Barriers for Men In Nursing Education and Nursing Practice
David Hudson, MSN, RN
Synopsis of Barriers
• Gender • Stereotypes• Feminist Perspective of
Nursing• Workplace
Relationships• Intimacy
• Lack of Role Models• Perception of Lower
Salary• Discrimination• Communication
Differences
Hodes (2005)
• Stereotyping is top barrier to choosing nursing as a career
• Nursing viewed as a “female” profession
• Lack of role models
• Lack of guidance during high school
Hodes (cont.)
• Students experienced difficulties with education; minority gender
• Viewed as “muscle” by female colleagues
• Communication issues and problems with female colleagues
Hodes (cont.)
• Misrepresentation1-Male nurses are gay2-Nursing is a female profession3-Men are not caring
• Men are dissuaded from becoming nurses
Harding (2007)
• Persistent stereotype of the gay male nurse
• Actual meeting of homophobia
• Protection of heterosexuality by heterosexual male nurses
Harding (cont.)
• Study reported that the majority of nurses (men) identified as heterosexual
• Public view is that most male nurses are homosexual
O’Lynn (2007)
• Gender itself is a barrier
• People shape gendered constructions to be congruent with shared gender meanings and these constructions are considered to be normal
• Feminine paradigm in nursing education
O’Lynn (cont.)
• Lack of role models• Isolation• Gender biased language• Differential treatment• Different communication styles• Issues with touch and caring
James & Cinelli (2003)
• Men and women communicate differently-Inconsistent verbal/non-verbal
messages-Personal bias-Distraction-Age-Culture
Beamer & Varner (2008)
• Speech patterns
• Men tend to interrupt more frequently
• Men are more direct in the delivery of the message
Evans (1997)
• Stereotypical female traits
-Nurturing-Caring-Dependence-Submission
• Stereotypical male traits-Strength-Aggression-Dominance-Self-control-Objectivity
Evans (cont.)
• Masculine/feminine traits and roles are incompatible
• Men in “power roles”
• “so long as men in nursing feel a need to separate them from women, they will continue to designate certain issues to be feminine and will continue to need certain activities for “men only.”
O’Lynn (2007)
• Men in nursing education programs feel uncomfortable with touch and the concept of caring
• Students feel angry with faculty for not addressing these issues and concerns
Duffin (2006)
• Men in nursing feel isolated
• Feel embarrassed because they are not trained to provide intimate care for female clients
• Develop strategies to “blot out gender”; focus on the task not the person
Burton & Misener (2007)
• Media portrayal of nurses perpetuates stereotypes
• Nurses in the media portrayed as female• Those portrayed as male have negative
stereotype• Physician “wanna be”; failed medical school• Portrayed as gay or effeminate
Kelly, Shoemaker & Steele (1996)• Nursing is feminine profession
• Isolation
• Self-doubt
• Poor guidance in high school
• Being a nurse perceived as “unmanly”
• 1/3 of men questioned about their sexuality
Porter-O’Grady (2007)
• “Reverse discrimination” within nursing leadership
• Subordinate to physicians• 2nd class• Salary disparity between nursing & other
professions
Brady & Serrod (2003)
Some male nursing students have come to believe that nursing is a new way of thinking in that they must not only learn to think and practice like a nurse, they must also learn to
think and practice or act like women.
Ellis, Meeker & Hyde (2006)• Very few role models
• Perceived as lazy and underachievers
• Do not have intelligence to attend medical school
• Assumption of homosexuality
• Considered to be Power Hungry
ReferencesBeamer, L. and Varner, I. (2008). The Role of Language in Intercultural Business
Communication. Intercultural Communication: In the Global Workplace. 4th Ed. McGraw-Hill: Boston.
Bell-Scriber, M. (2008). Warming the nursing education climate for traditional-agelearners who are male. Nursing Education Research. 29(3). pp. 143-150.
Brady, M, and Sherrod, D. (2003). Retaining men in nursing programs designed for women.Faculty Forum. 42(4). pp. 159-162.
Duffin, C. (2006). Lack of Training in Intimate Care Adds to Male Nurses’ Isolation. NursingStandard. 20(52). p. 10.
Ellis, D.M., Meeker, B., and Hyde B. (2006). Exploring men’s perceived educational experiences in a baccalaureate program. Research Briefs. 45(12). pp. 523-526.
Evans, J. (1997). Men in Nursing: Issues of Gender Segregation and Hidden Advantage. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 26. Pp. 226-231.
ReferencesEvans, J. (2002). Cautious Caregivers: Gender Stereotypes and the Sexualization of Men Nurses’
Touch. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 40(4). Pp. 441-448.Genua, J., (2005). The vision of male nurses: Roles, barriers and stereotypes. Interactions.
pp. 4-7.Harding, T. (2007). The Construction of Men Who are Nurses as Gay. Journal of Advanced
Nursing. August, 2007. pp. 639-641.Hodes, B. (2005). Men in Nursing Study. Bernard Hodes Group.James, T. and Cinelli, B. (2003). Exploring Gender-Based Communication Styles. Journal of
School Health. 73(1). pp. 41-42.Kelly, N., Shoemaker, M., and Steele, T. (1996). The experience of being a male student nurse.
Journal of Nursing Education. 35(4). pp. 170-174.Nero, C. (2004). Black Queer Identity, Imaginative Rationality, and the Language of Home.
Our Voices: Essays in Culture, Ethnicity, and Communication. (4th Ed.). RoxburyPublishing Company: Los Angeles, California.
O’Lynn, C. (2004). Gender-based barriers for male students in nursing education programs: Prevalence and perceived importance. Journal of Nursing Education. 43(5). pp. 229-236.
O’Lynn, C. (2007). Gender-based barriers for male students in nursing education programs.Men in Nursing: History, Challenges and Opportunities. pp. 169-187. SpringerPublishing: New York.
RefernecesO’Lynn, C. (2007). History of Men in Nursing: A Review. Men in
Nursing: HistoryChallenges and Opportunities. pp. 5-41. Springer Publishing: New York.
Porter-O’Grady, T. (2007). Reverse Discrimination in Nursing Leadership: Hitting theConcrete Ceiling. Men in Nursing: History, Challenges and Opportunities. pp. 143-151. Springer Publishing: New York.
Yoshimura, C. and Hayden, S. (2007). The Effects of Gender on Communication and Workplace Relations. Men in Nursing: History, Challenges and Opportunities. pp. 103-120. Springer Publishing: New York