[Brewerpaul]

Has there ever been any talk of changing to title of male nurses to something else?
The word "nurse" is has so much gender baggage. It instantly conjures up images of Florence Nightengale and ladies in square heeled shoes and little white caps. And of course, it's women who NURSE babies.
I'm thinking that a gender neutral term might help alleviate the gender bias associated with men in this profession. Alas, I can't think of a good one

[cassioo]

I didn't know there was a title of male nurse I just thought the title was nurse no matter what the gender was. Do you think changing the name of nurses to something different would change how the public perceives the position? I think be a nurse and do the job and you'll get the recognition or lack of based on what you (or any nurse does)

[Brewerpaul]

Originally Posted by cassioo

I didn't know there was a title of male nurse I just thought the title was nurse no matter what the gender was. Do you think changing the name of nurses to something different would change how the public perceives the position? I think be a nurse and do the job and you'll get the recognition or lack of based on what you (or any nurse does)

No, there's no official title, but so often I hear men in the profession say "I'm a male nurse". Yes, I definitely agree that if you do the job right you'll get the necessary recognition, but I still wonder if the word "nurse" has too many female connotations. Hey-- I'm not gonna quit nursing school over it in any event!

[kimmiejs]

Don't go to Australia because they still call nurses "Sister" over there.

[AnkhRNMSNphoenix]

Originally Posted by kimmiejs

Don't go to Australia because they still call nurses "Sister" over there.

Sister!?! Do they call Doctors "Brothers?" or "Father?"
Are you kidding me? Australia?! Thats exactly where we need to go as men in nursing. Nursing is not for the timid; be they man or woman. I'm the furthest thing from the image of a nun! People need to be taught that men can be nurses without any connection to any inference to their sexual orientation or religious connection.However, nursing can be seen as a spiritual career path. Most of the time people receive a spiritual call to the profession, because they want to alleviate suffering or they like the human connection of Nursing. Florence was not a nun, she was a scientist and researcher. Are Australias' Nurses letting people call them Sister ? We need to educate people about the history and perspectives of men in nursing! If not, we will always be seen by the public as handmaidens to the medical community,when we are so much more.

[Brendenb]

My friend and I refer to ourselves as Murses (well, Mursing students really).

[andrewandy]

How about "health care professional"? This include males and females. Nice and gender neutral. Plus "Registered Health Care Professional" or RHCP has more letters and who doesn't want more letters after their name?

Now you might say aren't doctors health care professionals? Yes but when asked, "What do you do for a living" what doctor would say, "I'm a health care professional." I think more likely they would say "I'm a surgeon" or "I'm a proctologist". Ok maybe not proctologist but for sure "I'm a doctor"

I think it would be good to change the whole midwife name too.

[Old_School]

In certain situations, I refer to myself as a "kind of a respiratory therapist". Somehow male respiratory therapists get a free ride.

O_S

[DaRedMan]

Originally Posted by Old_School

In certain situations, I refer to myself as a "kind of a respiratory therapist". Somehow male respiratory therapists get a free ride.

O_S

"A kind of respiratory therapist"???!

When I go into a patient's room for the first time, I say "I'm your nurse for today"--nothing more. There is no need to make any comparisons, apologies, or excuses. Nursing is an honorable profession where you can help people tremendously. Just because men are only just beginning to enter the profession in any great numbers doesn't mean we should qualify what we do. Senators and Representatives who are women aren't called "Female Senators" or "Female Representatives." No doctor whom I have worked with, who happens to be a women, has every said "I'm Female Doctor Jones." And I've never heard one say, "I'm kind of a Physician's Assistant" or "I'm kind of a Nurse Practitioner."

The meanings of words evolve over time. If there is female-associated "baggage" attached to the word "Nurse" in some people's minds now, it will lessen in time as more and more men enter the profession. So chill out and be proud of what you do.

[vincent]

Hi everyone!

IMO, I think it's all about PERCEPTION! One thinks there's a feminine conotation to the word "nurse" but when you look closely in the dictionary... it says " a nurse is a person trained to care for the sick or disabled, especially one educated in the scientific basis of human response to health problems and trained to assist a physician." Hence, if you are a human being, either males or females, and have the dedication to learn and a genuine love to help other people, you can become a nurse! Heck, you can even call nurses scientists! That may be a little bit of a stretch, but nurses have to study chem and bio and all those other good stuffs too! :P

I'm one of the "lucky" few who got the chance to witness the rewarding nursing career for many years (I had kidneys failure) That's what got me interested in studying to become a nurse. I also want to note that nursing is not that glamarous as they portray it on TV (E.R), it can be stressful, dangerous, and sometimes tiring. But why I wanted to become a nurse is to help other unfortunate people to get well and give them mental confort. It may sound funny but I'd like to see those little smiles from kids who get to go home after their stay at hospital.

An interesting note I might add, my "female" nephrologist recently told me in order to become a nurse, I need to be brave! :P

- Vincent