Men in Nursing, your opinion?

[BedroomBully11]

Hey guy's, so I use to post on here a lot about becoming a Doctor however my mind changes a lot. My girlfriend has recently been accepted to the nursing program at Durham college. Subsequently, she will be applying to UOIT to finish a degree in nursing.

 

She brought it to my attention that I should look in to nursing because there is a high demand for them right now, and possibly an even higher demand for male nurses. I just want to know what all of you think. What does a career in nursing as a male entail? Are they looked at differently? Is their salary different?

 

It seems like an exciting and rewarding career, so let me know what you think. Thank you all.

[widedentist]

Hey guy's, so I use to post on here a lot about becoming a Doctor however my mind changes a lot. My girlfriend has recently been accepted to the nursing program at Durham college. Subsequently, she will be applying to UOIT to finish a degree in nursing.

 

She brought it to my attention that I should look in to nursing because there is a high demand for them right now, and possibly an even higher demand for male nurses. I just want to know what all of you think. What does a career in nursing as a male entail? Are they looked at differently? Is their salary different?

 

It seems like an exciting and rewarding career, so let me know what you think. Thank you all.

 

I'm a male RN. It's been a great experience so far. Don't stress the " being a guy thing". There are TONS of guys in nursing so don't let it deter you from an awesome/ diverse career. The wage is exactly the same as per union agreement. I believe getting a job is easier in some cases because employees strive for diversity.

[ploughboy]

I believe getting a job is easier in some cases because employees strive for diversity.

 

Tons of male nurses in emergency and critical care. Big demand in those fields as well as psychiatric nursing.

[kpm]

Maternal-fetal medicine, especially labour and delivery, may be one of the only fields that still doesn't see many male nurses. Kind of weird though, seeing as there are MANY male maternal-fetal docs and male obgyns...

[hexonu]

When I first started my program I was a little self conscious about being one of the few guys in my class. As the years went on it became less of an issue to everyone around me that I was a male. I can't speak for any others but in my program being a male gave you a huge edge when requesting final preceptorship placements (ER, ICU etc). Sometimes I also felt that I got higher marks in clinical when I didn't really deserve it because I was a male. Overall in my program males were seen as leaders and were pushed to take up leadership roles, our VD was a male for the year I graduated and the year before that.

[mursing]

Being a male nurse is great! Never had any issues when I was in the nursing program or working as a RN.

[obi]

Duuuuuuuuuude. 3 words for you: First. Nurse. Assist.

 

Seriously look into how to get that position. The hospitals are literally crying for OR assists, and especially in things like orthopaedics where a strong assist can be a huge benefit in doing hips etc its keeey.

[medisforme]

Duuuuuuuuuude. 3 words for you: First. Nurse. Assist.

 

Seriously look into how to get that position. The hospitals are literally crying for OR assists, and especially in things like orthopaedics where a strong assist can be a huge benefit in doing hips etc its keeey.

 

It's a good gig if

 

1) you like working 8 hour shifts (ie. you want to be at the hospital almost everyday)

-most nurses I know prefer 12's as you basically get half the days off and are not at the hospital everyday.

 

2) Don't mind being on call during the night for a certain portion of your rotation (again, when I am off shift, i want to be truly off, never liked it much when I had to be on call)

 

But yeah, OR nurses I have talked to seem to really love it. No patient hygiene duties, lifting/transfering patients, running around on a busy unit etc...

 

Some(most;)) times though you are forced to deal with arrogant/demanding surgeons and all that that entails.

 

Be sure you know ahead of time if you will like it as you need to take a course (several months at least) for the training and many health authorities will demand at least 1 year of service in exchange for the training.

[rmorelan]

It's a good gig if

 

1) you like working 8 hour shifts (ie. you want to be at the hospital almost everyday)

-most nurses I know prefer 12's as you basically get half the days off and are not at the hospital everyday.

 

2) Don't mind being on call during the night for a certain portion of your rotation (again, when I am off shift, i want to be truly off, never liked it much when I had to be on call)

 

But yeah, OR nurses I have talked to seem to really love it. No patient hygiene duties, lifting/transfering patients, running around on a busy unit etc...

 

Some(most;)) times though you are forced to deal with arrogant/demanding surgeons and all that that entails.

 

Be sure you know ahead of time if you will like it as you need to take a course (several months at least) for the training and many health authorities will demand at least 1 year of service in exchange for the training.

 

I was told once, not sure if this is true so I am basically asking, that OR nurses are less vulnerable to layoffs as a result of the difficulty in replacing them, and the requirements to run ORs at a relatively fixed level. Thoughts?

[whiteteeth]

In Canada, are there many RN first assists working in OR?

 

Or is it lower year residents and med students doing the first assist jobs?

[rmorelan]

In Canada, are there many RN first assists working in OR?

 

Or is it lower year residents and med students doing the first assist jobs?

 

well first off there are a lot of places with no residents or med students

[whiteteeth]

well first off there are a lot of places with no residents or med students

 

Good point

[medisforme]

I was told once, not sure if this is true so I am basically asking, that OR nurses are less vulnerable to layoffs as a result of the difficulty in replacing them, and the requirements to run ORs at a relatively fixed level. Thoughts?

 

In BC, it all goes through the BCNU - ergo: union seniority trumps everything.

If a nurse gets laid off they have first dibs on "available" positions/lines (I was a union rep for 5 years and am still not sure how this is done) whereby they can bump a nurse from their line who has less seniority - this goes on until a nurse either opts for an open line or chooses not to pursue a full time position.

You make a good point about questioning whether OR nurses are vulnerable to this as well.

My guess in BC is that they would be somewhat insulated from this bumping practice given their extra and unique training (in terms of nursing duties) - though I don't doubt that an OR nurse who ends up laid off due to inadequate OR time or whatever would have the usual union options to bump a nurse with lower seniority within the same health authority (either OR nurse, general duty surgical nurse, surgical daycare etc...)

[hexonu]

OR is a good specialty but there's way to much repetition (counting a trillion instruments before and after every procedure, going through the same checklists over and over). From what I've seen PACU nurses have it the easiest job in that type of setting.

[Louisarlen]

I totally agree with you guys! There is a great demand for male nurses all around the world now. There is nothing to feel inferior about it. Nursing cannot be considered a task only for the female gender, but it is a profession that can be taken up by anyone. There are so many famous nursing institutes that are encouraging men to take up nursing as a profession. It is a lovely profession where you need to be with people and help them to recover soon. There are various jobs involved in nursing. You could take up what you are comfortable doing.