Introduction
Nursing is one of the in-demand professions in the field of health care today. Through the years, the nursing profession has gone through a lot of challenges. Despite the challenges, there are still many people who take up nursing education in the hope of helping the sick and injured individuals. Another reason for individuals taking up nursing is that the pay is high. There are even some professionals from other fields and retired individuals who are taking up nursing.
The need for nursing professionals is so great that there are some countries that are experiencing nursing shortages. Nurses from other countries go to countries which offer higher salaries. For this reason the country where they left would also experience nursing shortage. And thus the cycle will continue.
This paper attempts to examine two pictures which represent the nursing profession. Issues will be raised from the two pictures and logical arguments produced. This paper will also attempt to demonstrate historically the change of issues within both pictures and document the progression or non-progression of issues between the two pictures. The paper will then attempt to relate these issues to contemporary nursing practice – about whether there has been change or no change between the issues in each picture.
Body
The first photograph is actually an advertisement in nursing featuring male nurses. The photograph is in black and white. It has nine male nurses in the photograph who are nurses. Written below each person are their names, their former occupations or other professions. These nine men are of different ages and different ethnicities. Looking at them, you would never guess they are nurses. Judging by their faces, these men could be at any other profession other than in nursing. Some of the men are wearing nursing outfits while the others were wearing ordinary clothes and the others still in clothes suited for their sports or hobbies.
On the photograph, the words are written in big bold letters: Are you man enough to be a Nurse? At the bottom of the photograph are written the words: If you want a career that demands intelligence, courage, and skill, and offers unlimited opportunity, consider nursing. Below it are the words: For information about careers in nursing, and educational and financial resources in Oregon, go to www.oregoncenterfornursing.org. Beside these two lines is the logo for Oregon center for nursing.
From the first photograph, there are three issues I can think of. First is the increasing number of male nurses. The second issue is the one of male nurses as the minority in the nursing profession. The last one is the issue of professionals from other fields changing to nursing profession.
Social, political, and economic systems continue to perpetuate the image of nursing as a female-dominated profession. It is mostly females we see in pictures as nurses, dressed in white uniforms with white shoes, white stockings and a white nurse cap. Seldom do we see men as nurses. But although social, political and economic systems perpetuate nursing as a female-dominated profession, it doesn’t cover the truth that there are many working male nurses out there.
Since the majority of the nursing field is predominantly women, the presence of a male nurse is a bit unusual. Nursing is now seen as a profession for men as well as women and this has been helped by popular TV programs which show male nurses. These TV programs make the viewing population aware that health care is more diverse than it used to be.
There is a problem though with male nurses and this has been seen in a study. Although increased numbers of men are joining the ranks of professional nursing, disproportionate numbers of male nurses are leaving nursing, compared to female nurses.
The experience of male nurses as a minority group seems to be that of encountering a lack of social approval, acceptance, and adequate role models beginning in nursing school. Perceptions of threats to sexuality, role strain, social isolation, and different performance expectations reported by male nursing students indicate that little has changed within nursing programs to enhance feelings of belonging to the nursing profession (Ament, 2006).
A man’s career transition from say a US army as can be seen in the photograph to being a nurse is hard to describe. Male nurses are a minority. Men are discouraged from showing their emotions, while a nurse’s willingness to share emotions is part of the profession. This man worked hard to make patients comfortable, always making extra effort to demonstrate his caring attitude. A nurse’s excellence should be judged by the quality of care for their patients, not by their gender (Davidson, 1996).
Although we see too many jumping to the nursing bandwagon, we could not really tell if they are in it because they love to care for the sick or they are in it for the money. This is not a gender-related issue but rather one which depends on the caring attitude of a person. A man could have been a Harley rider and still be nurse, what matters is that he’s got what it takes to be a good nurse.
Although nursing is a female-dominated profession, research in nursing management lacks a gender perspective. Gender as a social context variable has been studied mostly in male-dominated organizations. Therefore, viewing nursing administrative processes using gender as a variable warrants attention (Valentine, 2001).
Research on gender differences in approaches to conflict management has shown that differences in orientations and normative expectations resulted in women and men perceiving and handling conflict differently. Women were more likely to help in expressive ways while men were more likely to use instrumental methods. Men tended to use social influence and persuasion while women preferred negotiation and mediation. Generally women were better able to empathize with the other’s perspective (Valentine, 2001).
Gender theories make visible theory and practice of organizations that otherwise would be invisible. Gender as a social construction is relevant for nursing, a women-dominated profession. By studying organizations and relationships concerning gender perspectives, nurses and others can better understand nursing administrative processes such as conflict management (Valentine, 2001).
In a field dominated by women, some men say they are valued more for their brawn than brains and face discrimination in promotions. Despite these challenges, they add, they find their career choice fulfilling (Bass, 2000).
Why would military men, factory workers and other macho types leave their rugged jobs for pioneering roles in the world of nursing? The simple answer is opportunity. Without compromising a shred of masculinity, a growing number of Black men have tapped their gentler, more compassionate side, and are finding fulfillment and job security in what has his torically been called “woman’s work” (Townsel, 1996).
Even now, nursing remains a mostly White, mostly female profession. But as society becomes more accepting of men in non-traditional roles, the number of men in nursing, Black men in particular, continues to rise. According to the most recent Department of Health and Human Services nursing survey, Black men and women make up a mere 4 percent of the profession and only a scant 4.3 percent of the 1,853,024 total are males (Townsel, 1996).
Registered nurses represent the largest segment of the professional health care work force. To become an RN, candidates must graduate from a state-approved school of nursing through two-year associate degree programs, three-year hospital-based diploma programs or four-year university programs.
Like their female counterparts, male RNs work in practically all facets of the nursing profession, including managed care, ambulatory care, home care, public health care and nursing care. The majority of male nurses can be found hard at work in the emergency rooms, operating rooms, intensive care units, maternity wards and general care areas of major metropolitan hospitals (Townsel, 1996).
Unlike women in the field, male nursing professionals must find ways to deal with female patients who are uncomfortable with their care, women colleagues who feel threatened by their presence, and the public, which tends to assume that all male nurses are homosexuals (Townsel, 1996).
With all of these added pressures, why would men still want to pursue nursing careers? For the same reason most women do. These highly skilled and compassionate professionals say they are just as committed to the field as women, and just as earnest about helping those in need. Solid salaries, flexible hours add the medical scene’s fast-paced, high-tech environment, which is always full of life-and-death drama, also help to attract the adventurous, thrill-seeking male crowd (Townsel, 1996).
For these men, the nursing field is a second lease on life. Many who solely used their hands to make a living before are finding that it takes both hands and heart to succeed in this business.
The second picture is one of several nurses together. By the looks of it, this picture is taken during the war. These are wartime nurses who served the soldiers during the war, although we cannot guess where from the picture alone. The picture is a very old one and is in black and white.
Health care systems around the world are facing very significant challenges as they restructure and “reinvent” themselves in an effort to make more efficient use of available resources. As health care is a labor-intensive industry, the stresses experienced by these systems inevitably affect their employees (Clark & Clark, 2003).
From the second picture, three issues can be presented: (1) nurses usually work with other nurses in the provision of health care services, (2) in the provision of these services, other individuals could be involved – even if these individuals are not health care professionals, and (3) if we compare this picture to pictures of group nurses or team nurses at present, we can conclude that this team in the picture comprises more nurses than most nursing teams at present. This only goes to show that perhaps there is a growing shortage of nurses at present.
Nurses, as the most highly trained caregivers with regular patient contact, are at the heart of any health care system. Widespread anecdotal evidence suggests that the problems in health care have had a particularly negative effect on the workplace experience of nurses. News accounts regularly report on the challenges nurses face in the workplace.
These range from low pay in Ireland, to safety and health problems in South Africa, to emigration in the Philippines, to mandatory overtime in the United States. These stories suggest that nursing is a profession in crisis and that this crisis extends around the world. However, there is little systematic, comparative evidence available as to the nature and extent of the problems nurses face and the strategies they employ to deal with those problems (Clark & Clark, 2003).
Since the late 1800s, nurses around the world have been organizing to promote the interests of their profession and its members. Most of the earliest nurses’ organizations took the form of professional associations, with trade unions being a more recent development (Clark & Clark, 2003).
Wartime nursing is particularly stressful because of the age and the severity of injury seen in the patients. It is easier to accept disability, even death, in the elderly than in the young. An elderly person has experienced work, friends and family, sports and good books, health and illness, seasons and holidays. A young person is only on the verge of such a life (Norman, 1990).
The women felt maternal and protective instincts toward their young patients. These feelings often turned to anguish and anger when the nurses realized their patients would never be normal, functioning adults. It was emotionally wrenching for the nurses to look on row after row of comatose, brain damaged young soldiers (Norman, 1990).
The public perception was that nurses who served in war were safe in hospitals, on ships, or in aircraft. They were not supposed to experience the raw reality of war. However, nurses, of courses, did experience “war” — not the harsh conditions of a combat soldier, but war nonetheless, with all its emotional toll. “Must women fight in combat to be considered equal?” one woman asked (Norman, 1990).
Analyzing the nurses’ interviews made it clear that there also was a contradictory quality to the experience of being women in a war. The nurses were valued as professionals, yet exploited as women. They were both appreciated and used. Military leaders needed nurses to staff hospitals and care for patients but did little to accommodate the practical needs of the women (Norman, 1990).
Nurses can work alone. But nurses can also work in groups. Collaboration, they say, is the key to success. Nurses working together can provide a better quality of service, thus improving patient’s health also. In most cases, nurses work in groups or in teams where there is a leader assigned to take in charge and lead the group.
Other individuals are involved in the provision of health care services by the nurses. By this, we do not mean other health care professionals but ordinary citizens or even the patients themselves. People had a right and a duty to participate individually and collectively in the planning of their health care. This highlight the importance of nurses looking at their practice critically and maintaining up-to-date research-based knowledge, illustrating that healthcare professionals need to be empowered to empower others effectively.
Conclusion
Nurses have continually evolved over the years. Once a female dominated profession, it is now fast becoming a place for males too. Although there are some patients who aren’t used to male nurses, especially female patients, they are somehow fast becoming used to male nurses. The duty of nurses is not only limited to hospital work but they are also involved of countless services outside of the hospital, say for example some nurses have even served in the war to treat wounded and injured soldiers. All in all being a nurse is a challenging profession which should be appreciated by people.
References:
Ament, P. 2006, Acceptance of Male registered Nurses by Female Registered
Nurses. Journal of Nursing Scholarship.
Bass, N. 2000, Male Nurses Challenge Field’s Gender Stereotypes. Knight
Ridder/Tribune Business News.
Clark, D.A. & Clark, P.F. 2003, Challenges Facing Nurses’ Associations and
Unions: A Global Perspective. International Labour Review.
Davidson, M.R. 1996, Not a Male Nurse, A Real Nurse. Nursing Forum.
Norman, E.M. 1990, Women at War: The Story of Fifty Military Nurses Who
Served in Vietnam. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Townsel, L.J. 1996, Male Nurses: An Increasing Number Find Fulfillment and
Security in Non-Traditional Field. Ebony.
Valentine, P.E.B. 2001, A Gender Perspective on Conflict Management
Strategies of Nurses. Journal of Nursing Scholarship.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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