It could be argued that there has never been another time in history when men have battled a worse reputation than they do now. As feminist and gender-queer ideologies, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives, and the continuation of the #MeToo movement sweep through society at large, sometimes the sentiments that unfortunately result towards men can be negative on all sides.
However, men play a vital role in just about every industry and area within today’s societies. This includes roles that conventionally wouldn’t have been assigned to, or assumed by, men.
Nursing is a traditionally female-predominant profession. In fact, in 1960, only 2.2% of all nurses in the United States were male. That figure has slowly risen to just under 10% in 2020. Though the number of male nurses in the USA has consistently grown over the past fifty years, sweeping stereotypes would still consider nursing a woman’s job. However, male nurses are slowly changing those preconceptions and creating huge benefits for the nursing profession in a variety of ways.
Men in Nursing Help Break Down Gender Stereotypes
As mentioned above, long-held assumptions about gender roles in the medical field make most people assume, whether consciously or unconsciously, that their nurse will be female and their doctor will be male. Sometimes, male nurses can receive outwardly surprised reactions from patients, colleagues, or other medical professionals when they walk into the room or introduce themselves, much the same as female doctors experience.
People will make incorrect assumptions about male nurses because they’ve simply not yet encountered a male nurse. In drastic cases, some receptions can even be negative or skeptical. This process, however, is an extremely important one: Challenging people’s assumptions about reality makes them realize where their biases or preconceptions have created an incorrect or incomplete picture of the world.
Some aspects of being a male nurse in today’s climate can be difficult, especially in areas where these stereotypes hold more strongly. However, change that makes the healthcare industry and the world a less biased place takes place slowly.
Men in Nursing Help Address the Current Nurse Shortage
To maintain current care volume, the American healthcare industry is anticipated to need over 200,000 new nursing professionals in the coming decade. Further, the nursing workforce that is currently practicing has reached dangerous levels of burnout and premature career ends or changes. To combat what might otherwise become a massive nurse shortage, seeking more nursing candidates in populations that haven’t historically been invited to consider a nursing career—amongst male students, graduates, and professionals—could assist in recruiting and training the number of nurses our healthcare system will need to remain operational.
Men in Nursing Contribute a Different Set of Skills, Histories, and Strengths
While plenty of gender-based stereotypes exist that don’t do justice to the wide range of individual personalities in the world today, it is still true that individuals tend to have some characteristics and natural strengths based on sex and gender. When these natural differences can be understood, applied, and nurtured within a nursing team or medical setting, they can result in much higher levels of performance across the entire team or organization. It takes many different styles of both performance and leadership to effectively accomplish the wide range of needs a nursing team or medical staff may face in a given day or week.
When male nurses are recognized for the abilities they bring to the table that might not be as common or accessible among their female counterparts, they are empowered to contribute their strengths and skills to the overall good of the team. Ultimately, everyone wins: the team functions more effectively, the patients receive better care, and the organization operates more smoothly.
Men in Nursing Can Relate to Some Patients in Ways Female Nurses Can’t
Male nurses can usually understand the male patient’s experience in a way a female nurse will never relate to. From body similarities to personality congruities to having interests or experiences in common, sometimes male nurses can better interact with some patients.
This includes patients who don’t respect female careers or who have difficulty interacting with females. Having a male nurse on the team that can work with patients who don’t work well with female nurses can help not only patients but the female nurses in the group as well.
Male nurses can impact their teams, patients, and organizations in significant ways. It’s important to continue changing gender stereotypes about medical care professions, encouraging any student that has natural nursing aptitudes to consider the career (not just females), and supporting male nurses who enter the field.
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This content is made possible by Andrew Deen.
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