Home » Library » Features » The Role of Men in the Nursing Profession
Recent surveys show that less than 6% of all registered nurses (RNs) are male. Male nurses have existed for many years, though the profession has always been dominated by females. Why this is can be left to debate, though it probably stems from the fact that nursing was one of the few careers that women were able to have long ago. During wartime eras, men were fighting as soldiers while women helped by becoming nurses. Today, however, male nurses enjoy a prosperous career in a growing field. The number of male nurses is growing worldwide.
There have been a few famous male nurses throughout history. Although women like Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton are often credited for being groundbreaking nurses, people like Walt Whitman and James Derham dedicated much of their lives to nursing. Whitman, most famous for his poetry, was a volunteer nurse during much of the Civil War. Derham was the United States' first African American physician, though he first served as a male nurse.
Becoming a male nurse is a great opportunity for a fast-paced career with plenty of potential for growth. The United States, in particular, is experiencing a shortage of nurses. For this reason, more financial aid opportunities are opening for nursing students and the average salary of a nurse is above the national average. In fact, the average yearly income of a licensed male nurse is only expected to rise in the projected future.
Men have sometimes hesitated entering the nursing field, as it is often misconstrued as a career for women. Nothing could be further from the truth and the stereotype of nurses being subordinates to doctors is also fading. Today, more doctors view nurses as equals than ever before. The roles of doctor and nurse merely different. Neither is more important than the other. Also, the image of a male nurse is changing and it is becoming less unorthodox to see a practicing male nurse in a medical facility.
With the nursing industry booming and financial aid being offered specifically to those in nursing school, there had never been a better time for men to enter the nursing field. Many schools are making efforts to quash the stereotype of nurses being female. Since male nurses are a minority, schools and textbook manufacturers are updating literature to show male nurses more prominently than they had in the past. With such efforts to make the nursing field more diverse, there should be a surge in male nurses in the near future.
