My wife is not the least supportive of me wanting to become a nurse, she told me, "what you become a male nurse, how gay!" Then she had my 19 yo making fun of the idea. She was an RN but then got out of the field, she now wants no part of nursing. So I don't know if she really thinks it's gay or just being a PITA.
How prevalent is the whole "male nurse = gay" thing. BTW, I'm not gay, but I don't really give a rat's butt anyway about that, just seems like a way to belittle men for going into a woman dominated world.
Tony
As a traveler, I have worked with many, many wonderful male nurses, most of whom are not gay. Your wife's generalization is not only very inaccurate, but is also very immature & unprofessional.
I know several guys who are nurses. Quite a few married, with kids, and single one who just can't help chasing after women. :rolleyes:
I agree with Amanda; sounds like your wife has been burnt.
'Cat'
My wife is very supportive of me being a nurse. She is not too crazy about me being an Army nurse on active duty deployed to Iraq. Nonetheless, she certainly does NOT think Male nurse = Gay. BTW, my wife is also a nurse.
I will not make a negative comment about your wife's attitude towards male nurses. As a matter of fact, I will say absolutely nothing about your wife since I have nothing nice to say.
My husband is an RN and he is most definitely not gay.
Maybe she's just insecure about you going to work in a female dominated field?? He and his bud were quite popular in nursing school ;-)
OutWest wrote:Maybe she's just insecure about you going to work in a female dominated field?? He and his bud were quite popular in nursing school ;-)
That's what I think as well, and besides this remark, she's said things like "you'd never make a good nurse" or "you don't have the patience to be a nurse" etc, etc.
So it's hard enough trying to get into nursing, even more so without the family support. I don't know we'll see.
Thanks
Tony
I think male nurse equals the exact opposite!!! In fact I have yet to meet a gay male nurse... a few gay male NA's but thats it. Many of the younger one's that I work with realized early on that its female dominated and thought "woo hoo"!!!!! Obviously they would never have made it through nursing school if that was there main motive but.... i digress!!
Good luck Tony, you got your work cut out for you. Any time you need a little support, come back here.
Another straight male nurse- married with three kids.
R
I abut am a male nurse currently on assignment in Cali. Have worked with a few male RN's that are gay but have also worked with quite a few that are not. I am not gay but there is a certain stereotype that seems to be attached to us that all male nurse are gay. Personally I don't really care one way or the other. I have a job to do and have had a lot of my patients compliment me on taking excellent care of them which is what it is all about. If I can make someone feel like they are special and have received the best nursing care available it makes everyone happy including me. Have also been told that men make better nurses that women. ( They probably were just trying to make me feel good ). Either way - there are people of all shapes, sizes, colors, personalities, and mannerisms in the field of nursing so you just have to find your own niche. If nursing is something you really want to do then I say give it your best and don't worry about what others think. It is very rewarding if you enjoy helping others and getting paid to do it.
Lol, sometimes I wish I was gay, I'd probably spend more time thinking about the assignments in my nursing classes than imagining what every 19-21 y/o female nursing student in my class looks like naked :D
Yeah bro, I think your wife is jealous. I don't think her feelings have anything to do with a gay stereotype.
I love the fact that both my husband and I are in nursing (he's a LVN student, was in EMS before, and a CNA before).
May I respectfully suggest that nursing school without a supportive partner will be hell on earth. It's hard enough when you have people rooting for you - but to be sabotaged along the way doesn't sound like a good path to take.
Have you found out why your wife left nursing? Do you think she's adverse to you being a nurse because of some incident in her career, and this is just her defense mechanism - or is she really superficial enough to think being a man in the nursing profession equals homosexuality?
Just another nursing stereotype (i.e. nurses just do what the doctor tells them or they are just pill pushers).
piecebypiece wrote:Lol, sometimes I wish I was gay, I'd probably spend more time thinking about the assignments in my nursing classes than imagining what every 19-21 y/o female nursing student in my class looks like naked :D
Yeah bro, I think your wife is jealous. I don't think her feelings have anything to do with a gay stereotype.
I AGREE WITH BOTH THINGS YOU SAID P B P.
MY WIFE AND FAMILY WERE MORE THAN EAGER TO HELP ME IN MY QUEST TO BE A NURSE, WITHOUT THEM I DON'T THINK I WOULD HAVE MADE IT.
ON A LATER NOTE BY THE END OF MY SCHOOLING I NO LONGER SAW A HOT LITTLE THING IN THOSE GIRLS, ONLY FELLOW NURSES WHO CARED SO MUCH ABOUT THE PROFESSION THEY SAUGHT TO ENTER AND A COUPLE THAT I HOPED WOULD FAIL THE NCLEX FOR THE SAKE OF THE PATIENTS THEY WOULD HAVE TO CARE FOR.
ATTN: MAG RED C5, I LACK THE WORDS TO SAY IT ANY BETTER,("I will not make a negative comment about your wife's attitude towards male nurses. As a matter of fact, I will say absolutely nothing about your wife since I have nothing nice to say.") YOU SAID IT ALL. KEEP YOUR BOOTS ON AND YOUR HEAD DOWN. MY BABY BRO. IS ON HIS WAY OVER TO JOIN YOU IN COUNTRY NEXT MONTH. MY TIME IN SERVICE WAS THE DESSERT SHIELD/ STORM ERA AND IF YOU SEE MY LITTLE BRO. I HOPE IT'S IN THE CHOW LINE.
Well I am gay and a RN. I also have the luxury of fitting that bill in California's bay area, the most socially liberal place in the U.S. However, in my large inner city E.D. where at least 35% of the RNs are men, I am the only one who is out. Many of colleagues are either married or in relationships with women. Maybe I am just lucky to live in a liberal area, the term "male nurse" is so retro! I haven't been referred to as such for many years.
If you want to be a RN do it; there are so many rewards. But do it for the right reasons not simply because you want a good paycheck or a flexible schedule. You really need to enjoy human contact, to want to help people solve problems, to be a good team player. Otherwise, you will be a very miserable male nurse!
I had a quick count of all the lads i trained with and the ones i'm working with now and i came up with less than 10:1 straight:gay ratio which is pretty much the same in any adult population as far as i am aware. you'd think she'd be a little more supportive after being a nurse herself. maybe she fell out with the profession but that should be the basis of her opposition not your sexuality as percieved by society.
Maybe you should tell her that she didn't make a very good nurse either, if that's the kind of attitude she had toward her coworkers. On second thought...
I just get really steamed when someone pulls the whole "...there's something wrong with that" or "...he must be gay" routine. Had yet another family member saying such things to one of my coworkers recently, who promptly told the lady "I don't know what makes you say such an unkind thing. He's only one of the best nurses we have..." Just do your job well and with compassion - you'll have no shortage of people always ready to stick up for you.
