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We Need a Few Good Men

By Jessica Groach
Jessica.Groach@careertrainingdirectory.com
Career Training Directory Columnist

America needs more nurses, and those entering the field can be sure of job security. So why aren't more men interested in nursing?

While nursing has traditionally been a female-dominated career, things are changing. In the 1980s, only 3% of America's nursing jobs were held by men; today that number is 6%, according to the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. It's still low, but growing for several reasons.

Jobs in Nursing

Most men are entering nursing as a second career. Many have either gained experience in combat medicine in the military and are now returning to the workforce, or they have been downsized from other professions, and now want more job security and greater control over their own futures.

Since nursing jobs allow direct involvement in patients' quality of life, nursing can be a very rewarding career. Male nurses will have unlimited advancement potential, will earn a good salary, and will work with the latest technology. Plus, most jobs in nursing offer a flexible work schedule - perfect for those with children.

Support

Male nurses have been wrongly stereotyped in the past, often as somehow "not good enough" to be doctors. But those misconceptions are changing. Today, as the demands placed on health care have made doctors and nurses equal peers, male nurses have become valued colleagues with a unique perspective.

Male nurses are coming together to demand respect for the nursing profession - and they're getting it. Male support groups in nursing schools offer helpful advice for men who are wary about entering this female-dominated field. Marketing and recruitment efforts are targeting men effectively. And mostly, men are realizing that a job in nursing demands intelligence, courage, and skill, making nursing jobs pretty appealing.

Sources:

"Frontlines: Nursings' Male Call" by Arundhati Parmar; The Journal Gazette for MaleNurseMagazine.com
"Men in Nursing" FAQs, AllNursingSchools.com

About the Author

Jessica Groach is a freelance writer, and writing instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her background includes seven years in media, advertising and public relations. Her work has appeared in various lifestyle and business publications, including a Warner Business Book.

Posted on: Thursday, October 6, 2005