Nursing: Why Not Men?

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“Males make up about 5% of all RNs working in the United States today” (Poliafico). Nursing is a profession in the health care field that concentrates on the nurturing care of individuals. The United States currently lacks testosterone (the male hormone) in the nursing field. The subject is something many people have thought about at least once in their lives. Some may argue nursing is a career meant for a woman, while others may argue it is a non-gender specified career option. Either way, the world has come to accept the lack of men in nursing. The nursing profession should be for both men and women, but society puts a stereotype on the ‘average nurse’ preventing men from being accepted into this career.

Before modern day nursing women were not the nurses, men were. The earliest established nursing school was for men; women were not allowed and were not considered pure enough (Thompson). All of this changed in 1844, when a woman named Florence Nightingale, “a feminist who believed in an equal voice for both men and women” (Poliafico), decided to devote her life to caring for others. In the early 19th century more and more women began to enter into the nursing profession. Men began to face the challenges of discrimination, which was the beginning of the gender stereotyping in nursing. The gender stereotyping lead to men being shut out of the nursing profession (Poliafico).

In the 1950’s male nurses were wanted, but there was a lack of them. According to Craig, in his article "The Man Nurse's Status," there would be no problem in recruiting male nurses if they were commissioned. Being in the military and deployment is where men were usually commissioned. In the 1950’s male nurses were used for the needs of the military and t...

... middle of paper ...

...b. 19 Feb. 2014.

*“Male nurses are 'always remembered'.” Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand 9.4 (2003): 22.

One search. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.

*McKinlay, Andy, Sue Cowan, Chris McVittie, and Robin Ion. "StartStudent Nurses’

Gender-Based Accounts of Men in Nursing." Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences 5. (2010): 345-49. One Search. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.

*Poliafico, Julie K. “Nursing Gender Gap.” RN 61.10 (1998): 39. One Search. Web. 19 Feb.

2014.

*Taylor, Dan. "Patient feedback could play a part in male nurse recruitment." Nursing

Standard 26.35 (2012): 33. One Search. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.

*Thompson, Kenny and Daren Vertein. “Rethinking Gender Stereotypes in Nursing.”

Minority Nurse. Springer Publishing Company, 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.

*"US male nurses on the increase." Australian Nursing Journal 20.9 (2013): 43. One

Search. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.

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