The image of the professional nurse is viewed in so many different ways in our society. In medieval times, nurses were more critically viewed than they are in current modern society. However, there are a few views that still linger in our society today. In our society now, nurses are mostly sexualized and stereotyped as a feminine and a provocative profession. These stereotypes caused men to not be considered as unsuitable nurses and are criticized greatly when they do choose the path of a professional nurse. Although the number of males enrolled in nursing has increased, there are still very few. Thus, the professional nurse is greatly viewed as female aides, provocative, and not a profession for men. One way that society views nurses are …show more content…
Around the holiday of Halloween, nurses are always advertised with very revealing articles of clothing that exposes their body. The media then exaggerated their profession as very sexual. According to Terry Ferns and Irena Chojnacka, “On reading through the newspaper articles identified, what is striking is the constant portrayal of nurses as a sexually available stereotype.”(p. 1029). Ferns and Chojnacka recalled research from articles that identified terms such as naughty, sexy, kinky and saucy as characteristics of nurses. I feel that nurses are indeed sexy in the sense that intelligence is attractive but their brilliance is not depicted as a sexual stereotype. I feel that nurses need to be recognized more as intelligent rather than sexual. Since nurses are seen as provocative, men are highly excluded and harassed when they enroll in the field of nursing. The last view of nurses is that they are gentle and caring which displaces men from society’s view of a professional nurse. Men are generally seen as strong and rough, which greatly contrasts the general view of a nurse. For this reason, men are rejected and perceived as unsuited to the nursing profession. According to Thomas Harding, Nicola North and Rod
Presented issues such as lack of nursing opportunities for nursing graduates, lack of respect for the nursing profession and nurses being viewed as a threat by doctors continues to be of an existence today. As a nurse, I feel that it is of high importance to highlight these presented issues from the film not only because they were the most outstanding to me but because the nursing profession needs more
Nursing’s development from an occupation to a profession follows the devotion and sacrifice of many amazing women throughout history. Considered to be one of the oldest professions, women have performed what could be considered nursing duties since the beginning of time. Although there have been many events and many individuals who have contributed to nursing’s evolution from the occupation it was once considered to the profession that now exists, the development of formal education opportunities and scholarly resources and the women who created them is what fascinates me most. Without knowing, each of the following five women helped lay the groundwork for what Lucie Kelly, RN, PhD, FAAN, eventually termed the eight characteristics of a profession
Angelou once said, “The people may forget the nurses name, but they will never forget how that nurse made them feel.” Nursing is a profession. Unfortunately, nursing does not always get the credit it deserves because of these stereotypes. Nursing is not a gay profession for males. Due to the shortage of nurses, our society needs more nurses now than never. Nurses make a difference in almost every person’s lives just not in hospital rooms but also in schools and clinics. Nursing in not easy job but somebody has to do it. There has to those individuals who must take on this challenge and be the difference in someone’s life. People could not care if someone considers them a failure for being a nurse and not a doctor. Most doctors could not do their job effectively without the help and assistance of nurses. The money is there for those who think nurses does not get paid that much. Healthcare is one of the biggest factors in our world, and for our world to progress further, an increase in employment for nursing is necessary. These stereotypes should not and will not stop the field of nursing from
In today’s society the male nursing profession is sometimes portrayed negatively in the media. Male nurses are often viewed as more aggressive, incompetent and working in a predominantly female profession. The media source chosen was a movie called “Meet The Parents” (2000) The film was based on the idea that a male nurse would go and meet his future wife’s family, and upon meeting the family, things took a turn for the worse. reinforced the common male nursing stereotypes portrayed in the media.
Travis Beck works at Soin in the ICU. When I asked him how did his friends or family react when he told them he wanted to be a registered nurse? Travis responded with “very supported but some friends in high school gave me a hard time but they respect my choice now.” Male nurses are sometimes classified as homosexuals. Male nurses are considered feminine which will discourage males to enter in the nursing field. Male nurses encounter verbal abuse which could limit the amount of care given to the patient
This paper is a first attempt at forming and articulating my own philosophy of nursing.
West, E., Griffith, W., Iphofen, R. (2007, April vol.16/no.2). A historical perspective on the nursing
Nursing is a field of work that so many people find themselves fascinated with, as well as harboring a degree of respect. We look to nurses with a sense of admiration and reverence, and look to them for security in times of need. What makes nursing such a desirable and enthralling field to other people? Despite the fact that doctors are normally under the spotlight, nursing is of profound importance in American culture. Nurses provide comfort and security, as well as a knowledge of medical aid. The field of nursing has the benefit of coming from a field that is ancient, yet timeless and has blossomed throughout history to make a large impact on our culture today.
Along with the belief of nursing being a career choice more female-directed, there was also the repeated mention of the career being for middle-class women (Price, 2008). Historically, women have been the dominant face of nursing and it has always been considered a suitable career for women, whereas most careers in the past would never be acceptable for a female. For some of the female students who were interviewed, this stereotype was part of a difference in choosing nursing. They did not want to be thought of as stereotypical women, and be cast into a mould of what most women choose (Price, Hall, Angus, & Peter, 2013). In a modern society, more and more women are wishing to push the boundaries on what used to be referred to as male-dominated territory.
Worldwide, nurses have developed themselves into professionals with a great deal of knowledge. Despite these developments towards professionalism, nurses are still portrayed in a misleading and inaccurate way and are not given the recognition for the skills they have acquired. The essence of nursing is not always clear and nurses still suffer from stereotypes (Hoeve,2014). A stereotype can be defined as “a cognitive representation or impression of a social group that people form by associating particular characteristics and emotions with a group” (Smith and Mackie, 2007). Of the many types of nursing, a very popular stereotype that is depicted of nurses is being doctor’s handmaiden and only performing repetitive and simple tasks (Hoeve,2014.) This public image of nursing does not match their professional images, in fact, it is quite the opposite. Nurses are strong independent individuals that play just as big a role in the hospital as due the doctors or surgeons. The problem is nurses are not depicted as professionals and the public is not aware that nursing today is very theory-based oriented and a scholarly profession. Over the last few decades, nursing gone through extensive and important
Although women historically have been the majority in the nursing workforce, the earliest record of male nurses known to perform nursing duties was between the fourth and fifth centuries. The first removal of men in nursing noted in the sixteenth century due to the destruction of many monastic institutions . In the mid-nineteenth century, Florence Nightingale initiated the idea of nursing as an exclusively woman’s profession. Nightingale believed only women had the capability to do nursing work because it was natural to them. Her vision caused the complete dissolution of male workforce in nursing . Only until 1955, for the first time, the military allowed men to se...
The nurse’s uniform, when first created had a feminine design. There wore a long skirt, collar, and high heels. Kate Aid describes the uniform as “a touch romantic” when skirts were proposed to be shortened. The uniform presented an image of “well brought up” young women,
Just 2.7 percent of the working nurse population in the United States are men. To understand why nursing is dominated by women, we have to examine the its history. Male nurses may belong, but there?s still not many around. According to the U.S. Labor Department statistics, "6.7 percent of registered nurses were male"(statistics). Gender discrimination in nursing exists because of prejudices male students encounter in the classroom, in the workplace and with the patients.
I have noted that many nurses tend to restrict themselves to the traditional conception of ‘just a nurse’ and this is likely to hold one back in career.
According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, we live in a society of conformity that is, "in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members . . . the virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion" (Emerson, 21). Since Civil War Nursing, women in the work force have been faced with this dilemma of self-reliance and conformity. As women have been discriminated against, and referred to as inferior to men, it has not been an easy task to over come the social barriers, without giving in to conformity, especially when it comes to the work place. As their role in the Civil War, nurses "fulfilled more of a replacement mother position, rather than a healthcare provider"(Hamway, 2001).