Good Evening Doctor!

Being a middle-aged man, I've gotten the "hello, doctor" a number of times, even while I was in nursing school.Honestly, nurses themselves are some of the biggest offenders in the gender stereotyping... most seem to refer to the generic doc as "he" and the generic nurse as "she." They also walk in and fire off a "good morning, ladies" as they cruise past the nurse's station and then get flustered when I pull my deepest baritone to respond, "good morning."I really strive to bust the mold and refer to generic docs as feminine and generic nurses as masculine.

I too have seen this misconception. We have a few males nurses at my clinic who are often called doctors because they're men. Or I have heard people speak of Nurses and LPNs - implying that LPNs are not nurses. There are definite oversights by both nurses and the public in terms of gender and professional roles. I can imagine it would get quite old and irritating. We just have to keep educating others and being self aware!

I love the approach you took with your students. What a great exercise! I am curious, what kind of dialogue did the lesson inspire? I am wondering how many kids had the a-ha moment. My a-ha moment just came when I started crafting this reply. If you check out the smilies bar in the reply box, the "nurse" is female (I guess it could be a longer-haired guy...) with a nurses cap adorned with a red cross. The imagery and reinforcements are everywhere, it seems. I guess we just have to keep in touch with our own biases, how we perpetuate stereotypes, and foster thoughtful dialogue when possible. From the time I was a young girl, I have always felt compelled to speak up when something didn't sound quite right. It may or may not inspire someone to think about his/her words or ideas, but it's a start. By the way, congratulations on being that much closer to your dream of nursing!

Maybe we should use the term physician instead of "doctor" as there are other than medical "doctors" and cultivate Nurse with the capital N as male and female, or what else?_______I can't think of an alternate English word.

The word "doctor" to mean licensed physician in the context of health care is far too ingrained to ever be changed. The only thing that's going to ultimately destroy the nurse=female stereotype is when there is much greater male representation in various nursing roles. It will happen naturally over a sufficient number of decades.

as a 17 year old male pre-nursing student, who just recently graduated from hs. people ask me that question frequently when they find out i wish to be a nurse. they're constant asking only fires my zeal to become a nurse even more. it's good that you don't let the stererotypes guide what you decide to do, so many people can't do that. doctor's do amazing work, but nursing do amazing work as well. people kind of insult me by saying that i'm smart enough to be a doctor. don't get me wrong doctors can be very intelligent people, but it seems to me that their implying nursing doesn't take much intelligence. in the end it's like a t-shirt i saw said. "if all the smart people went to medical school to become doctors...... then who would be the nurse and take care of the patient?"nurses are "shot" callers!!! haha! lolz!!! just a little nursing humor. nurses aren't doctors and doctors aren't nurses. we have had to learn to respect and love what doctors do when it comes to their practicing medicine at their optimal level. people just can't foster that same respect or image of nursing right now and it may be years before they do.

I have been a CNA for 6 years (since I was 16) so I always got the....."Honey, are sure you're old enough to do this?" lol I look super young as well so that never helps. Even now at 22 I had a 93 y/o woman as me if I was about 14 years old!! She was very kind though. Family members and patients seem to doubt that I've had enough experience and usually follow up with a question regarding how long have I been a CNA. When I tell them 6 years and when they see how I act towards the patient and the respect given they are always pleased to have me. But, it takes a few minuets to get there! I am starting nursing school this fall so I am more than prepard to continue to get the "Honey are you sure your old enough for this?" question much more frequently....

Oh yeah... that "you're smart enough to be a doctor" thing. Love it. Cheeky buggers.

I've experienced the flip side of what jgamble059 reports. As a middle-aged nursing student, I was mistaken for the instructor of my clinical group more than once & usually got double takes from patients who couldn't believe a student could be so old.

As a Mexican-American future nurse, I explain to "machos"

Your screen name is FutureMaleOhioNurse....are you a male nurse or a nurse? Finally I've heard people stop saying 'female doctor' so how about getting rid of 'male nurse'? Nurses are nurses....male, female, hispanic, white,black, straight, and gay. And I'm thinking you're a male in the present and the future part should go with the nurse.

A couple of years ago I was in a skirt, whites, with a steth around my neck, getting a cup of coffee. A little girl looked up at me and asked, "Are you a doctor?" That woulnd't have been the question when I was little.