Ethnography Paper

Research Design: I was very interested in Kingsley R. Browne's essay about seuxal equality, especially in the work place. I began to read the section entitled nuturance, empathy and interest in children when I realized that there may be some truth to his view point. He states that women are the primary caretakers of young people, the sick and the old. Certain studies have shown that women exhibit more empathy for people than men. I believe in total equality, but realized this may not be the case. I decided to research how male nurses and female nurses are treated differently in the workplace. My mother has been a nurse for over ten years, and she claims that men may be treated differently, not by the employer, but by the patients themselves. I wanted to see if Browne did have some truth to his theory and how my mother felt about it.

Methodology: I decided to go to my mother's work, where I also worked for one summer, to see how the males nurses were accepted. My mother works at a cardiologist's office in Oklahoma City. I went and observed for one full work day to see how the patients and the doctors treated male and female nurses differently.

Interview: (my mother)

How do you feel the patients view male nurses versus female nurses?
The one thing I have always noticed is that the patients always refer to male nurses as doctors and female doctors as nurses. It doesn't matter what the nurses wear (whether the female doctor is in plain scrubs, or a suit and dotor's jacket, or the male nurse is wearing scrubs or a clinic jacket) the men are always refered to as doctors by the patients.

Do you feel you male and female nurses are treated differently by your employer?
We work in a big group, but I only work under one doctor. My doctor has chosen to hire all females, a registered nurse, a medical assistant and a physician's assistant. He always treats us with respect and so does our company. I have never felt unappreciated. As for the male nurses, there are only a few in our company and again, they are always thought of as doctors by the patients. The doctors they work for treat them just as the would any other registered nurse.

How do patients perceive a female doctor or male nurse?
Every time a male nurse brings back a patient and asks them the normal questions a nurse would, the patients always believe them to be doctors. Once I go in the room to follow up they always refer to the male nurse as a doctor. I have to explain to them that he is a registered nurse just like I am..they are always a little thrown back at first. I think it is the patients that treat the males differently than the females.

Do you think you would have been hired at your position if you were male?
I would like to think yes, but who knows. I have worked for my doctor for over ten years and would like to think he does not consider sex as a factor in hiring. We did have a male physician's assistant that worked with us a year or so ago, but he didn't last long. The P.A. did not last long due to the way he treated myself and the medical assistant. I felt he had no respect for nurses in general and it just ended up not working out. The doctor I work for respects my opinion and treats me how I should be treated professionally.

Field Notes: I think there is some definite truth to Browne's article. After observing the male nurses and female doctors in a hospital setting, it was clear that they were treated differently. The patients constantly assumed all males were doctors and all females were nurses. I believe it does have to do with Browne's theory of women being more nuturing. Most people don't want a male taking care of them due to the fact they don't think they will get the most appropriate care; not that the males can't do their jobs, but they might not be as compassionate as females.

Write up: I am all about gender equality, but it is inevitable that people treat males and females differently. I am glad to find that the company treats everyone equally, but it's the public that may feel differently. I understand there are differences between men and women and a certain sex may be better at a job than the other, but everyone should have the right to work in their chosen profession. I felt that this was the case at my mother's work; everyone who worked there was treated equally, however there was an overwhelming amount of female nurses over male nurses and more male doctors than female doctors. Again, I think this is society's fault more than the company itself, but it was very interesting in hearing my mother's opinion after being in the nurse's workforce for so long.