Was more of a surprised response. I’m not saying it’s not the case, just that I haven’t heard it.
When I’ve been working in hospitals I’ve not found this to be true.
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I was never referred to as a male nurse by my co-workers.
I was constantly asked what was it like to be a male nurse by male patients that found it hard to believe.
You said you weren’t a nurse. Wouldn’t they refer to you as a csw or auxillary anyway?
Auxiliary nurse, same duties except for medicine.
Overstepping a bit there…
Never mess with nurses. They know more than the Doctors.
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Oh please tell me how saying as you know better than I do.
Actually let’s use the proper term I was a Health Care Assistant, and working under nurses who were my superiors I have done a lot from recording observations, checking blood pressures, blood sugars, removing breathing apparatus to suction out trachea tubes, changed eakin and stoma bags, helped treat terminal Ill cancer patients and performed CPR in A&E along side nurses, paramedics and doctors.
But I wasn’t allowed to make clinical decision as that’s a registered nurse job and why they spend years training and learning to dispense and administer medication.
Let’s not forget there have been proposals to remove nursing as a university education which I’m dead set against.
Anyway back on topic
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The HCA or HCW is a crucial member of the team, often accounting for the vast majority of manpower (leave that 
) on the ward. As a consequence, many, if not most, practical tasks fall to them.
But, as you point out yourself later, the whole panoply of clinical decision-making is the responsibility of the nurse. So not same duties.
As a side issue, the profession doesn’t refer to male nurses. Oddly you’ll hear it in a clinical setting when what you’re specifically looking for is a nurse whose a male. Beyond that, a nurse is a nurse.
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I think the issue is that even if you think that firewoman/fireman doesn’t have any negative connotations, somebody could treat the firewoman differently in a sexist way based purely on their job title. Whereas if they were both referred to as firefighters then that has no gendered element so no risk of that happening.
I don’t think the titles themselves are sexist, but the treatment that an individual could get based on them could be.
That’s an idea anyway but it’s very early so might be completely off course lol
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I wonder how this argument pans out in other languages which still have gendered nouns. English doesn’t have gendered nouns (apart from those used to describe people and animals - what linguists call natural gender).
We used to have them, but they were lost around the 1200’s. IIRC many of the genders in Old English and Old Norse contradicted each other - so in order to save confusion, gendered nouns were lost.
So, the most important question: Is the hose pipe, fire hydrant, ladder, boots, torch, gas mask, defibrillator, pry tool, saw, window punch, rope, harness, or axe male or female? 
In European countries there seems to be less of the type of person who likes to get offended at just about anything on behalf of others, whether or not those others are offended or not.
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