Hello, all! New to the board. I'm a male, 25, finished school for massage therapy a couple of years ago and recently decided to go back to school to get an associates in nursing. Would like to eventually work towards the BSN and hopefully Master's. Anyway, my question is -
I saw one brief comment about male nurses in emergency medicine further on down the board, but I'm curious and would be interested in hearing more feedback. Those of you who are nurses and current nursing students - do you think that (in a given situation, more specifically in say a hospital's emergency dept) some male nurses can provide certain psychological assets that some female nurses may not provide as readily? As an example, let's say you have a patient who just had a gunshot wound, or has a sliced artery spewing blood out, or something like that. I would think that in these types of life-threatening situations, (*traditionally speaking*) it would be easier for a man to detach or disengage his emotions, and focus on the immediate demands that the situation requires. Don't get me wrong - I'm speaking merely in general terms. As I know that there are plenty of men who squirm at the sight of blood, just as there are plenty of women who don't even flinch at blood. I guess my point is...I would think that this sort of logic (and who knows, my logic could be completely flawed! : ) would create an environment that would encourage more men to go into nursing, specifically in emergency medicine. Do you think that male nurses do well in the ER? Thanks - DarkJedi
Can only men reply to this...because I have so many comments on that last post!
Anyone can respond to any post in this forum. Personally, I feel it's a basic nursing trait to be able to temporarily not react emotionally to, blood, gore, guts, danger to personal safety, until such a time as all hell is done breaking loose.
Could a guy do this better? It's a moot point since female nurses have been doing it, and doing it well since nursing as we know it today began. (fact nonwithstanding the first true nurses were male (in religous orders) that was long before Florence Nightingale).
Where men can potentially serve as a valuable asset is in the political arena.
For whatever reason, guys move farther up the career ladder faster than their female colleagues. Maybe the world still considers this to be a man's world, and it shows in how quickly male nurses advance a female dominated profession.
Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.comBeachy, please reply! I'm interested in hearing your comments
I understand what you're saying, but I don't think it has anything to do with being male. Some people can handle the life-threatening situations, blood, etc very well, while others squirm when they're faced with it. Regardless of being male or female... some people can just handle it while others can't. We could turn it around and ask the same about male nurses working in L&D.... are female nurses more of an asset in that area because they can relate to the patients in L&D better? No, I don't think so. I know great male ER nurses as well as great male L&D nurses, and vice versa with great female nurses. To answer your questions though, YES I do think male nurses are an asset to the profession, but not just because they are male ... know what I mean?
Below is a small portion of a term paper assignment I wrote titled Contemporary Issues For Nursing Leadership & Management: A Nursing Shortage Like Never Before. A section of my paper focused on the gender differences in nursing, which indirectly relates to this Thread topic. So, I thought I'd share just a bit.
Research on why women and men choose nursing as a career reveals similarities as well as differences. In Boughn’s study (2001) of why women and men choose nursing she found both women and men nursing students were deeply motivated by the desire to care for others, however differences emerged with regard to the objectives of power and empowerment. Boughn discovered the female students expressed an interest in empowering patients, while the male students wanted to empower patients they were more inclined to empower the profession as a whole and themselves as professionals.
For the most part, women are still socialized to think of others before they think of themselves, which is especially true in the traditionally female profession of nursing. These differing set of values are not opposed. The nursing profession needs both sets of values, furthermore nursing education should encourage men and women to utilize the other’s way of thinking as nurses.
Boughn, S., (2001). Why women and men choose nursing, Nursing & Health Care Perspectives, 22(1), 14-19. Retrieved June 29, 2004 from
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MagRedC5 said:Boughn discovered the female students expressed an interest in empowering patients, while the male students wanted to empower patients they were more inclined to empower the profession as a whole and themselves as professionals.
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Definitely makes a good argument for recruiting more men into the profession.
There's no way to say this without being sexist. Women have had extraordinary success in the political areas creating change. My guess is that it would pale in comparison to the accomplishments of men in the same arena.
Men charactistically, do not have a problem sticking together in a profession, or acting to further their own (selfish at times) interests. I'll venture the idea then, that if the male nursing population were to grow to 10, 20, 30% of total, far more progress politically could be made to improve working conditions and patient safety than we're seeing now.
My two cents.
Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.comHey Andrew,
You bring up a very good point. I've noticed, and I bet most will agree, that female nurses are really hard on each other...as in nurses eat their young.
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RainDreamer said:
I understand what you're saying, but I don't think it has anything to do with being male. Some people can handle the life-threatening situations, blood, etc very well, while others squirm when they're faced with it. Regardless of being male or female... some people can just handle it while others can't. We could turn it around and ask the same about male nurses working in L&D.... are female nurses more of an asset in that area because they can relate to the patients in L&D better? No, I don't think so. I know great male ER nurses as well as great male L&D nurses, and vice versa with great female nurses. To answer your questions though, YES I do think male nurses are an asset to the profession, but not just because they are male ... know what I mean?
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May I kindly differ with your viewpoint? Most male nurses gravitate towards the high adrenalin roles such as ER, OR (Circulator & CRNA), and ICU. I don't think it has to do with males doing better than females in high stress situations, I've seen plenty of female RNs do an outstanding job on a code. Rather, the males interested in nursing just seem to want to be where the action is most frequent. Maybe if the number of males in nursing were to increase, then the number of males in other areas such as the Med/Surg floor, Oncology floor, etc. would be more apparent?
Here is where I really differ with you. I think, on the norm, female nurses are the more natural choice for L&D, than males. However, exceptions to this is very possible. Plus, if a male chooses to work in L&D
& demonstrates the knowledge & skills, then by all means I say go for it. I will admit I enjoyed my rotation in the nursery during nursing school. It kind of came natural for me since I was a single parent.
I think another point in this issue is why people go into nursing in the first place.... Females tend to enter nursing due to the above average pay they receive (for females) whereas males get into it more for the need to care for others (I could make the same $$ in many trades)...
Maybe that is one of the reasons men excel at a higher rate than females in the field..
Christof
I'm currently making my research paper for one of our nursing subjects..it's basically about who'd do better in the nursing profession,the male or female nurse?....anyway, as I've observed in many hospitals here in the Philippines, most of the nurses assigned in the emergency room are mostly males..but more females in the ICU.
I think you can't make a statement "which sex makes a better nurse." Some males may be able to do more lifting or deal with combative patients better. I do think many females have a better attention to details than most men. Although, when it comes down to who cares more or who is going to give better health care it comes down to the individual and their ability to care.
Older (70+) clients tend to have more confidence in males. Maybe it's because they think we're doctors. Males definitely prefer a male nurse. This only applies if the nurse is competent and caring.
Boys have a penis.......Girls have a Vagina!
Tension breaker........HAD to be done!!!!
you have been watching too much Arnold :) but I do love that movie LOL
It is all individual nurse and patient wise. I don't think most of my patient populations 15-80 want female nurses but male doctors (ob/gyn) so no blanket statment for anyone
Ha! I volunteer at a Major metropolitan country hospital ER...The women are just as capable if not more than the men. I think gender is less of an issue than overall aptitude for the bizness.
