A NURSE IS A NURSE: Nursing is not just a ‘Female Profession’

Females always faced the gender inequality, especially in the nursing profession. Despite the advancement in healthcare, nursing is still perceived as a field which is less prestigious and thus requires less training and education. There is a negative stigma that nursing is a female’s profession as nurturing is thought to be a trait of female gender and men are not viewed as nurturing. Another trait considered for this gender biases is the caregiver mentality which is only in females as males are task oriented and are not that emotional which is required in this profession.

Basically, nursing was considered to be a male-dominated low paid profession but after 1500 it became a female-dominated profession and then never considered to be favorable for males.

Though efforts are given to promote gender equality in workplaces the number of men in nursing is low. Following statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau shows the increment of male nurses and their pay in this profession:-

• Out of 3.2 million nurses, only 330,000 are men

• Over the past 40 years, the number of men working as RNs has increased from 2.7 to 9.6% of all employed RNs

• The number of male LVNs has increased from 3.9% from 1970 to 8.1% in 2011

• 41% of nurse anesthetists are male

• The average wage for male nurses in 2011 was $60,700 a year

• Male nurses earn almost 10% more than their female counterparts, which helps raise wages for both genders

Healthcare is trying to provide equal opportunity for both genders as the demand for nurses is rising. Thus more opportunities will be available for male nurses. According to a new study, male nurses earn more than female nurses by an average of $5,148 after controlling for other factors like education and type of job.

Thus, we can say that nursing will remain a predominately female profession until it will show itself as a profession that provides high-quality patient-specific care regardless of the sex of the nurse. The education must be provided to the public and the stereotyping and gender bias experienced by male nurses needs to be minimized. It takes time to change the mentality of a culture requires time and due respect for those who put themselves second. But, the gender will disappear when you will see a nurse in action giving you excellent care.