Gender Roles In Nursing

Although nursing was a profession started by men, as of 2011, men occupied only nine percent of the profession (Census Bureau, 2011). Today, when you picture a “typical” nurse you think of a female. As Evans (2016) states, “Almost never does the word nurse conjure up the image of a man” (p.4). This woman-dominated field has created a profession that has many gender stereotypes associated with it (Daley, 2013). These stereotypes, created by the media, are making men reluctant to join this profession. With that being said, stereotyping contributes to the low number of men entering the workforce which, in turn, affects patient safety. Men have not always been reluctant to join the field. In fact, the first nursing school, started over

They serve by giving care to patients and providing leadership (Evans, 2016). According to Pfeffer (2012), “Hospitals want to hire more male nurses because they offer a new energy to the unit.” Men bring diversity and valuable skills to the profession. This improves the nursing profession which, in turn, improves the quality of care patients receive. The strength male nurses have contributes tremendously to the field. For example, since nursing is a field that requires heavy lifting, frequently female nurses get injured attempting to move patients who weight much more than they do. This is not only dangerous for the nurse, but also the patient as they could be dropped or injured. Male nurses lend a helping hand in situations like these because of their physical stature. Also, when there are challenging patients or patients are posing a threat, a male nurse can be particularly helpful in dealing with those patients. Plus some male patients feel more comfortable with a nurse of the same sex when performing certain activities or procedures. Therefore, it is vital for patient care to have nurses of both genders in field. Since there is already a shortage of nurses worldwide, why would we want to discourage men from entering the profession? A Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine (2011)