Nursing is a stereotyped vocation. Nurses are generally expected to be females and so male nurses are often categorized as effeminate. In order to fully comprehend the rationale of “Sexism in nursing from the male perspective”, I will like to start by defining the word sexism and also taking a glance at the etymology of the word “Nursing”. Sexism means discrimination against people because of their gender: anything prejudicial to males or females. It is a common practice that has been prevalent for ages. Even though it seems to be improving with time, it will definitely continue to exit for a while.
A logical explanation for sexism in nursing from the male perspective or in other words, reversed sexism in nursing could be traced from the etymology of the word nursing itself. “Nurse” comes from, (12c…nurrice “wet-nurse, foster-mother to a young child” (modern from late 14c), form Old French norrice “foster-mother, wet-nurse, nanny” (source of proper name Norris), from Late Latin *nutricia “nurse, governess, tutoress” noun use of fem. of Latin nutricius “that suckle, nourishes,” from nutrix (genitive nutricis) “wet-nurse,” from nutrire “to suckle”) As we can see from the etymology of the word, it already has a feminine connotation, no wonder the profession is dominated by females.
According to The Kaiser Family Foundation, women continue to outnumber men in nursing nationwide. Only approximately nine percent of the professionally active nurse workforce in the U.S. is male. A survey carried in 2013, showed that there were 2,909,357 licensed Registered Nurses in the United States. Roughly 168,181 RNs were men. Base on the above statistics, one can begin to wonder why there are so many fewer men in the nursing workforce. In past decades, men, had been basically kept out of nursing, because nursing schools often refused to admit them. In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that practice unlawful after a case involving a state nursing school. Even though the trend has begun to shift and more men are venturing in the nursing field, they are sometimes being perceived as different in a profession that is predominantly females. Some of the men in the profession have been labeled as homosexuals, low achievers and unmanly. This perception might best explain why there are very few men willing to join this noble profession.
Notwithstanding the fact that studies show an overall positive acceptance of men in nursing, they do indicate a need for professional adjustments in basic issues like care, for men to remain and evolve in the profession. Although employing more men into nursing is viewed as a way to address the critical shortage of nurses, noteworthy professional stumbling blocks discourage male entry into the profession. Studies have also shown that men entering a largely female profession are perceived more different than women. There is the general feeling that, careers that encompass strong helping roles and dirty work such as individual care and sanitation for patients is seen as women’s job, while managerial, business oriented positions are supposed to be men’s job. There used to be this common belief that women are less capable of making decisions and they have less impact and influence on the key decision-making aspects of health care and their associated careers. So men, who are opting for career in nursing, are subject to be looked upon as intruders.
Furthermore, reversed sexism in nursing can also be noticed from patients’ gender preferences for medical care. Notwithstanding the fact that male nurses are increasing, they do face discrimination from some patients. In general, most people seem to feel that men are not only emotionally different from women, but that men are somehow emotionally inferior that they’re not as capable of caring. Men need to affirm their worth and abilities as caregivers, rather than being accepted and valued in that role in the same way that women are. Women have also been regarded as characteristically possessing personality traits that lead to superior performance of nurturing tasks. The designers of nursing saw nursing as a natural calling for women next only to motherhood. Consequently the view stated that nursing as a profession was more appropriate to women than men, since women naturally perform such activities as nurturing, caring, and education. Inherent in this view is that men lack natural capability in these skills and must struggle to acquire them in an imperfect and imitative manner that runs counter to their more antagonistic usual traits.
In addition to being seen as objectionable to work in women’s health fields by their female colleagues, male nurses might make their patients uncomfortable. Patients might be too attached to the notion that nurses should be female, because they’re more caring and compassionate. Research supports that men are just as compassionate as women. Since it’s a woman-dominated profession, men see getting along well with women as a job requirement. It’s imperative for male nurses to have a strong sense of individuality, or else they risk being too affected by outside pressures or questions about their mannishness. Sometimes, male doctors, compound the situation by looking at male nurses as either homosexual, or being too incompetent to make it through medical school to become a doctor. For this reason, male nurses often bond with female doctors, as both have outsider status in a typically sexist work environment.
To conclude, although men are facing reversed sexism in nursing, one can argue that they are highly welcomed and appreciated in this rewarding field. It may seem like there are many differences between female and male nurses, but the truth is both sexes typically pick this career for the same reasons. They like to care for people, they want a job that makes a difference, the pay is good, and the outlook for the future of the career is good. The only way to make the male nurse more accepted and welcomed is for more men to enter the field. However, Male registered nurses (RNs) make more than $5,000 per year than their female colleagues across most settings, specialty areas and positions, according to a UCSF-led study, and this earnings gap has not improved over the last three decades.
References
Molyneux, J. (2009 June 90). Do Male Nurses Face Reverse Sexism? Retrieved from,
http://ajnoffthecharts.com/2009/06/16/do-male-nurses-face-reverse-sexism/. 10/13/15
Djen, E. (2008 February 28). Feminism in Nursing. Retrieved from,
http://feminismnursing.blogspot.com/ 10/13/15
Hull, R. T. (1982). Dealing With Sexism in Nursing and Medicine. Retrieved from,
http://www.richard-t-hull.com/publications/dealing_w_sexism.pdf. 10/13/15
http://allnurses.com/men-in-nursing/discrimination-against-men-116888.html
Murnaghan, I. (2013, February 21). Gender Discrimination in the Health Sector. Retrieved from,
http://www.ahealthcareer.co.uk/gender-discrimination. 10/13/15
Jaslow, R. (2013, February 26). Number of Male U.S. Nurses Triple since 1970. Retrieved from,
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/number-of-male-us-nurses-triple-since-1970/. 10/13/15
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