Accelerated degree nursing online

Caring knows no gender: Break the stereotype and boost the number of men in nursing

Issues Update

There's no question about the public's stereotype of a nurse: white cap, unquestioningly following doctors' orders-and female.

Men represent a small percentage of the RN population. Only 146,902-or 5.4%-of the estimated 2.69 million RNs in the United States are men, according to the March 2000 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. That total, however, represents a 226% increase in the number of male nurses in the past two decades.

Current recruitment efforts are under way to win the hearts and minds of boys and men, which could lead to a sizable increase in the number of men joining the nursing profession.

REFUTING THE MYTH

"What haunts men to this day is the belief that nursing is still for women," said Gene Tranbarger, EdD, RN, president of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing (AAMN), an advocacy group for male nurses that's managed by the New York State Nurses Association.

Nurses say school guidance counselors perpetuate the perception and the public believes it.To ensure an adequate supply of RNs, the myth of the female-onlY nurse must be shattered.

Before the Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) publicly launched a recruitment campaign, it met with 20 guidance counselors from the acrsoss the state to discuss how to reach specific segments of the student population it wanted to target, including boys.

In what OCN executive director Deborah Burton, Ph.D. RN, refers to as a "true confessions" session, she said counselors reported that the "nice, warm, fuzzy" materials they receive promoting nursing as a career choice didn't resonate with male students.

"They told us that we should find men who look like them," Burton said.

The OCN took the advice and created a poster that features nine practicing male nurses and nusing students with the slogan, "Are you man enough to be a nurse?" The poster's images and copy focus on the diversity of men in nursing by representing different ages and ethnicities. Some are dressed to show their interests outside of nursing, such as snowboarding or motorcycle riding. Other accompanying information concentrates on work settings and backgrounds, such as serving as a U.S. Navy seal.

Before the poster was distributed, a mock-up was run past a group of high school freshmen and sophmores.

"Their initial reaction was 'No way are those guys nurses,'" Burton said. "That's when we knew we hit the mark."

The Poster has been mailed to every middle school, high school, health care facility, and school of nursing in the state. It can be found on the OCN Web site (www.oregoncenterfornursing.org). OCN leaders also held a press conference on the OCN's recruitment efforts, leading to national press attention and a deluge of calls and e-mails from young men, parents, and male second-career seekers.

In addition to the print component, another integral part of the campaign is the "Men in Scrubs" immersion program that targets middle school and high school students. Those who enroll in the program follow male nurses in their work settings, participate in hands-on activities, and learn about the different opportunities in nursing.

RNs who've agreed to be part of the campaign also speak to school and community groups. They serve as role models to boys and young men who previously couldn't envision themselves as nurses.

In North Carolina another recruitment plan puts men on the front line. About three years ago Pitt County Memorial Hospital/University Health Systems and the local public school system hired veteran educator Randy Collier to develop the "K-Through-12 Careers Program" to guide young people into health careers, including nursing.

The program begins in middle school when male nurses speak to boys who reported an initial interest in a nursing career after attending a general health careers presentation. Nurse mentors are then assigned to interested eighth and ninth graders. More intensive opportunities are offered to students in the 11th grade, and mentors will help graduating students complete their senior project on nursing. (The state requires all high school graduates to complete a senior project.)

The Pitt County program also will award scholarships to students who pursue nursing degrees. Specifically, the scholarship pays tuition for five semesters if the student agrees to work for two years in a University Health Systems facility.

Currently, 13 middle schools and 60 male nurse mentors are involved in the program. Collier said that time will tell if the new program is successful in attracting more young men to nursing.

The AAMN is also leading an effort to recruit men into nursing. One of its objectives is to encourage men of all ages to become nurses, and Tranbarger said the group accomplishes this largely through its presence.

The AAMN hosts a successful chat room (www.aamn.org), where men can ask questions about the profession, scholarships, and other workplace issues. It also has a legal defense fund and lobbies state and federal policymakers to ensure that proposed measures don't impede the ability of men to freely practice nursing.

"All these activities generate some publicity, and that raises awareness among men who might be predisposed toward a career in nursing," Tranbarger said.

OTHER EFFORTS

Taking another approach, Indiana RN Jerry Lucas recently started an online publication called Male Nurse Magazine and a Web site ( www.malenursemagazine.com) that focuses on nursing issues Lucas believes are important to men. To publicize his work, the U.S. Army medic turned nurse sent letters to numerous nursing publications addressing the need to recruit men into nursing just as aggressively as women were recruited for medical schools in the late 1970s. Lucas also frequently speaks to middle school and high school students in Indiana about his role in nursing.

Schools of nursing also are working to recruit more men. Through two of its newer nursing degree tracks, including a paramedic-to-BSN program and an accelerated option, Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina has boosted the ranks of men in its college of nursing, said NCNA member Dennis Sherrod, EdD, RN, department of nursing chairman of recruitment and retention. Approximately 36% of paramedic-to-BSN students are men, and almost half of the students in the fast-track nursing program are men. (Sherrod also gives great visibility to men in nursing when he serves as "nurse-of-the-day" at the North Carolina General Assembly.)

The University of Michigan and the University of Iowa also have strong, ongoing campaigns, said Daniel J. Pesut, PhD, APRN,BC, FAAN, president-elect of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) and an Indiana State Nurses Association member.

And in a broader effort to lure people into the profession, the Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow campaign was created by a coalition of 41 nursing and health care organizations, including the ANA and STTI.

Pesut said the campaign showcases the diversity in nursing as a way to appeal to a broad range of recruits. As a result, men are prominently featured in recruitment materials.

Jeff Jefferies, RN, CEN, a charge nurse in a Maryland ED, is one of the featured RNs.

"I think that people need to know that there are many opportunities out there, and that nursing is not just for women," Jefferies said. "[Male] nurses need to go out there and be an example for young people who are thinking about their future."

Throughout his career, Jefferies said that patients and their families often have mistaken him for a doctor or as someone who is striving for the "higher profession" of physician.

"But nursing is a higher profession," he said. "It's what I want to do and what I love to do."

Nurses interviewed for this article expressed similar views about their decision to become a nurse--even when they faced barriers, such as nursing programs that didn't take into account their communication or learning styles or workplace policies that were less than gender neutral. They also believe that having a more diverse workforce can only benefit the profession and patients.

"It's my experience that men who become nurses have done a lot of soul searching," Pesut said. "They have figured out what they value, what they care about, and what they want to do. And caring knows no gender."

By Susan Trossman, RN

Susan Trossman is the senior reporter for the American Nurse at the American Nurses Association.