Reply With QuoteOriginally Posted by hayleylse
Hi Hayley,
Because some may challenge what I write here, let me put a full disclaimer up front here that the statements below come from my personal experiences and are my opinions and beliefs. I think you will get a lot of replies as this subject is frequently discussed in the forum. While I have been in nursing for a number of years and enjoy my work tremendously, I still hesitate to use the term "nurse" when describing my work. People have at times expressed surprise, even shock ,when they learn about my occupation. I don't fit the stereotypical male nurse image at all especially those promoted by journals and catalogues. I am fairly tall, have a vigorous workout routine including weightlifting and participate in outdoor activities with my family. Consequently, I look more like a lumberjack than a nurse.
Like so many other people both inside and outside of the profession, I take issue with the general attitude about the gender and its apparant disconnect with the profession. I don't view the role of nurse as gender related but the term "nurse" very definitely is. I believe that men are increasingly accepted in the role but there are still those people who will never accept it. While they are very rare, I have had several patients both men and women, request that they be assigned a female. In my experience oddly enough, there have been more men who were uneasy with a male nurse caring for them than women. I would venture a guess that women are likely used to male physicians examining them therefore may be desensitized to a male caring for their physical needs. On the other hand, I think that a male patient who resists a male nurse would likely be of the belief that the nurse is gay or that nursing is not man's work or the male who is a nurse doesn't have what it takes to be a "real man." In my personal experience, these men were older, had very rigid viewpoints about things in general especially what a man should be doing for work. This societal objection has even impacted my children particularly, my son. Once while at camp, he was ridiculed by a kid for having a dad who must really be "girly" because he's a nurse. In general these occurrances are rare and overall, I have been well received in the profession. Men both young and old have said that they were surprised by my sensitivity to all of their needs and surprised to find that they were grateful for having a male nurse. Women too have said they were surprised to find men so caring and sensitive.
Another issue that I take exception to is that nursing itself does an injustice to men in the field. Photos in most nursing journals feature women in the nursing role and if there are men at all, they are usually depicted as patients. A review of photo job ads will feature mostly women but lately, there have been more men. If you really want an eyeopener, take a look at any nursing equipment and uniform catalog. You will find one or two gender neutral choices of uniform, maybe a gender neutral coffee mug and once I saw a figurine of a very slightly built man in scrubs with nurse on his ID tag. Most everything else is directed to women.
Challenging society's view of which sex role is assigned to a profession is a hard thing to tackle because it seems to be deeply rooted in culture. Historically nurses are female and firefighters are male and that is that. Intelligent people rightly know that men and women can aspire to be whatever they want but society has dictated which choices are appropriate for men and women and violating those standards guarantees that (s)he will encounter some degree of resistance. Fortunately, there are people who buck the tide and pave inroads through societal norms, eventually changing them. This is why more people are finding it easier to work in "nontraditional" roles.
Good luck and thanks for asking,
R
Re: challenging the stereotype
