Examples Of Stereotypes In Nursing

New graduate nurses are a valuable resource in the healthcare system. They bring fresh attitude, updated policy and procedure, and advanced education to hospitals, clinics and agencies. Although their employment and retention are essential for the upkeep in the nursing profession, they are sometimes exposed to unsupportive colleagues and workplace violence, especially by veteran nurses. According to Ebrahimi (2017) this type of discrimination may be related to their lack of knowledge of their job description, low self-esteem and power, dependence on other coworkers and professionals, and insufficient preparation in their academic programs to prepare them for conflict in the clinical

For many years, both men and women have tried to overcome gender roles in the workplace. Female nurses have traditionally been the majority and because of this, many of the expectations of the nursing profession seem to favor the feminine roles. In the 1850’s, a British woman by the name of Florence Nightingale became the ideal image of the professional nurse when she discovered sanitation issues that brought the mortality rates down from 47.9% to 2.2% for soldiers in barracks during the Crimean War. Upon returning home she discovered she had become arguably the most famous Victorian with the exception of Queen Victoria herself (BBC News, 2006 as cited in Wikipedia). Since that

Many things influence the image of nursing; one's own personal experiences, what nurses say, and what television and movies portray nurses as. This image has changed a lot over the years, but there are some things that have continued to affect the image that is not correct; for instance that nurses are the “Physician's assistant” or wait on orders of higher-ups. Some questions that are going to be answered about this image include: how the image has changed, who is defining the image, and how can this image be changed.

This essay will focus on how historical developments of nursing impact on contemporary representations of the nursing profession. It will examine professional identity of the profession and further discusses the value of modern nursing, social, cultural and political factors that influence the professional identity of the nurse. I will also discuss the professional regulation and the role of the nurse’s midwifery Council (NMC) in the protection of the public. Finally, this essay will discuss nursing education, the media, stereotype, and their impacts on nurses as well as demonstrate my understanding as a student nurse to challenge the professional identity of nurses.

New advertisements for the nursing field include posters designed for this campaign aimed to boost the attractiveness of the image of men in nursing by illustrating concepts of brotherhood, belonging, men helping men, and leading the way. One of the recent posters out there shows a student nurse "reverse mentoring" another nurse with technology proving that this is an educational line of work. AAMN, American Assembly for Men in Nursing, hopes that these contemporary images of professional, compassionate, and competent nurses will chip away at stereotypes about men in nursing (Stokowski

Negative and unflattering stereotypes about nurses such as the sexy nurse, the physician’s handmaiden, glamorous hair, short skirt, and heavy makeup only damage the profession and drive candidates male or female away from the profession. Who wants to be part of a profession,

Today, most people perceive nursing as a women profession. Men who enter this field have been looked at as outcasts. Many individuals feel that a man does not belong in a “female” profession. I believe that statement to be untrue and unfair. The issue of gender discrimination in nursing is the same as any other professions. The only difference is nursing is dominated by women, and men are the minority fighting for equality. My goal in this paper is to help you understand why I’m arguing that men should be welcomed in the nursing profession.

Current statistics also support the idea that an increase in male nurses would help resolve the impending nursing shortage and in turn, decrease male unemployment rates. Although the U.S. is not currently experiencing a lack of nurses, these shortages historically come in cycles (Egenes, 2012, p. 21). Egenes declares, “In a recent study, Peter Buerhaus (2009) of the Vanderbuilt University School of Nursing predicted a national shortfall of 260,000 registered nurses by 2025” (2012, p. 21). The next nursing shortage is, therefore, expected to be drastic and should be prepared for. Bringing males into the field can be a significant factor in resolving this issue. Additionally, through this increase, men will experience a decrease in unemployment

According to the United States Census Bureau, health-care is one of the fastest-growing industries in the country, but unfortunately, men still only make up a small percentage of nurses working in the United States. Nevertheless, the popularity of this career path among men is steadily increasing. Men’s representation among nurses increased; about 2.7 percent of registered nurses were men in 1970 compared with 9.6 percent in 2011. The representation of men among licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses grew from 3.9 percent in 1970 to 8.1 percent in 2011. Men are more likely to be found in high-paying nursing occupations. Although women make up a unproportional share of all nursing occupations, the highest representation among nurse

Liu’s study (2010) found that, the feminine stereotype of nursing still remains in Chinese traditional norm. Some participants stated that they would not encourage their children, especially their son to become a nurse. Traditionally the media has played a negative role in stereotyping nurses and a lack of male nursing role models in the media has been identified as barriers to recruitment. The influence of the media in stereotyping nurse is evident in the common use in the public of descriptions such as “male nurse, Greg” as opposed to “female nurse, Jackie” does not reflect the rising numbers of men in the nursing profession. (Weaver, Ferguson, Wilbourn & Salamonson, 2014). Nursing is female-dominated occupation, so men in the profession are seen to be less

When it comes to professions, most people associate more complex ones with men while jobs of lower status are associated with women. For instance, when one hears that someone is an engineer, what is their first thought? That person is most likely a male. On the other hand, when hearing nurse, the person thinks of a female. These gender neutral terms became gender specific due to stereotypical views that associate women with jobs of servitude and men with leadership roles. Often, people even add “women” or “lady” to professions that are associated with men. Doctor becomes woman doctor, engineer becomes women engineer, and lawyer becomes lady lawyer. Such terminology implies that women in these positions are not as valued as their male counterparts

Although the concept of moral distress existed more than 80 years before the time of Florence Nightingale, it actually started to be discussed in nursing ethics in the 1970’s, soon after medical schools started bioethics courses, at where many more nurses attended than medical students (Jameton, 2013). The courses were targeted to the male-dominant physicians and focused on physician-patient relationships, whereas the feminism driven nursing students who attended the course brought different point of view including physician-nurse

In a field that was originally once considered a masculine career for men, has now been revamped as a feminine profession. An example of early documentation of men’s role in nursing dated back in 1095 where St. Antonines took care of those with erysipelas and the mentally ill. As the establishment of nursing profession progressed, perceptions of what the public view nurses as began to shift into a female-dominated occupation. Even in the current modern era, there is still a trend shared by all countries that indicate a shortage of male nurses. “Over the years, the portion of male nurses has increased, but they still comprise only 5 to 15 percent of the nursing workforce in the western world” (Ashkenazi et al., 2017, p 162). There are many factors that possibly contributed to this barrier that prevents men from entering the nursing profession such as stereotypes, gender biased nursing curriculums, long-lasting historical trends in nursing, and social perceptions.

Historically, nursing has always been the woman profession par excellence. Indeed, from the time of Florence Nightingale, a famous English nurse, the profession was seen as a place woman could cultivate and expand feminine virtue as well as their mind. When the Feminist Movement arose in the late 1900, it sought to rid the nursing ideal of virtue. The movement advocates that women shouldn’t be restricted to professions such as nursing or secretaries. They could engage in careers that would enhance their quality of life, and bring them worthy compensation. Unfortunately, the side effect of such speech was that women started to regard nursing as an undistinguished profession. Women are entering law school, medical school, and the corporate world in droves instead. The change in the professional ideal of nursing acted like a snowball up to nowadays. Research indicates that 35% fewer women would choose nursing as a career in the 1990s than they would have in the 1970s (AACN). Reinforced by a negative public opinion and a biased portrait in the media, the current image of the profession is dull.

The nursing profession acquired prestige and legitimacy through Florence Nightingale’s reforms in the late 1800s (Mackintosh, 1997.) Nightingale’s reforms however also helped establish nursing as a woman’s occupation as she proclaimed “nurturance, gentleness, empathy compassion, tenderness and unselfishness to be essentially feminine and essentially nurse-like (Mackintosh, 1997). Other factors affected the decline of men participating in nursing but