurse will be there to fix it.
focus on your task at hand. stop worrying about your reputation. that distract you from what your doing. if you worry about your rep you'll be an errand boy trying to make others happy. if you pour yourself into your job without fear of your reputation, you will succeed far greater than you ever imagined.
trying to change other people's opinions and perceptions is fruitless.
btw....i am a taoist, and this is straight out of the tao de jing