Lack of awareness of nursing as a career choice for men: A qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

Aims: This research aimed to identify the factors that impact why men do not view nursing as a career choice.Design: Qualitative description was utilized to capture the rich narratives and insight of participants.Methods: Through convenience sampling, nine New Zealand qualified male nurses within their first three years of practice were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between November 2019 and January 2020 via zoom from sites across New Zealand. All interviews were recorded and transcribed, with the data analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. Results:The findings reflected the experiences of the research participants as they made sense of a predominantly female-dominated work environment both during their undergraduate training and prior to recruitment. The research identified two key themes: The first found that men in nursing experienced isolation due to the societal gendering of nursing influencing the participant's knowledge and understanding of what nursing was, as a career. The second theme found that for participants, nursing was not prominent in their awareness when leaving school and making career choices. Conclusion:This research indicates that nursing as a career choice for men is still underpinned by a lack of understanding of the actual role of the nurse and what nurses do, and is more supported by a societal perception that nursing is still a feminized profession. Findings can be used to make recommendations for change in the profession to strengthen diversity in the workforce and redefine the recruitment of men into nursing.Impact: This research reviewed the career choices of men in nursing and why they chose nursing as a profession. Understanding the barriers of why men do not consider nursing as a career choice assists with finding strategies in both the clinical and academic environments that can enable greater gender diversity within the nursing profession.No patient or public contribution: This applies to this research as the focus was on male registered nurses only.

Undergraduate nursing students challenge misconceptions towards men in nursing: A mixed‐method study

“…Unless this is prioritized, misconceptions about men in nursing will continue to negatively impact the recruitment, retention and the integration of men in the nursing profession (Guy et al, 2022;Smith et al, 2021;Stanley et al, 2016;Whitford et al, 2020).…”

“…Misconceptions towards men in nursing must be addressed by changing attitudes, rather than the outcomes of those attitudes. Unless this is prioritized, misconceptions about men in nursing will continue to negatively impact the recruitment, retention and the integration of men in the nursing profession (Guy et al., 2022; Smith et al., 2021; Stanley et al., 2016; Whitford et al., 2020).…”

“…The existing shortage crisis and gender imbalance in nursing have triggered an urgency for more effective initiatives to encourage more men to practise nursing as a profession (Forrest, 2023). However, the ongoing low recruitment of men in nursing has been a long‐standing issue contributed by negative gender stereotypes, adverse societal expectations and unfavourable work environments that act as barriers for men to take up nursing as a career (Guy et al., 2022; Kearns & Mahon, 2021).…”

“…These challenges include feelings of social isolation due to traditional and cultural gender expectations, prejudices and negative attitudes; and perceptions of exclusion brought about by gender bias in teaching methods and course materials (Barrett‐Landau & Henle, 2014; Kane et al., 2021). Misconceptions about men in nursing continue to negatively impact the recruitment, retention and integration of men in the nursing profession (Guy et al., 2022; Smith et al., 2021; Stanley et al., 2016; Whitford et al., 2020).…”

Attracting Adolescents to Become Doctors and Nurses: Differential Importance of Personal and Environmental Factors in 61 Economies

“…10 For instance, boys may avoid nursing careers owing to gender stereotypes and low socioeconomic status (SES) students may deter from pursuing doctor careers because of high tuition fees. [11][12][13] Importantly, such realistic career expectations are shown to be persistent over time and greatly in uence young people's later educational and occupational attainment. [14][15][16] Yet, existing literature concerning health career expectations primarily concentrated on specialty choices of university medical students and mainly used regional or national datasets, making its ndings hard to generalize to larger populations and different countries.…”