I am a nursing student, currently studying to be an RN. I am really enjoying the experience, however I have an issue that is concerning me.
When chatting up women and the conversation comes up about what I do, and I reply studying nursing, their eyes widen and the mood seems to change. This is not related to women in the field but those outside. As soon as I utter the word nurse, I seem to go from a confident manly guy to a nice guy to them. I know women want confident manly sort of men, but women also say they like a man to be sensitive and caring. Can’t a male nurse be sensitive and manly? Do these women see nurses as somewhat effeminate, at worst gay?
If a woman is able to climb the corporate ladder and make big money in business and still have sex appeal, does a man need to limit himself to traditional masculine roles to prove his maleness and be attractive to women or can he do a traditionally feminine job of helping and caring for people.
I understood that when women refer to equality, it is for both men and women. They it’s a great idea for men to be nurses, but individually, their actions seem to speak louder than their words.
I would be very interested in your opinions on this both guys and girls
actually, i take a lot of pride in being a male nurse. when women ask me what i do and i tell them that i am a nurse they are just like "wow". sometimes, the way that women respond may seem a little awkward, but deep inside, they know that you are something different from the rest of men.
i was walking a girl to her car after class yesterday and she asked me what i do, i told her that i was a nurse and she seemed really impressed and it seemed like she was more interested in me(cause im a nurse and i got a job and im caring, etc etc.) today, i saw her in class and she gave me this stare, it was the good kind of stare, the kind where the woman is trying to tell you that shes interested or something.
all in all, i look at being a male nurse as an advantage. you should too.
i'm engaged to a 'male nurse' that i met in nursing school. it's good/bad that we can talk about nursey things for hours on end. he hears volumes about my new job, stuff i wouldn't be able to say to the average non-nurse fiance.
Yeah I agree, having a relationship with someone that just doesn't understand what we go through on a daily basis just plain stinks. It's like you'd have to sit there and explain everything just to tell them how your day went. What an IV is, a Gtube, foley etc etc etc. Oh yeah, my day was rough. lol...
problem is--i have a new job and he knows what i'm blabbering about, so he has to hear the details of what i'm learning and he has no escape from nursing when i get home. hahaha, i can go on for hours about pediatric cardiac issues. it gets silly when we're out to dinner and we realize we've been talking about MRSA wounds while people around us are trying to enjoy their steak. hahaha.:wink2:
HAHAHAHA... aren't we a great bunch of people... I love it when someone turns around and says "I can't help but overhear your conversation, can you please stop." lol... It's like whoops... I fogot i'm in a restauraunt hahaha.
I really wish the world would start to see nursing as a unisex profession.
Now, I'm married, but if I were single and met a nurse that happened to be a man - I'd be interested. You know right off that this guy is going to be smart, educated, caring, and compassionate. Plus, you know that he will always have a job and will have a flexible schedule. What's not to love? I just don't get women sometimes, and I AM one!!!
Just keep your chin up, and be proud of who you are.
AMEN Gompers!! I totally agree and I know that I would take a caring nurse that may just happen to be a male over an old battle axe any day. People just need to get over the stigma and near-sitedness that keeps this country from progressing. I am in full agreement that we need more men in nursing and not simply because they may be bigger, stronger and in many ways more capable of caring for patients from a physical standpoint, but because no matter how many times you men that are nurses are mistaken for doctors or some other profession, when it comes down to caring and compassion for others that is not and should never be considered a gender specific thing. If it's in your heart do it and do it to the fullest. God gave you the talent so use it!!!
I am married but if I were single and who knows what the future holds, I would not hesitate to date a male nurse if I was lucky enough for him to even ask. On another note, I would love to have more males in this profession, they bring so many things this profession needs and I am not talking about a strong back. So please guys, be nurses or murses or whatever term you want to use, just don't shy away from nursing, we need you.
My older brother got a big kick out of telling my nephews that I was a "nurse" one day over lunch
They couldn't believe it, and while it was humorous, I was a bit dissappointed that they had already developed that stereotype. I did make it a point to explain that I made more money than their dad (by brother, who has a graduate degree) and that I worked around a lot of beautiful women, and that my nephew who has a passion for dairy farming cleaned more crap in one day than I have my entire career.
I don't date nursing coworkers; I don't think it's wise (for me), to cohort romantically with coworkers. This has been a struggle because there's been more than a couple that were tempting, but I always reminded myself of two things; what would that constant exposure to each other do to our relationship (I am all business and no BS at work, and one former work colleague/girlfriend struggled to tears with realizing the difference), and second, what would happen if it went poorly.
Shamira: Yes you are right, it often doesn't work to date a coworker that you work with each day, take report from etc. However many people that work in a large hospital or institution do date and it works out as they only work in the same building not on the same shift.
Roy Fokker, BSN, RN
1 Article; 2,011 Posts
Thank you Wayne :)
:welcome: to allnurses! Hope to see more of your posts in the future!
cheers,