Final_Nurse

Males in Nursing
Jeremy Huynh
Fall Term 2013
“Educational institutions, health care employers, professional nursing and
health care organizations, and the government all have a role in working to
ensure the continued supply of an adequate number of nurses to meet the
increasing demands of our aging population.”1
Introduction
The origin of the term “nurse” is derived from Latin that means to nourish or suckle
a child. Historically, the image that comes to mind has a long and deep cultural
association with women.2 “Nursing is the nation's largest health care profession,
with more than 3.1 million registered nurses nationwide. Of all licensed RNs, 2.6
million or 84.8% are employed in nursing.”3 Among the U.S. workforce, registered
nurses, RNs, are collectively one of the largest segments. They are also among the
highest paying large occupations.4 Nursing outnumbers United States physicians
more than fours times. Nursing has a wide variety of health services, which include
primary and preventative care by advanced nurse practitioners in specific areas
such as pediatrics, family health, women's health, and gerontological care.5 What
portions of the numbers given are male? What portion is female? Nursing has been a
female dominated profession, but why? Why the sudden influx of males into the
field?
There are many ways to approach this topic, but I think the overarching theme is in
the evolution of healthcare. Healthcare has evolved, thus the role of nursing has also
changed. From generation to generation, society in the present has no preference on
which gender cares for them as a patient. Although, there are some professions that
are gender dominant for example, OBGYN. There are different angles that can
1 LaRocco, Susan A. 2007. “Recruitment and Retention of Men in Nursing.” Pp. 241-253 in Men in
Nursing: History, Challenges, and Opportunities, edited by C.E. O’Lynn and R.E. Tranbarger. New
York: Springer Publishing Company.
2 Male Nurses Break Through Barriers to Diversify Profession." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
N.p., 28 Sept. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. <http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-
rwjf/newsroom/newsroom-content/2011/09/male-nurses-break-through-barriers-to-diversify-
profession.html>.
3 Health Resources and Services Administration. (September 2010). The Registered Nurse
Population: Findings From the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
4 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, (2010, May). Occupational Employment and Wages for 2009. Access
online at http://www.bls.gov/oes
5 "Nursing Fact Sheet." American Association of Colleges of Nursing. N.p., 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Dec.
2013. <http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/nursing-fact-sheet>.

explain the revolution of the increase of male nurses in the profession today. In mid
to late 1900s, education had a direct correlation to the hierarchy for professions.
The increase of male nurses in the field is one aspect to look at in explaining the
influx of males, but there is also an influx of females into the doctor role. In today’s
job market it is difficult to find a career. However, there is a shortage of nurses and
many people, both women and men are struggling to fill these positions. Through
the evolving role of nursing, this has increased job opportunities due to the
increasing nursing positions.
Looking at the Numbers
The increase of nursing positions leads to the increase of nursing programs. The
AACN President Kathleen Potempa said “Last year’s (2012) enrollment increases
across all types of baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs clearly indicate a
strong interest among nursing students in advancing their education and developing
the skills needed to thrive in contemporary care settings.6” One example of an
exponential increase is in Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs. In just six years, “the
number of schools offering the DNP has increased from 20 programs in 2006 to 184
programs in 2011, with another 101 programs in the planning stages. Last year,
enrollment in these programs grew by 28.9%, with 9,094 students now enrolled in
DNP programs.”7
Sadly, American Association of Colleges of Nursing's survey found that “75,587
qualified applications were not accepted at schools of nursing last year due
primarily to a shortage of faculty and resource constraints.”8 Within this total,
applications turned away include 58,327 from entry-level baccalaureate, 2,906 from
RN-to-Baccalaureate, 13,198 from master's, and 1,156 from doctoral programs.9 The
top reasons reported by nursing schools for not accepting all qualified students into
entry-level baccalaureate programs, include insufficient clinical teaching sites
(65.2%), a lack of faculty (62.5%), limited classroom space (46.1%), insufficient
preceptors (29.4%), and budget cuts (24.8%). 1011
My focus is the currently the male nursing field and the future of them. Even though
men represent only a small 6.6% of the U.S. nursing workforce, “the percentage of
men in baccalaureate and master’s nursing programs are 11.4% and 9.9%,
6 http://www.aacn.nche.edu/news/articles/2012/enrollment-data
7 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011). 2010-2011 Enrollment and graduations in
baccalaureate and graduate programs in nursing. Washington, DC: Author.
8 "New AACN Data Show an Enrollment Surge in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs Amid Calls
for More Highly Educated Nurses." American Association of Colleges of Nursing. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec.
2013. <http://www.aacn.nche.edu/news/articles/2012/enrollment-data>.
9 http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/TurnedAway.pdf
10 Ibid.
11 "New AACN Data Show an Enrollment Surge in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs Amid Calls
for More Highly Educated Nurses." American Association of Colleges of Nursing. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec.
2013. <http://www.aacn.nche.edu/news/articles/2012/enrollment-data>.

respectively. Statistically, these numbers will only increase. In doctoral programs,
6.8% of students in research-focused programs and 9.4% of students in practice-
focused programs are men.”12
Have we reached gender parity in the providing of healthcare specifically in the
nursing industry? I think gender parity isn’t only the equality in the workface, for
example equal numbers of male to female nurse, but also the equality in gender
preference. Through the evolution of the workface as a whole, the perception/image
of a nurse is not strictly female but equally male.
History
What’s really interesting is that nursing was originally a male-dominated field up
until around the turn of the 20th century, Men have been in nursing for centuries,
but as nursing education was official, schools began omitting men from attending. I
feel it is ironic that men originally gave birth to this field but now are lower in
numbers. The history of men in nursing goes back to third-century Rome, where an
organization of men called the Parabolani brotherhood provided care to the sick and
dying during the great plague in Alexandria.13
During the Civil War in the U.S., men served as battlefield nurses in both the Union
and Confederate armies. “Although we only hear about the predominantly female
Union volunteer nurses,” says Jerry Lucas, RN and a publisher for Male Nurse
Magazine, “the Confederate Army assigned 30 men in each regiment to care for the
wounded. This could have been the start to the modern Combat Medic of today.”14
The change is due to the face that young men who are choosing nursing are not
coming out of the military but rather choosing nursing as their career after college.
That’s a good sign—that the industry is doing a better job of recruiting young non-
military men by getting the word out that nursing is not just a women’s field.
In 1920, when women fought for the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment
allowing them the right to vote, they also began to actively seek higher education
and began achieving the same careers as men. Among these careers was becoming a
physician. This profession could not be reached without successful completion of
medical school and acquiring a Doctorate degree.15 A few women studied their way
through medical school, often graduating outnumbered in a class with dozens of
12 Lacey, T.A. & Wright, B. (2010). Occupational Employment Projections to 2018. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
13 Sadler, Don. "Men in Nursing | OR Today." OR Today. MD Publishing, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
http://ortoday.com/men-in-nursing/
14 Ibid.
15 Fine, Eve. “Women Physicians and Medical Sects in Nineteenth–Century Chicago.” In Women
Physicians and the Cultures of Medicine, edited by E.S. More, E. Fee, and M. Perry. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 2009.

men. The perception of female physicians began changing slowly but surely in the
years to follow.16 More and more medical schools began granting women admission.
Today females account for “around 23.1% of physicians in the United States. This
number is still quite low considering that 43% of medical school graduates are
female.17 However, the change is recognized.
Unlike the women studying medicine in the 1940s, men in nursing programs have
reported very little discrimination from their colleagues. However, many patients
are resistant and even offensive toward male nurses. In the past, the educational
institutions themselves could be blamed. The 1982 Supreme Court case Mississippi
University for Women v. Hogan found that nursing schools were rejecting men
based on gender, which violated the Fourteenth Amendment.18
The medical profession has been changing over the last fifty years. More women are
entering medical schools and becoming physicians, and many more men are
entering nursing school and becoming nurses. “The number of male nurses has
increased 300 percent since 1970 when 2.7 percent were male to 8 percent in
2000.”19 Access to the educational institutions has increased the enrollment of men
entering nursing and women entering medicine. I believe this movement of men and
women crossing over into nontraditional gender roles and occupations is the
driving force to gender parity.
Currently, there are shortages in the field of nursing in the United States, and this
occupation is crucial to the health industry. Women comprise the majority of
nursing workforce. Even with their abundance, there is still a shortage. Men become
the logical place to recruit more labor and employees. “Nursing and health care
occupations are majority female. For example, registered nurses were the largest
occupation in health care in 2006, but only eight percent were men.”20 This is
16 Fine, Eve. "Pathways to Practice: Women Physicians in Chicago, 1850–1902." Ph.D. diss., Univeristy
of Wisconsin–Madison, 2007.
17 "Female doctors by country, OECD Health Data 2002 (CD ROM) available year for Australia, Japan =
1998; Denmark = 1995; 1980 figures for Canada and France are interpolated." 13 Dec 2013, 14:02
UTC. < http://www.NationMaster.com/graph/lab_fem_doc-labor-female-
doctors%5B/%EF%BE%83%EF%BD%A2%E7%AB%84%EF%BD%AC%EF%BE%85%E5%A1%97t
tp:/timss.bc.edu/timss1995i/TIMSSPDF/C_admath.pdf%EF%BE%83%EF%BD%A2%E7%AB%84%
EF%BD%AC) >
18 "MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN, Et Al., Petitioners, v. Joe HOGAN." Legal Information
Institute. Cornell University Law School. Version 458 U.S.718. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0458_0718_ZO.html>.
19 Burton, Deborah A. and Terry R. Misener. 2007. “Are You Man Enough to Be a Nurse? Challenging
Male Nurse Media Portrayals and Stereotypes.” Pp. 255-269 in Men in Nursing: History, Challenges,
and Opportunities, edited by C.E. O’Lynn and R.E. Tranbarger. New York: Springer Publishing Comp
20 Women’s Bureau. 2006. “20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women (2006 Averages).”U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved April 26, 2007 from
http://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/20lead2006.htm

consistent even outside the United States. “There are also more foreign-born
registered nurses than men in nursing at 14% of the total RN’s in the United
States.”21 In addition, as the population ages, health care and health services will be
in higher demand. If more men are in the occupation, this increases diversity among
the workers, which can lead to increased comfort levels of all patients.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Taken from
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. Bernard Beckard
Medical Library. 22
21 Auerbach, David I., Peter I. Buerhaus, and Douglas O. Staiger. 2007. “Better Late Than Never:
Workforce Supply Implications of Later Entry into Nursing.” Health Affairs 26: 178-185.
22 "Missouri Women in the Health Sciences - By the Numbers - Men in Nursing, OT, & PT." Bernard
Becker Medical Library Digital Collection. Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis,
Missouri, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. <http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/mowihsp/stats/men.htm>.

Fig. 1 Percentage of Nurses Who Are Male from 1970-201123
The belief that there are gender roles has also led to the conflict of gender
salaries. Nursing is established to be a “woman’s” occupation and thus having
lower societal value. This lack of value was reflected in lower salaries.
Conforming to more masculine jobs has discouraged men in fields such as
nursing. One of the few outlets for male nurses was asylum nursing, where
their greater physical strength was required to restrain violent patients. State
mental hospital schools of nursing graduated men nurses, however, the
education was not as comprehensive as that in general schools of nursing.
“Despite a severe nursing shortage during World War II, military policy banned
men from the United States Army Nurse Corps. The policy was not changed
until 1955. Within a decade more than 10% of the Army Nurse Corps were
men.”24
As seen in the figure above from Washington University in St. Louis School of
Medicine, the percentage of male nurses in the United States dipped to its lowest
23 "Male Nurses Becoming More Commonplace, Census Bureau Reports." U.S. Census Bureau. N.p., 25
Feb. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/employment_occupations/cb13-32.html>.

point in the 1930s and 1940s; it is only now approaching 10% of all nurses.25 While
men are no longer restricted to psychiatric nursing, there are still some gender
divisions in nursing – “male nurses are more common in intensive care units,
emergency departments and operating rooms, and less common in pediatric and
obstetric nursing.”26
Gender Preference
I believe that gender expectations have changed. By this I mean the expectation of
seeing a physician does not always mean it will be a male. With gender parity, when
a patient sees a male walk in the room, the patient does not only expect him to be
physician but also equally expect to be a nurse. Within medicine, I do agree that
some occupations are gender specific.
In Joel Sherman MD’s blog post titled “Patient Gender Preferences in Healthcare” he
discusses that some patients have gender preferences in certain types of physicians
they go to. I quote, “Women have strongly gravitated to female Ob-Gyns. Ninety
percent of Ob-Gyns in training are women and men are discouraged from entering
the field. The results vary somewhat from study to study likely based on how the
study was conducted. Older women are used to using male gynecologists and some
are reluctant to admit they prefer women because those concerns were made light
of in prior years. Yet in nearly all studies, at least 50% of women prefer female OB-
Gyn care with no more than 10-15% preferring male care.”2728
Joel Sherman continues to explain gender preferences in his blog. He further
explains that patients depending on what type of physician they are seeing have a
preference in gender. I quote, “Yet 90% or urologists are men and many of the few
practicing female urologists specialize in women’s problems. The percentage of
female urologists is increasing, but nowhere near as dramatically as the number of
female Ob-Gyns. Men are not demanding more female urologists to take care of
them. In terms of routine male genital exams, men still show a preferences even
though the exam is brief and generally done as part of a full physical. In one study by
Heaton et. al, 50% of men preferred a male physician whereas the rest had no
preference. Other studies have said up to 70% of men have no preferences, but once
again it is critical how these studies are performed. An anonymous questionnaire
will give different results than a series of questions asked by a nurse. Most men are
25 Ibid.
26 Ibid.
27 Sherman, Joel, Dr. "Patient Gender Preferences in Healthcare." Patient Modesty & Privacy Concerns:
Patient Gender Preferences In Healthcare. N.p., 28 Oct. 2010. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
<http://patientprivacyreview.blogspot.com/2010/10/patient-gender-preferences-in.html>.
28 Obstetrics Gynecology Apr 2005, Vol 105, #4, p 747-750, Obstet Gynecol 99: #6, 2002, 1031-1035,
and Plunkett, Beth et al. Amer J Obstet Gynecol, 186: #3, 2002, 926-928

loath to admit that they are embarrassed by receiving care from women. They are
frequently made to feel humiliated if they do.”29 30
Out With the Old, In with the New…
Meadus and Twomey stated that nursing was seen as one of the respectable
professions for women at the turn of the century. While men were accepted into the
profession of nursing, the medical model encouraged the ideal “Victorian” family
ideal, with men (doctors) as the head of the households, women as the
“handmaidens” (nurses) and the patients as the children.31 This model has been
molded in our society and thus placing pressure on men to avoid entering the
nursing profession and to ender the more socially acceptable medical profession. 32
Beth Ulrich, EdD, RN, is the senior vice president of research and business analytics
for Versant, an organization that provides hospitals with RN residency programs to
facilitate the successful transition of new graduate nurses into the professional
nurse role. Dr. Ulrich has been the co-investigator on several national nursing
workforce and work environment studies and the principal investigator on studies
to define respect in nursing and understand the experience of new graduate nurses
as they enter the workforce. A question was proposed for Ulrich in his article titled
“Gender Diversity and Nurse-Physician Relationships” in the American Medical
Association Journal of Ethics was, “Why does the nursing profession seem to be
slower in achieving equal representation of male and female practitioners than law,
teaching, the military, the clergy, or other sectors of medicine?”33 In actuality, none
of these professions has equal representation of men and woman—“65 percent of
lawyers and 89 percent of clergy are male, 86 percent of the active military is male
(though within the military, the percentage of RNs who are male is three times that
of the civilian population34), and 81 percent of elementary and middle school
teachers are female.”35 While gender diversity has improved in many professions,
29 Heaton, Caryl J., and John T. Marquez. "Patient preferences for physician gender in the male
genital/rectal exam." Family Practice Research Journal (1990).
30 Kerssens, Jan J., Jozien M. Bensing, and Margriet G. Andela. "Patient preference for genders of
health professionals." Social science & medicine 44.10 (1997): 1531-1540.
31 Meadus, Robert J., and J. Creina Twomey. "Men in nursing: making the right choice." The Canadian
Nurse 103.2 (2007): 13.
32 Wolfenden, J. "Men in Nursing." The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice 9.2
(2011).
33 Ulrich, Ben. "Gender Diversity and Nurse-Physician Relationships." Virtual Mentor. American
Medial Association, Jan. 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. <http://virtualmentor.ama-
assn.org/2010/01/msoc1-1001.html>.
34 The Women’s Memorial. Statistics on women in the military, 2009.
http://www.womensmemorial.org/PDFs/StatsonWIM.pdf. Accessed November 2, 2013
35 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Household data annual averages. 2008.
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat39.pdf. Accessed November 2, 2013.

we are far from reaching gender equality.
In addition to gender disparities between nurses and physicians, there are
imbalances within specialties and subspecialties of both professions. While it is
generally accepted that female nurses can take care of almost any patient (with
some religious beliefs creating exceptions), such is not the case with male nurses.
There are subjective reports of resistance, for example, to men who want to
specialize in obstetric and gynecologic nursing. In medicine, pediatrics is one of the
few specialties in which the majority of the practitioners are women. American
Medical Association (AMA) data for specialty practice by gender indicates, “in 2006,
only 15.6 percent of internists and only 12 percent of general surgeons were
women.”36 Gender diversity progress in medical specialties is evident, however, in
areas such as obstetrics and gynecology (36.8 percent female physicians in 2006),
with 77 percent of the 2008-2009 residents being women.37 “Female residents are
also in the majority in pediatrics (63 percent), dermatology (62 percent), and
medical genetics (59 percent). Based on resident data, however, surgery specialties
are on a path to continue to be overwhelmingly male-dominated (neurosurgery and
orthopedic surgery-88 percent, thoracic surgery-85 percent).”38
Changing the Gender Perception of a Nurse
“Historically, nursing is considered to be a natural extension of a woman's role in
society. As a result of this notion, it is considered a low-value occupation.”39 It is well
known that the average income of men is well above that of women. Accordingly,
these findings support the view that jobs customarily held by women are devalued.
Another Williams article, “Hidden Advantages for Men in Nursing “ argues that the
economic value of other major disciplines and that of nurses reinforces the limited
value attached to the role of the nurse. Consequently, the separation, isolation, and
labeling of certain roles as women's or men's roles in both traditional and modern
society reflect the patriarchal social structure.40
Barkley and Kohler (1992) administered a career survey to 126 male high school
students, grades 9 to 12. Their findings indicated that most rejected nursing as a
future career because of their beliefs about nurse economic status. Granted this
study was done in 1992, but I believe that if the same study was conducted today,
the numbers would be different. I believe my generation (born in 1990-present),
36 American Medical Association. Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the U.S., 2009. Chicago,
IL: American Medical Association; 2007.
37 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Data resource book. Academic year 2008-
2009. Chicago, IL: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; 2009.
38 Ibid.
39 Williams, Christine L. "The glass escalator: Hidden advantages for men in the" female" professions."
Social problems (1992): 253-267.
40 Williams, Christine L. "Hidden advantages for men in nursing." Nursing Administration Quarterly
19.2 (1995): 63-70.

social equally is much more prevalent. I did not live through or experience any type
of social discrimination thus equal opportunity was the mindset I was born into.
“Sixty-two percent of the subjects surveyed did not think that nurses made high
salaries, and 46% believed that nurses do not get paid well.”41 The article stated the
reasoning that concluded the results. “They concluded that in order for nursing to
compete financially with other male-dominated professions, salary discrepancies
need to be changed.”42 “In spite of changes in nursing education today, in practice,
social attitudes valuing men's work over women's work are still apparent.”43
Traditionally, the female role has a lower value in society, thus the importance of a
nurses value is not reflected by economic rewards. These resilient attitudes have
been reinforced through gender socialization, leading to less status and power for
nurses within society.
The Roles of Nurses in Health Care
Not only has demand for nurses changed over time but also so has the role that
nurses play in the overall medical health picture. Though nurses have always been
important to patient care, today’s roles are taking on more technologically
challenging roles. Some nurses are taking over roles that were once reserved for
physicians (nurse midwives, for example).
Julie Blanche, RN and also a blogger, writes about the evolution of nursing in the
past 50 years. She discusses the role of nurse that was once very simple and linear is
now complex and opportunistic. I believe the increase in education has given rise to
more specialized roles. She writes, “Nurses are beginning to become more and more
specialized than in days past. Today there are specialties like OR (operating room)
nurses, Geriatric nurses, medical-surgical nurses, labor and delivery nurses,
pediatric nurses, ICU Nurses, and even psychiatric nurses. Education, continuing
education, and clinical experience go a long way today to ensure that nurses are on
top of their games from the moment they graduate nursing school until they retire
from nursing. The workplace today is as much a part of ongoing education in the
respective fields for nurses as colleges and other educational institutions.”44
In the present, the nurse has been more than just a caretaker for patients. “The
nurse assesses the condition of patients, measures the ability of a patient to make
informed decisions from him or herself or to provide informed consent for
41 Barkley, Thomas W., and Patricia A. Kohler. "Is nursing's image a deterrent to recruiting men into
the profession? Male high school students respond." Nursing Forum. Vol. 27. No. 2. Blackwell
Publishing Ltd, 1992.
42 Ibid.
43 Kleinman, Carol S. "Understanding and capitalizing on men's advantages in nursing." Journal of
nursing administration 34.2 (2004): 78-82.
44 Blanche, Julie. "Nursing 50 Years Back and Today: How the Nursing Field Has Changed Over the
Last 50 Years – 11/2/2010." Nursing 50 Years Back and Today: How the Nursing Field Has Changed
Over the Last 50 Years. N.p., 2 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.healthecareers.com/article/nursing-50-years-back-and-today-how-the-nursing-field-
has-changed-over-the-last-50-years/158432>.

procedures.”45 I mentioned that the increase of education gave rise to more
specialized opportunities. There are varies types of fields of nursing that one can
pursue now.
 Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)   * Associate’s Degree Registered Nurse
(ADRN or ADN)   * Bachelor of Science Degree Registered Nurse (BSRN or
BSN)   * Master’s Degree in Nursing (MSN)   * Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA)   *
Nurse Practitioners (NP)   * Nurse Midwives (CNM)
“Today's nurses aren't just caring for the sick; they're changing our very notion of
modern medicine and health care delivery. Nurses are giving TED talks, publishing
scientific research, developing mobile medical applications, and actively addressing
health care policy. They're collaborating with their colleagues, from social workers
and oncologists to hospital administrators and public safety personnel. The field is
growing, and so are opportunities for nurse practitioners, DNP and PhD nurses,
nurse educators, nurse-anesthetists, and nurse researchers.”46
Technology in Nursing
Education is one reason that has increased nursing opportunities, but another
reason is new health care technology. “More and more aspects of the profession are
electronic: Test results, X-rays, blood work, and ordering medication. An array of
new technologies -- mobile devices, electronic medical records, cloud computing,
and teleconferencing -- invite nurses to be digitally ambitious.”47
An article written by Charles Tiffin PhD, Senior Core Faculty at Capella University,
explains how technology is now the more conventional and efficient way in
medicine. “Technology today has made the job of nurses much easier than in the
past. In many ways, it frees up more time for nurses to devote to direct patient care.
Technology allows nurses to measure vital signs quickly, record information
efficiently, and to administer medications.”48 Tiffin agrees that technology does help,
but he makes it clear the nurses will now fade with these advances. Tiffin stresses
that nurses still need to rely on “their eyes, their minds, and their intuition” in
reading patients and not depend on technology.
45 Ibid.
46 Tiffin, PhD, Charles. "Beyond the Bedside: The Changing Role of Today's Nurses." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-tiffin-phd/nursing-school_b_1384285.html>.
47 Ibid.
48 Ibid.

What are the barriers for the future?
A 2005 survey of men in nursing backed up that nursing is “usually projected as this
nurturing, very soft, very caring kind of profession.”49 Male nurse respondents
indicated they were influenced by the misperception that the profession is not
“appropriate” for men. “These misconceptions are spread by the media, according to
The Truth About Nursing, a website that critiques media portrayals of nurses. One
prime example comes from the popular Meet the Parents movie trilogy, where Greg
Focker, a male nurse character, fends off suggestions that he is an unfit mate
because of his career choice.”50
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)51 focuses onthe pressing health and
health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted
exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of
organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive,
measurable, and timely change. “The Foundation is working to expand the number
of nurses, building their leadership capacity, sharpening their skills and the skills of
their educators, and building awareness of the urgent need to address the projected
nursing shortage.”52
Vernell DeWitty, PhD, MBA, RN, deputy director of New Careers in Nursing, a
program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) said, “Barriers to
men in nursing include a lack of male role models and mentors in nursing schools
and health care organizations.”53 Is this the solution? If there is an increase in
mentors and role models will males not be as tentative to be a nurse? The RWJF
answers my question. “One of the best ways to knock down some of these barriers is
by transforming the nurse education system, according to the Institute of Medicine
(IOM) report. It urges academic nurse leaders to partner with health care
organizations, school systems and other community organizations to recruit and
49 "Male Nurses Break Through Barriers to Diversify Profession." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
profession.html>.
50 Spann, J. "Expanding America's Capacity to Educate Nurses." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
RWJF: Charting Nursing's Future, May 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. <http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-
profession.html>.
51 "Nurses and Nursing." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.rwjf.org/en/topics/rwjf-topic-areas/nursing.html>.
52 "Nurses and Nursing." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.rwjf.org/en/topics/rwjf-topic-areas/nursing.html>.
53 "Male Nurses Break Through Barriers to Diversify Profession." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
profession.html>.

advance nursing students from underrepresented groups.”54
Nursing, the largest profession in the health care workforce, offers comparatively
stable employment and relatively high wages at a time when many other industries
are contracting.55 In conclusion, I would like to end with a quote from William T.
Lecher, RN, MS, MBA, and president of the American Assembly of Men in Nursing. He
is a working advocate in figuring how to provide more gender inclusion and balance
in the nursing workface. He hopes and I quote that, “One day men might actually
make up half of the nursing workforce similarly how women have progressed to
enroll and work in law, engineering and medicine.”56 I believe that men will never
dominate the nursing, but I believe there is a future in male nurses within the
workforce.
54 Ibid.
55 Ibid.
56 Ibid.

Forecast supply of and demand for full-time equivalent (FTE) RNs, 2009−2030.
SOURCE: Spetz, 2009. Reprinted with permission from Joanne Spetz. Copyright
2009 by the author.57
Source U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Taken from
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. Bernard Beckard
Medical Library.58
57 Spetz, J. 2009. Forecasts of the registered nurse workforce in California. San Francisco, CA: UCSF.

Examples of Scope of Practice Overlap between Registered
Nurses (RN) and Physicians
Source: Djukic, M. and C. Kovner. 2010. Overlap of Registered Nurses and Physician Practice: Implications for U.S. Health Care Reform. Policy,
Politics, & Nursing Practice 11(1): 13-22.

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