I am a nurse who is male. Not a male nurse (that term is considered offensive). I have been married for over a year. When we were dating I got the feeling my now wife wasn’t too thrilled with my job choice. She teased me about it, saying things like how I must really have wanted to be a doctor but didn’t have the brains. I talked to her about it. I told her that I never wanted to be “more than” a nurse, and to be able to take care of people had been my dream for years. Medicine is too hands-off for me, and I never even thought of that route. She apologized and said she understood, and the comments stopped. She even seemed to appreciate what I did. Now that we are married the comments are starting again. Last night she was on her laptop and called me over. She pointed out an APN program at a local college and said, “If you can’t be a doctor, you can at least be better than an RN.” I told her that I had no interest in an advanced degree. APNs take on a physician’s role, which is not what I want, or work in administration, which is also not what I want. All I want is to be a bedside nurse, taking care of people to the best of my ability.
