Being a Male Nurse

[1mg.epi]

Sir My grandson is gay and he is no pansy. His significant other is no pansy. I am not gay, my self. but buddy, you got some serious hate issues you should deal with if you are planning to be a nurse. I don't think you are a nurse, because most male nurses don't give this subject much thought.

[Cammer]

[ QUOTE ]
Patrick_T (T for Troll) said:
This sterotype of the GMN, just really makes me more nauseated than LPNs who think they can do everything an RN can do.. .. GMN.. gay male nurse.. I really cant stand working with GMNs.. Go into a another profession if your a GM.. dont go into nursing.. you just make the profession more pansy like..

[/ QUOTE ]

Well Patrick, it seems that you are a victim of stereotypes yourself. Are gay men pansy's? Not really, although a few that I have known over the years might be considered as such. But none of them were in nursing. I know of a couple gay men who are in nursing but by and large most of the men in nursing are definitely not gay. What is funny is the pansy types that I know who are in nursing are definitely NOT gay, they are straight as can be.

Back when I was a firefighter/paramedic I knew of a few guys that I worked with who were gay. None of them you'd ever guess was gay and they were good guys who I'd feel safe going into a structure fire with.

Don't fall victim to stereotypes Patrick. It makes you look foolish and closed-minded.

As far as "...make the profession more pansy like.." goes. Well personally I don't think this is a "pansy like" profession to begin with. If you were really a nurse then I'm sure you'd agree with me.

Hmm... you aren't even a nurse are you? Go troll somewhere else.

[R.N Flight 203]

YA ,
My advise is to know as much as you can. Open your eyes, close your mouth and lead by doing not by talking.. I know it sounds harsh but for me being a male nurse on a critical cardio thorsic / trauma floor that is staffed by 99: female i sort of had to prove my self. Now that they have gotten to know me they have accepted me. Don't give up and stick to your beliefs. Good luck. Its a rewarding carear most of the time....

[timeflies]

In a way I enjoy the social stigma. You must be secure in your manhood to answer the "what do you do for a living?" question in the same manner a plumber would.

The pay is great. They pay you well and by the hour. You can travel and they even find you an apartment.

I find focusing on the job as a job works well. You can be professional without acting like someone's mom.

BE A MAN. BE A NURSE.

[bones_316]

HI, i am chris, i am 17 and i want to do nursing at Uni. Could you give me any tips on looking for a university and what i can expect? Thanks any advice is welcome.

[Derricca]

Hi! My husband and I are nurses. He works in the SICU and I believe there are quite a few men working as nurses on that unit. Im in pediatrics and we have some men that are nurses as well. I think they are great caretakers, and very knowledgeable. Its definitely more common these days for a man to be a nurse.Be proud!

[nursinghumor]

Thanks for adding do the discussion Derricca.

My wife and I are both RNs and her consensus is that as long as you can carry your weight and get your work done, she doesn't care if you're wearing boxers or panties

6 out of ever 100 nurses are males, would be nice to see that percentage increase.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://ww.4nursing.com

[cassioo]

I had someone today ask how my teaching was going told them fine and they said something about they couldn't teach young girls just out of highschool. I told them really in my class there aren't too many that are just out of highschool (one is 19, a few 21 then the rest a little older on up to mid 50's) and they aren't all girls there are a couple of males in the class...then the person said can a man be a nurse? Had to tell them yep they can

[GratefulTedd]

Some very nice posts in this thread- I should spend some time looking at nursing history again!

I also take exception to the term Male Nurse, for many years I answered that question with a simple no- and let them chew a minute before saying, I am a nurse.

I have always found it interesting that in the 70s when women made great strides breaking into male dominated profession there was no analogous use of the term "Female (profession" to the same degree as Male Nurse. There was no- "Oh!! you are a Female Doctor?" thing, at least not to the same degree and certainly has not persisted to the present.

To answer your question- I have been a nurse for 23 years- and I also recommend the threads in the male nursing forums on this site. There are some issues- but are easily dealt with

[mako2004]

I have been in nursing since the early 70's. I started as a NA - challenged the LPN 1/2 way through my RN program. I have worked as a staff nurse, a head nurse, a supervisor and in administration. It is a great profession and can only get better as more males enter.