I guess I live/work in a whole different world. I was one of 9 guys in my class, and 1 of the 4 that graduated. I have never felt as if I was being discriminated against by any of my classmates or the instructors. The other 5 just couldn't hang. I had some of the best classmates I couldn't have asked for better friends. This was 10 years ago.
Just to clarify it for those out there that may be wondering: I was married for 10 years ( NOT GAY) when I started Nursing School ( my second career). I wore student nurse whites during the day, and kevlar body armor, carried a handgun, and searched buildings in the middle of the night, frequently without any police officers, in the part of town no one should be walking around in alone at night, when the burglar alarms went off. I held down a fulltime job, all the way thru school. I had to, I had a wife and a 4 y.o. girl, and even managed to conceive my second daughter during the final clinical semester.
From Shawn's paper, it sounds like I must be some kind of freak of nature. I honestly didn't get treated any different by my classmates, and was made to feel very welcome and encouraged by my instructors. I was 26 when I went back to school, and had only 3 more classes to go on my law enforcement degree. However, I decided that if I was going to actually help people, it wasn't going to be playing the role of social worker with a gun.
I am not bothered at all to be called a "male nurse". If you are that uptight about it, you have major self-esteem issues. I wish I would have figured out what I wanted to be when I grow up ( 40 and still feel like a teenager
Anyhow. I'm done rambling.
Never, ever, was I made to feel as if my sexual preference was in question. None of the other 8 guys were gay either. Maybe I'm the exception to the rule, but I actually get along quite well with women. I am living proof that a man and woman ( both hetero ) can be friends.
The only people that ever referred to me as a "male" nurse, were my grandparents, i.e. 70+ y.o.