Caring behaviors of male nurses: A descriptive qualitative study of patients' perspectives

Abstract

Background Caring is mostly considered a characteristic of women and men are considered hard‐hearted. In the nursing profession, female nurses are considered more caring than male nurses which influence patients' views about the care provided by male nurses. There is limited knowledge about patients' beliefs and views about caring behaviors of male nurses. Purpose To explore caring behaviors of male nurses from patients' perspectives. Design A descriptive qualitative study drawn from a larger convergent mixed methods study Methods Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 15 patients from 14 medical surgical units of three private hospitals in Islamabad, Pakistan. Inductive thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Findings Patients reported that male nurses are respectful, considerate, good listener, unbiased, and supportive. Conclusion These findings delineated five tangible caring behaviors that patients expect from the male nurses who care for them. It suggests that patients have specific expectations from their male nurses for providing effective nursing care. The male nurses can foster these behaviors to enhance their relationships with their patients.

Potential for misinterpretation: An everyday problem male nurses encounter in inpatient rehabilitation

“…Men have a long history of working as nurses (Macintosh, 1997;O'Connor, 2015) and account for 11% of the Australian nursing workforce (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2018). This is in line with other Western nursing workforce data (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2015; National League for Nursing, 2014;Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2017;O'Connor, 2015), with male nurses working across a wide variety of settings (Blackley et al, 2019;Christensen & Knight, 2014;Fisher, 2009;Harding et al, 2008;Juliff et al, 2017;O'Lynn & Tranbarger, 2007;Stanley et al, 2016;Sundus & Younas, 2020). However, this is not without challenges.…”

Emotion management and stereotypes about emotions among male nurses: a qualitative study

“…The participants identified themselves as less emotional in care environments than female nurses and reported expressing their emotions differently than their female counterparts, although they also argued that male nurses express emotions. Previous studies suggest that similar findings are the result of social expectations [ 25 ] and that male nurses masculinise care to protect themselves from exhaustion and emotional overload [ 42 ]. The social perception that emotional expression is necessary for nurses and that it comes naturally to women is at the core of the idea that nursing is a women’s profession [ 43 ].…”

“…In terms of patients’ perspectives, some researchers show that patients highlight traits of male nurses that make them apt for providing care. However, these patients in fact identify the same traits in female nurses [ 25 ]. This set of findings reinforces the need to normalise nursing as a gender-neutral profession [ 26 , 47 ].…”

“…Some patients highlight experiences in which male nurses were respectful and considerate, used active listening and supported them. Importantly, these characterisations could result from a contrast between expectations and experiences of being cared for by a male nurse [ 25 ]. Male nurses alternately reject and reproduce hegemonic masculinity, which presents them as less able than women to provide emotional support [ 26 ].…”

“…Others have focused on the importance of emotion management in nursing in general [ 32 , 33 ]. However, little attention has been paid to emotion management among male nurses in particular, despite the fact that care environments foster emotional development, and men are often associated with roles that make them feel greater discomfort in the work environment [ 25 , 34 , 35 ]. Exploring how men manage their emotions in professions considered to be women’s professions, such as nursing (a field that also carries a high emotional charge) will make it possible to advance knowledge about men’s emotion management strategies and the gender stereotypes that are manifested in the area of care.…”