male nursing student experience

McKenna, L., & Newton, J. M. (2009). After the graduate year: a phenomenological exploration of how new nurses develop their knowledge and skill over the first 18 months following graduation. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxymu.wrlc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=57a243af-c0d3-4f81-addf-041456493db3%40sessionmgr4005&vid=1&hid=4206

Meadus and J. Creina Twomey. They both have a PhDs, they are also Both RNs. Robert J. Meadus is an associate professor while J. Creina Twomney is an assistant professor. They are both credible sources because they are both Register Nurses and also they both have a PhD. They both work for the School of Nursing, Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. They are biased because they are both males who are also nurses. They feel that more males should be accepted into nursing universities. The article informs the reader that in many countries such as the Unites states, Canada, Ireland the percentage of male nurses is relatively small compare to those of female nurses. The article also discusses the research done on males to see their experience as students in a nursing school. The main point of the article is that nursing schools should re-evaluate how they teach and promote the nursing career. They have to do so in a way to provide gender neutrality for both male and female students. “Nursing is predominantly a female-concentrated occupation. Mackintosh (1997) states that despite men being “pioneers” within the profession, they are considered an “anomaly” for choosing a career outside the boundaries for men in non-traditional occupations.” ( Meadus &

While the nursing field continues to flourish in today’s job market,it is also experiencing a massive shortage. Despite this alarming fact, according to Buerhaus (2008): “ Of the estimated 2.24 million RNs in the nursing workforce in 2006, 200,000 were men (8%)” (p. 2424). In order to alleviate the nursing shortage, nursing schools must allure men into the field by eliminating the feminization of the profession and appealing to a diverse demographic who choose to pursue a career in a female dominated field. Moreover, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students, omitting gender differences between associate and baccalaureate degree levels, and comparing nursing programs from various regions will bring about the necessary and crucial change the nursing field is in dire need for. However, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students; nursing schools are unable to distinguish the elite from the amateur slackers. Omitting gender differences between degree levels, will considerably affect the quality of care and patient safety and above all comparing nursing schools will only result in misleading information that gives students the run around .

While the nursing field continues to flourish in today’s job market,it is also experiencing a massive shortage. Despite this alarming fact, according to Buerhaus (2008): “ Of the estimated 2.24 million RNs in the nursing workforce in 2006, 200,000 were men (8%)” (p. 2424). In order to alleviate the nursing shortage, nursing schools must allure men into the field by eliminating the feminization of the profession and appealing to a diverse demographic who choose to pursue a career in a female dominated field. Moreover, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students, omitting gender differences between associate and baccalaureate degree levels, and comparing nursing programs from various regions will bring about the necessary and crucial change the nursing field is in dire need for. However, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students; nursing schools are unable to distinguish the elite from the amateur slackers. Omitting gender differences between degree levels, will considerably affect the the quality of care and patient safety and above all comparing nursing schools will only result in misleading information that gives students the run around .

Each interview and focus group audio was transcribed within 24 hours by a research assistant. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical package for social science to analyze the data set collected from the

Nursing is a profession based around compassion and caring for patient populations in a variety of settings. In a post Florence Nightingale nursing world, a nurse’s job is deemed “feminine” with care provided by a “lady.” Although society has changed dramatically, masculine stereotypes and the core focus of nursing is almost unaltered. Male nurses total 9.6% of the workforce, making nursing one of the top ten female dominated careers in America (United States Census Board, 2013). According to O’Lynn (2013), a proponent and researcher for men in nursing, this trend is similar to most developed countries citing statistics from Australia, Canada, Iran, Israel, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Similar problems, research, and outcomes regarding male nursing exist in all countries stemming from a common cultural background. As one third of the nursing workforce faces retirement within the next 10 years, the importance of increasing a well-supplied, trained, and equal workforce becomes a priority. This report focuses on the gender-diversity issues the nursing profession places on males inside the profession. Through the exploration of nursing history, it will then delve into the most problematic issues men face in nursing before discussing the role of nursing leadership in changing this landscape.

The chapter is divided into review of past studies, critical review and summary. 2.1 Concept of gender disparity in nursing The concept of gender tends to be widely applied to differentiate between men and women. According to Henslin (2003), the sociological significance of gender is that which the society uses to control its members. Gender is therefore a creation of the society, and has nothing to do with the biological characteristics that distinguish between males and females.

Whether the final decision is for or against the increase of male involvement in nursing, this debate calls for the attention of every U.S. citizen. Not only do patients deserve the most optimal care, but nurses also merit the best work environment. Additionally, organizations ought to know the most beneficial way to run their healthcare businesses. Confronting and resolving this debate has the potential to greatly benefit patients, nurses, and healthcare organizations. Additionally, it has the ability to improve the nursing shortage, if one truly exists, balance unemployment rates for men and women, and positively impact existing gender biases. Therefore, addressing the outcomes of this debate has great potential benefit.

Nursing is a profession dominated by women. Approximately 93% of nurses are female (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, 2008). When entering such a female-dominated field, male nursing students encounter many challenges in their training. The academic literature suggests that males in nursing programs feel isolated, marginalized, and discriminated by their professors and peers (Sedgwick, Kellet, 2015; Kelly, Shoemaker and Steele, 1996). These negative feelings may derive from societal stereotypes, prejudices, and the lack of male role models in nursing (Clow, Ricciardelli, & Bartfay, 2015).

The paper is divided into three distinct parts that is the introduction which focus mainly on the introductory elements of the research which include but not limited to the background information on the issue of men in nursing and the general historical information on the nursing as a profession, the reason for carrying out research on men in nursing. The other critical part is the literature review that focuses mainly on studies and works done by scholars and researches carried out on the topic under study. Methodology is the last part of the this paper and focuses mainly on the methods of data collection, methods of data analysis, the sample description and the limitations of this type of research.

Four focus groups were held. The setting for the data collection was at an elementary school classroom. The researcher does not justify the use of the specific setting to the reader. It also did not states the impact the setting had on participant in terms of their emotions and participation level, it only stated that there some challenges. Observations and personal experience is an important avenue through which data can be collected (Holloway, I. and Wheeler, S. 2002). Therefore, it would have been essential for the researcher to highlight how participants responded to the focus group interviews and how the participants were observed.

The advantage of focus group research is that they support the group in shaping the research Bennett (2002) and can be informal in structure supporting dialogues, rather than forced communications. Unlike individual interviews, focus groups can be employed reveal the differences, contradictions, unique experiences, views, perceptions and attitudes expressed by different group members (Bennett, 2002; Hyde´n & Bu¨low, 2003), allowing for a deeper exploration of the issues. Cameron (2000) reveals that even though focus groups take up much planning and interpretation they are engaging and valuable research too that can generate views and understandings that are new to both participants and researchers. Cameron (2000) argues that focus groups can either be the single research method, or can be used in partnership with quantitative methods. When conducting pedagogic research, focus groups may be employed as part of a medium or large scale research project, method may also be used on a smaller scale, for example analysing the efficiency and impact of teaching methods within a project. In some cases, pedagogic research methods may take shape into an integral part of the learning and teaching strategy. For example focus groups may be useful areas of research that requiring students to reflect on their experiences.

In the research proposal by Green et al. (2015), the researchers included four Southern Cross University students from the unit “Doing Social Research”. Further, the researchers conducted eight 15 minute interview that were audio recorded and transcribed. The qualitative research was based on a thematic analysis of the data collected (Bouma & Ling 2004; Braun & Clarke, 2006). The four researchers were digitally assigned an information sheet with an introduction and seven open-ended questions, although some researchers asked unscripted questions. Due to ethical factors, each interviewee was a voluntary participant and either a family member or a friend of the researcher (Bouma, G & Ling, R 2004). Participants were selected on the “basis of select criteria” (Bouma, G & Ling, R 2004) and the procedure is called, “accidental quota sampling” (p. 116). The criterion for interviewees included membership of the SNS Facebook and participant’s age was an independent variable. Each researcher selected one female and one male, of which one was 16-25 years and the other was 60 years and over. Participant’s consent for the interview was attained by a signed consent form approved by Dr Cathy Byrne (tutor). The interviewee’s responses are confidential, anonymous and transcripts are accessed by tutors (Bouma, G & Ling, R 2004, pp. 188-198). This focused research article is derived from the group research proposal by Green et al. (2015).

Nursing profession were once predominated by men. There was an extensive contribution of men in nursing yet it was not visible enough in the nursing history. Historically, the role of caring for the ill was performed by men in the monastery system of the early Catholic institutions. However, there was a drastic change during 1860s and 1870s where women excelled extensively in nursing field (O’Lynn & Tranbarger, 2007). This is where nursing starts to be dominated by women which were ushered by Florence Nightingale whereas for men who tried to enter the female-identified profession tends to face gender discrimination from the society.

Some of the studies used as a basis for research in this paper used a qualitative method this was the case in the study conducted by Bennett et al. (2006) a focus group gathered on six separate occasions each time one investigator would facilitate discussions while others audiotaped the dialogue and general observations. This is a qualitative method and researcher attempt to understand the importance of what the participants have stated all while looking for themes or patterns in experience then analyze the data ways that preserve the percipients meaning of words, phrases, and actions (Houser, 2008c). Hall et al. (2010) and Verweij, Smeulers, Maaskant and Vermeulen (2014) each used focus groups one of which utilizing specific questions whiles other allowed discussion topics derived from the direct observations. Other studies used as