Hi
My name is Courtney, but don't let the name fool you, I am a male. My mother has been a RN in the NICU for 20+ years and loves it. Now Im condisering enrolling in the 13 month nursing program so that I can do the same.
My question to all of you regards the area of specialty you work in. I just wanted to see if there was a particular area of nursing that men tend to gravitate to and how long many of you have been nurses? And lastly and most importantly do you have any regrets? (I only ask about the regrets because of the gender bias that most men in nursing are forced to face)
Thanks for your help,
Cml
I can't answer from the male point of view but can tell you where most males in my hospital work:
I'm in L&D/PP/GYN 0 males
peds 1 male NA
nursery/nicu 0 males
surgical 0
rehab 1
PACU 0
medical has a few
the majority are in ICU and ER
some in OR
1 is a house supervisor
we did have a male director of nursing for a few months but he died (on a treadmill)
1 is director of surgical services (OR and PACU) he was a coal miner and got laid off now his son is an ER nurse also
we have 3 CRNA's all males all better then the docs
I have found most men gravitate to the critical care areas such as ER, ICU's. I once worked a 17 bed cvicu. one day there were almost all men working (6 out of 8 nurses). This was all regular staff.
I must say that there are more and more men going to med/surge floors. I think the is due to the sign on bonuses.
I enjoyed ER and the Critical care areas. Although, as I am getting older. I do enjoy the less mental demanding areas such as out patient care.
I'm a female, but have been a nurse for a long time...most of the males I know work in areas where they can be more autonimos...critical care, ER, OR etc.
I've worked with guys in the NICU, ICU, and the ER. In the army there were as many or more male 91c's (equilivant to an LPN in the civilian world) working floors as females, but not as many male officers on the wards- most were in the critical care areas, admin, or medical service support positions. So... what I'm saying here is I think you could work in just about any specialty area that you want to and be accepted.
I'm a male paramedic currently working in the ER and occasionally float to other floors. I'm also in the last six months of an ADN program and looking forward to continuing to work in the ER as an RN.
My experience is similar to what has been described by previous postings. Most men are found in the ER, OR, ICU, etc. with very few on the floors. In fact it's not unusual, even common, for the ER night shift to be completely staffed by only male nurses. This does present the occasional issue where you have a patient who needs a vag exam and has a problem with a male nurse, but these problems are usually not difficult to overcome.
