Female Dominance in Nursing

The Nursing Profession and its Male Prevalence

The nursing profession is currently a female dominated field with about a 13% male prevalence in the U.S. It represents an increase over the last few decades taking us back to 1860’s when the female dominance began.

The Role of Women in Nursing History

Women were associated with a caring and nurturing ability, which saw them entrusted with nursing in earlier days. However, even in earlier years, there were male nurses taking care of injured and sick soldiers from wars. Nightingale’s formal training for female nurses in the 1860’s saw a large number of women trained as nurses with a negligent amount of training availed to men.

Stereotypes and Challenges for Male Nurses

The society’s perception that men are less compassionate and caring in comparison to women has largely contributed to the female dominance, among other stereotypes that men pursuing nursing have been faced with. The education system does not seem to have favored them either. Despite the challenges male nurses who have made it into the field have encountered, they have in most cases received better pay and sometimes have gained over-representation in leadership and even promoted more easily. Even though it may have been an incentive to attract men into the field, it becomes a problem because it can be an avenue for an unfair position for male nurses. In addition to the discrimination and wrong perception of the male nurse, it is among the problems that need to be addressed in nursing.

Benefits of Male Nurses and Addressing Challenges

Among the benefits expected with the entrance of men is increased the diversity of nursing staff in terms of gender filling up the shortage of nurses and doing away with discrimination. Currently, initiatives are being taken to attract male nurses in the profession and retain them. The number is steadily rising, but they still remain a minority. The future is bright for them in this profession, and it is expected that as the challenges are dealt with, they will find their way in for the benefit of the entire field of nursing and healthcare.