Nursing Paper-Gender Bias and stereotypes

[MainLV]

i know this is long...but i would appreciate feedback!

i am a nursing student planning on writing a paper about males in nursing. i am female dating a "male nurse" and i've experienced some prejudices that people have regarding his career choice. this topic interests me especially since i've gained insight on perceptions about being a male in nursing and the issues that men face in this career. i've also noticed some degree of gender bias in my classes and have gotten feedback from the male nursing students about how they feel that their experiences in school are somewhat different from those of female students.

i'm focusing on the gender bias that males face in nursing school as well as the development and perpetuation of certain stereotypes. thomas schwarz rn wrote an article in the ajn stating he feels that male recruiting campaigns, such as one that has the slogan, "nursing...a real career for real men," strengthen stereotypes. he says that he does not let anyone refer to him as a "male nurse" and feels that people should not label nurses in this way (schwarz 2006).

another article addressing discrimination in nursing education discusses the fact that the history of nursing taught in schools focuses on the contributions of women and tends to disregard those of men. this article by ann strong anthony msn, rn discusses a more complete history of nursing, "the male experience" in nursing school, and methods to reduce gender bias in nursing school. she also states that men often feel they have to be "extra professional" and that studies have found that "male nursing students perceive a need a need to develop their own way of expressing/demonstrating caring that support their self view as men" (anthony 2004).

i have a few questions and would appreciate all the responses i can get. 1) do you feel that efforts to recruit males reinforce stereotypes? 2) have you been referred to or heard a person referred to as a "male nurse"? if so, how do you feel about it? 3) do you feel that experiences for men in nursing school are different from those of female students? 4) do you feel that you have experienced prejudice or have been treated differently in any way because you are male in nursing? 5) any other input you may have would be helpful!

thanks,

brittany

anthony, ann strong msn, rn. gender bias and discrimination in nursing education: can we change it? nurse educator. 29(3):121-125, may 2004.

schwarz, thomas rn. i am not a male nurse: recruiting efforts may reinforce a stereotype. ajn. 106(2):13, february 2006.

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

A little bit of history that is often left out. Nursing WAS a paternal profession way before it became maternal in nature....similar to the Teaching profession. In the USA, the Civil War began the slow process of phasing women INTO the profession. However, the World Wars (I and II) were THE biggest catalyst that completed the transition...much on a global scale. We often forget about THAT history.

I am NOT a Male Nurse...just like many of my colleagues are NOT Female Nurses. We are, however---> NURSES.

I wish you the very best in your studies!

[OC_An Khe]

I have expirienced many episodes of gender discrimination during my 4 decades in the profession. Albeit much less today then in the 1960/70's. Still here male nurse quite often and still correct the sayer (as diplomatically as possible). A significant amount of gender bias comes from the non health care population.

Wolfie's comments are spot on and I have the used the historical facts about the nursing profession and males more then once.

[Roy Fokker, BSN, RN]

I have however, noticed encouraging incidents.

I work/do clinicals at a pediatrics hospital - most of our patients are 8 - 20 years old. 98% of the time, the older kids (male or female) refer to me as nurse. Not mlae nurse. Just nurse.

[zacarias, ASN, RN]

I feel recruiting campaigns for men to get into nursing do promote stereotypes at all if they are done appropriately. I can't imagine any negative outcomes from these recruiting campaigns.

I've been a nurse almost three years and I have only been aware of discrimination once regarding me being male. I wouldn't actually call it discrimination but more like noting differences in behavioral patterns between males and females.

[ChesterRN]

Here's a paper I wrote a month or so ago on the subject. I hope it helps.

Men in Nursing: A Solution to the Nursing Shortage

There is evidence that nursing shortages in this country have occurred throughout the profession's history. The shortage in the country today is expected to last into the year 2020 (Blais, Hayes, Kozier, & Erb, 2006). One out of three nurses under the age of 30 plans to leave their current employment within one year and there is increasing evidence to support the fact that the nursing workforce in is aging (Blais et al., p. 314). These facts coupled with the statistics as outlined below represent one of the most serious nursing shortages our country has faced.

The statistics insofar as there numerical values, although slightly different depending on which source is being reviewed, are generally consistent regarding numbers related to the nursing shortage. It is beyond the scope of this paper, and well beyond my capabilities, to identify statistical differences and discrepancies between the values found within the multiple references. I do, however, want to note that there appears to be variations between almost every article regarding numerical values. For the purposes of this paper, the values will be listed according to the cited article of reference.

At present, there is an estimated 2.9 million practicing nurses in the United States (The Center for Nursing Advocacy, 2006). With the current number of nurses that are practicing from this population, there are still vacancies and a need for an additional 126,000 nurses to meet the demand (The Center for Nursing Advocacy). Research has indicated that there will be a need for an additional 275,000 nurses by the year 2010 to meet the anticipated need (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2005). Presently, the composition of male nurses is estimated to be between 5% and 6%, which is an increase from less than 1% of 1966 (Men in American Nursing, 1997).

Why are the numbers significant, and what do they tell us as far as our past and future? It is very clear that there would be no nursing shortage, or even an anticipated nursing shortage for the future if the total population of men in nursing was the same as women. If there are 2.9 million nurses, and women represent 94% (2,784,000) and this number would double to represent 50% of nursing composed of that of men, then the total number of nurses would be 5,568,000! This would represent a surplus of 2,542,000 nurses above and beyond what is present today (2.9 million) (The Center for Nursing Advocacy, 2006) and what is currently needed to meet the shortage (126,000) (AACN).

From 1966 to present, the growth of male nurses has increased from less than 1% to 6% (Men in American Nursing, 1997). Currently if there was an increase in men in nursing that represented 50% growth from the current percentage of 6% coupled with the same numbers of nurses presently, there would be a total of 3,074,000 nurses, providing the country with a surplus of 48,000 nurses after the current vacancies had been filled. Over the last 40 years, the growth of males in nursing has only averaged a 0.125% yearly growth (Men in American Nursing, 1997), If this historic trend would have doubled (0.250% growth), than nursing would not only have a different face, but also we would not be in the nursing shortage we are in today.

Why is there such an underrepresentation of men in the nursing profession in America? If the first nurse in America was male (Men in American Nursing), and the first documented school for nursing was strictly for males (Men in American Nursing), and there is such a rich history in the evolution of nursing regarding men, why are men such a minority in contemporary nursing? This has been a question of much debate and the topic of a great deal of research.

The respective cited research tends to illustrate a clear pattern of gender segregation and subsequent stereotyping that began in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Men in American Nursing). This was the time when there was unambiguous departure from men participating in nursing. Florence Nightingale made it very clear that women who were in nursing training were only doing what is “natural” (Evans, 2003). Subsequent to the Nightingale reforms, “men were often excluded from general nursing and relegated to asylum nursing, where their superior strength was required to restrain violent patients” (Evans, 322). It’s curious, even today some, women in nursing indicate that they enjoy working with male nurses because they are great for when patients need to be moved or lifted.

In the early twentieth century, nurses’ residents were formed that specifically housed only women, which was in line with the contemporary social values of the time, which perpetuated the division of men in nursing (Bradley, 1989 as cited by Evans). The status of the work of nursing was considered low insofar as social status, and men who participated in such activity did so at there own social status peril (Evans). Gender segregation has transcended through generations and is evidenced in today’s society. One man who chose the nursing profession as a career, from a recent study, commented that people sometimes think of him as less successful and has received comments that he lacks direction because of his chosen career (Hart, 2005).

Through the Nightingale reforms, society became more comfortable with the norm of gender segregation, which extended to other parts of the world (Evans). The Nurses Associated Alumnae of The United States and Canada formed during the turn of the twentieth century and prohibited men from membership (Men in American Nursing). Gender segregation was even evidenced in the associations' name. The term alumnae refers to the feminine of alumni (Answers.com, 2006).

The Nurses Associated Alumnae of The United States and Canada eventually evolved into The American Nurses Association (A.N.A.) in 1917 (Men in American Nursing). In keeping with the former organizations' tenets, the A.N.A. specifically excluded men from membership until 1930 (Men in American Nursing). One of the first accomplishments of the A.N.A. was to aid in the policy construction that excluded men from military nursing service (Men in American Nursing). Men were banned from military nursing from 1901 until after the Korean War (Men in American Nursing).

Through open and active gender segregation, coupled with the notion that nursing was initially considered a low social status profession, the natural progression for men in nursing was to suffer stereotypical responses from colleagues, patients and family (Evans). The stereotypes crossed genders, cultures and continents. A report of male nurses in Taiwan provided evidence that male nurses were considered anomalies, homosexual and were repeatedly subject to answering questions such as, “Aren’t there any female nurses available?” (Yang, Gau, Shiau, Hu, & Shih, 2004).

Gender segregation and stereotypes are also present in other female dominated professions. There is evidence to support that male dental hygienist have suffered equivalent gender based discrimination in this profession that consists mostly of women (Kipp, 2004).

The numbers as previously outlined support the notion that if the number of men in nursing would double what it is today, there would be no shortage. The cited research makes it very clear of why men are underrepresented in nursing. So what can we, as a profession, do to increase the number of men joining the ranks of nursing? It is clear that we can do nothing about the past, yet we can use the past as a guide of what not to do in the future. Past actions can serve as direction for our future, as individuals and as a profession. There are six separate actions we can take to increase the male population in nursing.

First and foremost, we need to move in the direction of eliminating any and all forms of gender bias and discrimination from the profession. The term “male nurse” denotes that the term “nurse” needs a clarifier when applied to men. We should all be thought of as nurses. We all need to take an active role, both men and women, in promoting this notion.

In addition, the members of leadership within the profession of nursing also need to take on an additional role in reaffirming the notion that gender discrimination is an evil that cannot, and will not be tolerated presently nor excused historically, former contemporary values notwithstanding. The largest professional association of nurses in this country, The A.N.A. as an association, needs to formerly acknowledge its prior bad acts of barring men from the profession. Without such acknowledgement, it forms the ideation that the current leaders of the A.N.A. feel that although these actions may have been egregious, it is acceptable because it represented normal sociological values of the time. The United States Army Nurse Corps, in contrast, made it very clear of their historical discriminatory practices (Office of Medical History, Army Nurse Corps Historical Documentation, 2003). From my research, the A.N.A. has not made public comment of the associations prior position and actions. Again, we cannot do anything about the past except use former actions as a basis for future directions. Until the A.N.A. takes such action, the organization will have great difficulty in affirming its position in society as representing the nursing profession as a whole, with any substantial credibility.

The second active action involves the elimination of stereotype of men in nursing. Clearly, men in nursing would prefer to be referenced as an asset to the team for other reasons that abilities related to physical strength as note by Evans (2003). Next, a movement needs to address the Nightingale contentions that women are “natural nurses” and that when women learn nursing, they are just learning behaviors that are intrinsic and characteristic of women (Evans). This doctrine, although considered appropriate for the time, serves only to hurtful to the men who have chosen nursing as a caring profession. This should be the focus of nurse educators within all generic nursing programs. And lastly, our society as a whole needs to recognize that men in nursing are not oddities. Unfortunately, with over 50 years of overt gender segregation and discrimination in the last century, this may take several generations of child rearing to develop new sociological values.

Third, specific campaigns need to target, and actively recruit men into the profession. The A.N.A. needs to take an active role in this process. The A.N.A. is taking an active role in working on the nursing shortage, yet their actions have fallen short to include targeting and recruiting men within their ten domains of concern (ANA, 2002, as cited by Blais et al., 315). Campaigns for recruiting men into the profession should be led by the professional associations, and not exclusively by commercial companies, such as Johnson & Johnson (Linkous, 2002). Comments such as, “If you exclude men from recruiting, then you reduce half the potential population to recruit from” (Linkous) should be coming from A.N.A. leadership.

Fourth, generic nursing programs need to take action to acknowledge men in nursing from not only a historic perspective, but also to the vital contributions that they have made. Before Linda Richards became the first "trained" nurse in American, Fray (Friar) Juan de Mena who was noted as being the first American nurse (Men in American Nursing), yet I have not seen this fact listed within any nursing books that are inclusive of nursing history. Moreover, the provision of nursing care by men was noted in virtually every plague that occurred on the European continent (Men in American Nursing). The Alexian brothers of the fourteenth century provided direct care of victims of the Bubonic plague, and like St. Alexis, are still organized and operational today. The Alexian Brothers opened their first American hospital in 1866, which focused on training men to provide nursing care (Evans). Historically, men have been involved in nursing ever since its inception. Again, these noteworthy events that relate specifically to nursing remain conspicuously absent from nursing textbooks that identify other historical events in nursing. The general lack of acknowledging contributions of men in nursing perpetuates and enhances the idea that a man in nursing is not only a rare occurrence, but also a sociological anomaly (Evans).

The fifth and last action relates to the establishment of professional male role models and support systems for men within nursing programs and the profession. Men who are within nursing programs are faced with the prospect of being automatically a minority. Isolation is an inherent consequence of being a minority. Men should be encouraged to seek peer groups, and belong to support groups and professional groups that provide reinforcement and encouragement for their chosen profession (Yang, et. al). Male faculty members should be assigned in a mentoring relationship with male students to effect positive role modeling. Male students should be encouraged to explore memberships with associations such as The American Assembly of Men in Nursing. The mission of the A.A.M.N., as well as the organizations benefit to not only students and nurses is evident in the organizations published purpose. "The purpose of the A.A.M.N. is to provide a framework for nurses as a group to meet, discuss, and influence factors which affect men as nurses." (The American Assembly for Men in Nursing).

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References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2005, October). Fact sheet. Retrieved February 15, 2006, from http://www.aacn.che.edu?Media?FactSheets/NursingShortage.htm

Answers.com (2006, February), Retrieved February 15, 2006 from http://www.answers.com/alumnae&r=67

Blais, K. K., Hayes, J. S., Kozier, B., & Erb, G. (2006). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Evans, J. (2003, November 28). Men nurses: a historical and feminist perspective. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 47, 321-328. Retrieved February 15, 2006, from EBSCOhost database.

Hart, K. A. (2005, October 4). What do men in nursing really think? Nursing, 35, 46-48. Retrieved February 15, 2006, from EBSCOhost database.

Hilton, L. (2001, May 14). A few good men: Male nurses defy stereotypes and discrimination to find satisfaction in a female-dominated profession. Retrieved February 10, 2006, from http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/01-05/men.html

Kipp, A. (2004, February). On a Man Hunt: Why Aren't There More Male Dental Hygienists. Access, February, 12-21. Retrieved February 15, 2006, from EBSCO database.

Linkous, J. (2002, March 25). Program calls for male nurses . Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/03/25/fin_program_calls_for.html

Men in American Nursing (1997). Retrieved February 14, 2006, from http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6011/

Office of Medical History, Army Hurse Corps Historical Documentation (2003, January). Proud to serve: The evolution of Male Army Nurse Corps Officers. Retrieved February 16, 2006, from http://blackboard.indstate.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_12828_1

The American Assembly for Men in Nursing (2005), Retrieved February 15, 2006 from

http://aamn.org/

The Center for Nursing Advocacy (2006, January 14). How many nurses are there? Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/fax/rn_facts.html

Yang, C., Gau, M., Shiau, S., Hu, W., & Shih, F. (2004, March 10). Professional career development for male nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 48, 642-650. Retrieved February 15, 2006, from EBSCOhost database.

[RC1]

MainLV writes:

I have a few questions and would appreciate all the responses I can get.

1.) Not necessarily, not that I have noticed at least; however, I haven't been looking for it either. Actually, I think American media has more to do with perpetuating the various American stereotypes than anything else.

2.) Yup, all the time in fact. I have noticed that the older generation of patients tends to have the most difficult time with accepting "male nurses." I could tell you some stories.

3.) Of couse; although, not any more so than in any other capacity (imho). I think the differences become much more problematic when the male nurse hits the floor and is thrust into instant minority status. When your livelihood is at stake, it's a whole different ball game. Inevitably, you will be forced to play "office politics" against a coven of bitter, spiteful, man hating witches who blame white males for everything that is wrong in the world. My advice: talk about how much you love Hillary Clinton. Then, work your way into management.

4) Not only yes but hell yes.

[DusktilDawn]

Wow RC, I wasn't aware I was part of a "coven of bitter, spiteful, man hating witches who blame white males for everything that is wrong in the world". Talk about stereotypes.

Guess I better go see if I was issued a broom.

[RC1]

Wow RC, I wasn't aware I was part of a "coven of bitter, spiteful, man hating witches who blame white males for everything that is wrong in the world". Talk about stereotypes.

I wasn't aware that I had personaly singled you out as such. Could you show me where I did that?

[DusktilDawn]

Oh, you meant women in general. Well then I guess I don't need that broom. What you did was sterotype a group of people based on gender. Isn't there enough negative stereotypes out there for both men and women in the nursing profession?

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

Oh, you meant women in general. Well then I guess I don't need that broom. What you did was sterotype a group of people based on gender. Isn't there enough negative stereotypes out there for both men and women in the nursing profession?

Point well taken and lesson learned by all of us here.

It is ironic that on a gender bias thread regarding males in nursing, another gender bias (females) occurred. Let us all be mindful in our typing, please.

Thanks.

Thread moves onward.