Do we discriminate?

Abstract

Men in nursing are the silent minority in our femaledominated profession. Male-dominated professions, such as engineering and medicine, are becoming more gender balanced, yet the ratio of males to females in some female-dominated professions have essentially remained unchanged over the past decades. 1 But why haven't the numbers grown? What factors impact men's recruitment and retention in nursing?Some claim that men in nursing struggle with stereotyped attitudes of their female counterparts. Men are stereotyped as both lacking relational traits that include empathy and caring or as having the skill to use these traits successfully in practice. [2][3][4][5][6][7] Men also fear that they will be perceived as effeminate, or run the risk of being charged with sexual harassment. 8-10 Discrimination, or the holding of attitudes and behaviors that treat a group of individuals differently from the dominant group, concerns men who become nursing professionals.

The Experience of Male Nursing Students

“…From this survey, nurses described several barriers, including lack of a mentorship program for male students, no male faculty and limited opportunity to work with men nurses in the clinical setting, and no information on the history of men in nursing. Crigger, Luckman, and Galusha () explored discriminatory attitudes and behaviors toward men as perceived by both male and female nursing students, and found that when these students were compared male students found their educational experience as sexist and discriminatory.…”

Men Student Nurses: The Nursing Education Experience

“…Of the students who participated ( n = 221), in comparison with the women nursing students and the other non‐nursing university students, men nursing students reported being more affected by both sexism and discrimination within their program of study. Using a descriptive design, Crigger, Luckman, and Galusha (2007) in the United States were the first researchers to explore discriminatory attitudes and behaviors toward men as perceived by both men and women nursing ( n = 265) students. These students were completing a diploma, baccalaureate, or an associate degree program.…”

The Journey of Saudi Male Nurses Studying within the Nursing Profession: A Qualitative Study

“…Moreover, hospital coordinators prefer female to male students for several reasons, such as their commitment and availability of clinical instructors. Hence, defining the capacity or number of students to be accepted into each hospital for both male and female nursing students is important in order to provide a fair opportunity for both genders for clinical training [ 27 , 28 ].…”