Life As A Nurse – The Male Perspective - Career

I had never considered dying until I
became a nurse. I had no idea what
to expect when I signed up to start
my nurse training. However, talking
to people who were about to die
taught me a huge amount, as did
some of the stereotypes that went
with being a man working as a
nurse.


Being a “Male Nurse”

It has never ceased to fascinate me
that of all people from all
professions, nursing appears to be
the only one where people feel the
need to point out what sex you are
if you’re a man. When I told people
I was a nurse many people used to
say to me, “Oh, you’re a male
nurse!”
If you were addressing a teacher,
solicitor, mechanic or secretary, for
example, would you say, “Oh,
you’re a male or female solicitor?”
Most people would not. Yet, for
some reason, being a male within
the nursing profession often
prompts people to clarify that you
are, in fact, still a man!

From Hospital to Hollywood
I once ended up in the audience of
“Family Feud,” which I happened to
find myself at during a trip to LA
several years ago. When I
volunteered for the interval game
where the audience got involved, I
had no idea what I was getting
myself into.

Our ever-smiling host lined up five
of us and told us that we would be
playing pass the pizza. If you
happened to be holding the pizza
base -- which was passed
amongst us -- when the music
stopped, you had a bucket of pizza
toppings poured over your head.
“What do you do for a living?” I was
asked. I told our smiling presenter
that I was a nurse.
“Oh, you’re a male nurse!” was our
host’s reply. At this point I put my
hand down my trousers as if to
check and answered, “Yes, I still
am.”

It Can Sometimes End Up in a Mess
Although this gained me a few
laughs from the crowd and fellow
contestants, it also ensured that I
was the first person holding the
pizza base when the music
stopped. I was subsequently
covered with “the works.”

Throughout my nursing career,
which spanned 13 years and 3
continents, I found being male was
an advantage. Yes, it did mean I
was generally the first to be called if
lifting needed to be done or
potential trouble was starting; but it
taught me to be very good in
explaining things simply and
negotiating with people, who were
sometimes psychotic.

Other Advantages to Being a Nurse
and a Man
The most obvious thing became
very apparent, very quickly, is the
large ratio of women to men in the
profession. When I trained there
were 100 people in our set, 20 of
which were men, eight of who were
gay.
This meant, in practical terms, that
I received a lot of female attention
in the nurses’ home. For someone
who was very shy and didn’t
previously have much luck with
ladies, this was a very liberating
experience that did wonders for my
self-confidence.

As a man and a nurse it is part of
the package to have your sexuality
questioned regularly. This will either
make you or break you as a
character and set you up well in
life.
It teaches core skills like
empathy, diplomacy and
discernment, whilst ensuring that
you will gain a range of life
experiences that will set you up well
for the rest of your life.
It is only through nursing the dying
that I really started living.



http://www.nursingworldnigeria.com/2013/02/life-as-a-nurse-ndash-the-male-perspective