Men in nursing

While the current structure of the medical field does not directly translate to historical provision of care, there is a history of male presence in the caring of the sick and injured. The term nosocomial originates from the Greek {{Lang|grc|Νοσος}}, {{Lang|grc-latn|nosos}} {{Gloss|sickness}} and {{Lang|grc|Κομεω}}, {{Lang|grc-latn|komeo}} {{Gloss|to care}}. The word {{Lang|la|nosocomi}} was Latinized and was given to male caregivers, meaning that male nurses were prominent in Ancient Rome.{{cite web|url=http://allnurses.com/men-in-nursing/men-in-nursing-96326.html|title=Men in Nursing Historical Timeline|website=allnurses.com|date=25 February 2005|language=en|access-date=2017-06-10}} During the plagues that swept through Europe, male nurses were also the primary caregivers. In the third century, men in the Parabolani brotherhood created a hospital and provided nursing care.{{cite web|url=http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/malenurses.html|title=Men and Nursing|work=menstuff.org}} The Codex Theodosianus of 416 (xvi, 2, 42) restricted the enrollment on male nurses in Alexandria to 500.Parabolani: from Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

In the 14th century, the Alexian brothers existed as a Christian religious congregation with strong emphasis on care for the infirmed. Following a conversion to Christianity, John of God provided care for people who were both physically and mentally ill. He notably challenged the stigmas associated with mental illness.{{cite web|url=http://www.mhis.ie/aboutus.pdf|title=About us|last=Forkan|first=Donatus|date=2010|website=St John of God Hospitaller|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029072727/http://www.mhis.ie/aboutus.pdf|archive-date=2017-10-29|url-status=dead}} Later, he founded the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, which continues to care for patients to this day.

There are several reasons suggested for a low rates of nursing by males: stereotypes of nursing, lack of male interest in the profession, low pay, nursing job titles such as sister and matron, and the perception that male nurses will have difficulty in the workplace carrying out their duties.{{cite journal |last1=Prideaux |first1=Antony |title=Male nurses and the protection of female patient dignity |journal=Nursing Standard |date=December 2010 |volume=25 |issue=13 |pages=42–49 |doi=10.7748/ns2010.12.25.13.42.c8121 |pmid=21207825 }} It is argued by the Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing that the "continuing stereotyping" of male nurses is the main reason for low intake.{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Rachel |title=Why are there so few male nurses? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2017/mar/01/why-so-few-male-nurses |work=The Guardian |date=1 March 2017 }} Studies have shown that low representation of male nurses is due to concerns that their touch when providing care would be misinterpreted and result in accusations of sexual inappropriateness.{{cite journal |last1=Whiteside |first1=James |last2=Butcher |first2=Dan |title='Not a job for a man': factors in the use of touch by male nursing staff |journal=British Journal of Nursing |date=26 March 2015 |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=335–341 |doi=10.12968/bjon.2015.24.6.335 |pmid=25815825 }} Another reason is lack of encouragement to pursue the occupation: men lack encouragement from other male nurses or nursing students because there are too few of them.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Men also report that there are no other men in nursing classes, and at times are discouraged from participating in all student activities.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Men are not underrepresented in nursing in every country. A majority of nurses are male in many countries in Francophone Africa.{{cite book|first1=Chad E. |last1=O'Lynn |first2=Russell E. |last2=Tranbarger |title=Men in Nursing: History, Challenges, and Opportunities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Ag7TqTyIC0C&pg=PA225|year=2006|publisher=Springer Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-8261-0349-9|page=225}}

Unlike the campaigns and groups set up to increase and promote women's opportunities in medicine,{{cite web|url=http://www.medicalwomensfederation.org.uk|title=Home - Medical Women's Federation|work=medicalwomensfederation.org.uk}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gmc-uk.org/information_for_you/11276.asp|title=GMC - Women's role in medicine is growing|work=gmc-uk.org}} surgery,{{cite web|url=http://surgicalcareers.rcseng.ac.uk/wins|title=Women in Surgery|work=rcseng.ac.uk}} engineering {{cite web |title=Engineers Canada's advocacy for women in the engineering profession |url=https://engineerscanada.ca/diversity/women-in-engineering |access-date=11 July 2019|date=2016-05-19 }} and computer science,{{cite web |url=https://girlswhocode.com/ |website=Join the Girls Who Code Movement |access-date=11 July 2019|title=Girls Who Code -- Join 185,000 Girls Who Code today! }} there have been no comparable campaigns to increase the number of males in nursing. One way to increase the rate of male nurses could be for nurse educators and nursing curriculum developers to enhance and promote a gender-neutral stance in nursing practice which reduces men in nursing being seen as unique.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Another strategy could be to consider a professional title that is mutually accepted by both women and men in nursing, which can lead to reducing men as a gendered minority.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Another way could be for schools to implement educational programs that increase cultural sensitivity, decrease stereotyping, develop skills for working in multicultural environments, and compare and contrast male and female communication styles.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

In Northern Ireland, a campaign ran by Queen's University has been aimed at getting more males interested in nursing, with varying levels of success.{{Cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/health/operation-male-nurse-29479023.html|title=Operation Male Nurse - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|access-date=2017-06-10|language=en}}

While there are low numbers of male nurses, no research thus far has indicated that they suffer in their career. Pay disparity results in male nurses earning more than their female counterparts, mainly from taking on more shifts and working overtime. Anecdotal evidence suggests that male nurses are more likely to be fast-tracked into management positions.{{cite web|url=https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/blog/2014/04/why-do-male-nurses-get-paid-more|title=Women outnumber them 10:1. So why do male nurses get paid more?|work=nursingtimes.net|access-date=14 October 2017}} Furthermore, a report into the role of men in nursing found there to be more focus on human caring amongst male nurses.{{cite journal |last1=Harding |first1=T |title=Swimming against the malestream: men choosing nursing as a career |journal=Nursing Praxis in New Zealand Inc |date=November 2009 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=4–16 |pmid=20157956 }}

The Society of Registered Male Nurses{{cite web |url= http://www.rcn.org.uk/aboutus/our_history|archive-date=June 15, 2011 |title= Our history |work= rcn.org.uk |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110615043731/http://www.rcn.org.uk/aboutus/our_history |url-status= dead}} merged with the RCN (Royal College of Nursing) in 1941.

After the Second World War, large numbers of male nurses moved into the workforce as they were demobilised after the war and had gained medical experience. In 1951 the male nurses joined the main nursing register.

In 2004 the percentage of male nurses was 10.63% and has increased to 10.69% in 2008,{{cite web|url=http://www.nmc-uk.org/Documents/Statistical%20analysis%20of%20the%20register/NMC-Statistical-analysis-of-the-register-2007-2008.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-10-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304123745/http://www.nmc-uk.org/Documents/Statistical%20analysis%20of%20the%20register/NMC-Statistical-analysis-of-the-register-2007-2008.pdf |archive-date=2014-03-04 }} then to 11.4% in 2016.

In 2015 there were 103 male midwives on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) nursing register, compared to 31,189 women.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11202075/No-job-for-a-man-Meet-the-male-midwives.html|title=No job for a man? Meet the male midwives|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=2017-06-11|language=en}}

In 2008, of the 3,063,163 licensed registered nurses in the United States only 6.6% were men.{{cite web|url=http://www.minoritynurse.com/article/men-nursing|title=Home - Minority Nurse|work=Minority Nurse}} Men make up only 13% of all new nursing students.{{cite web|last=Chung|first= Vicki|url=http://www.minoritynurse.com/features/nurse_emp/08-30-00c.html|title=Men in Nursing|website=minoritynurse.com}}

Nursing schools for men were common in the United States until the early 1900s. More than half of those offering paid nursing services to the ill and injured were men. Yet by 1930, men constituted fewer than 1% of Registered Nurses (RNs) in the United States.{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_200307/ai_n9256865 |title=CBSi |publisher=FindArticles.com |access-date=2019-08-29}} As they found other, more lucrative occupations, they left nursing behind.Occupational Segregation and the Devaluation of Women's Work across U.S. Labor Markets, Cohen, Philip N., Huffman, Matt L., Social Forces, Volume 81, Number 3, March 2003, pp. 881-908, The University of North Carolina Press.

In 1955, the United States Congress revised the Army-Navy Nurses Act of 1947 to allow for the commissioning of men into military nursing corps.{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-69/pdf/STATUTE-69-Pg579.pdf |title=Public Law 294-Aug. 9, 1955 |access-date=2019-08-29}}

The American Assembly for Men in Nursing (AAMN) was founded in 1971. The purpose of the AAMN is to provide a framework for nurses as a group to meet, discuss, and influence factors that affect men as nurses.{{cite web|url=http://aamn.org/|title=American Assembly for Men in Nursing - AAMN|work=aamn.org}}

In Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, 458 U.S. 718 (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that Mississippi University for Women's single sex admissions policy for its nursing school violated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the landmark opinion.

Many nurses portrayed in U.S. television and film are female, and equality advocates complain about the frequency with which nurses are used for sexual interest, are invisible to the story, or when heroic male doctors are portrayed performing functions that would realistically be performed by a nurse.{{Cite web|url=https://www.medicalbag.com/home/specialties/nurse-practitioners/how-nurses-are-portrayed-in-film-and-television/|title = How Nurses Are Portrayed in Film and Television|date = 2 May 2014}} A 2012 study of 13 male nurse characters in films found most were portrayed as incompetent, corrupt, effeminate, or homosexual.

• Joey Henderson (Shortland Street)
• Jack McFarland (Will & Grace)
• Peter Petrelli (Heroes)
• Charlie Fairhead (Casualty)
• Paul Flowers (Scrubs)
• Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, Little Fockers), criticized by many inclusion advocates as particularly unhelpful[https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2011/09/male-nurses-break-through-barriers-to-diversify-profession.html Male Nurses Break Through Barriers to Diversify Profession][https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/04/upshot/male-nurses.html?mtrref=duckduckgo.com&gwh=388A6F068DD6D9C4959C615419FDBACA&gwt=pay&assetType=REGIWALL "Forget About the Stigma": Male Nurses Explain Why Nursing Is a Job of the Future for Men]
• Sam, Mohammed de la Cruz, and Thor Lundgren (Nurse Jackie)
• Morgan Tookers (The Mindy Project)
• Rory Williams (Doctor Who)
• Martin Platt (Coronation Street)

==Notable men in nursing==

File:Whitman, Walt (1819-1892) and his male nurse Fritzenger..JPG and his male nurse Fritzenger (July 1890).]]

• Tom Ahrens: an American nurse, researcher and educator at Barnes-Jewish Hospital specializing in critical care nursing.
• Justus A. Akinsanya: nursing lecturer, academic and inventor of the Akinsanya model of bionursing.{{cite web|url=https://www.rcn.org.uk/aboutus/fellows/akinsanya.php|title=Royal College of Nursing, Fellows.|website=RCN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011010722/https://www.rcn.org.uk/aboutus/fellows/akinsanya.php|archive-date=2008-10-11|url-status=dead|access-date=2006-10-20}}
• Richard Angelo: infamous serial killer.
• Jonathan Asbridge: the first president of the Royal College of Nursing.
• John Campbell
• Richard Carmona: nurse and subsequently Surgeon General.
• George Castledine
• Luther Christman
• Daniel Conahan
• Charles Cullen
• Keith Paora Curry
• James Derham
• Benjamin Geen
• Paul Genesse
• Hector Hugo Gonzalez
• Edson Izidoro Guimarães
• Billy Halop
• Carl O. Helvie
• John of God
• Matt Keeslar
• Camillus de Lellis
• Jim Lendall
• Stephan Letter
• Ted Maher
• Orville Lynn Majors
• Daisuke Mori
• Abasse Ndione
• Ian Norman
• Colin Norris
• Phillipe Nover
• José Olallo
• William Pooley: volunteer nurse who helped in the Ebola crisis.{{Cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/09/william-pooley-ebola-sierra-leone-outbreak-epidemic | title=William Pooley plans return to the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone| newspaper=The Guardian| date=2014-09-09| last1=O'Carroll| first1=Lisa}}
• Tom Quinn
• John D. Thompson
• Rodger Watson

• Will Wikle
• Tom Willmott
• Walt Whitman: the American poet, essayist and journalist volunteered as a nurse during the American Civil War.
• Jimmie Thomas
• Andrew Younger

• Gender discrimination in the medical professions
• Gender role
• History of medicine
• Men in early childhood education
• Nurse stereotypes
• Nurse-client relationship
• Transcultural nursing
• Women in medicine

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite journal |last=McDowell |first=Joanne |title=Talk in feminised occupations: exploring male nurses' linguistic behaviour |journal=Gender and Language |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=365–390 |doi=10.1558/genl.v9i3.17496 |year=2015 |hdl=2299/19271 |hdl-access=free }}

• [http://aamn.org/ aamn.org]
• [http://www.minoritynurse.com/men-nursing minoritynurse.com]

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Category:Nursing