The presence of men in the nursing field has a long
history reaching back over two thousand years. Men
attended the world’s first nursing school in India in 250
1 BCE founded a hospital to provide care for the sick
during the Black Plague epidemic and cared for wounded
soldiers in countless wars throughout history. Yet despite
the historical role of men in nursing, men currently
comprise less than 10 percent of the nursing population
in the United States. While the reasons behind the dearth
of men in nursing 2 are numerous, a current rise in the
number of men in the nursing field bodes well for nurses
and patients alike.
Although men played a prominent role in the nursing
field for millennia, shifting gender norms in the late 1800s
caused a dramatic drop in the number of men pursuing
nursing as a career. Part of this trend was related to the rise
of the family medical model in Victorian England.
3 According to this model, the ideal medical team
mirrored the patriarchal Victorian family unit, with men
(doctors) as the heads of households, women (nurses)
as the “handmaidens,” and children (patients) as the
dependents. This model dissuaded men from entering the
nursing profession, directing them instead to the more
socially acceptable role as physicians.
In addition to the influence of the family medical
model, the teachings of Florence Nightingale—often hailed
as the founder of the modern nursing 4 profession,
further discouraged men from entering the nursing field.
While Nightingale was successful in 5 inflating the status
of nursing as a respectable profession for women, her
axiom that nursing was the ideal profession for women
created social and professional barriers for men interested
in pursuing 6 nursing jobs as a professional career path
for themselves. For example, in the early 20th century,
many nursing registries created separate lists for men and
women, legally preventing men from practicing in areas
such as maternal/child health, obstetrics, and gynecology.
7
The tide against men in the nursing field began to
change directions in the 1970s and 8 1980s. Due in part
to a United States Supreme Court decision that held that
the women-only admissions policy of the Mississippi
University for Women violated the Equal Protection Clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment. Since this decision, the
percentage of registered nurses who are men in the United
States has increased 9 from 2.7 percent in 1970 to 7.6
percent in 2011. This growth is likely to prove beneficial for
both the nursing community and the patients they serve.
10
With the demand for nursing services projected to
surge over the next decade, the time could not be better for
the equitable inclusion of men into the nursing workforce.
For patients, this will mean a larger and more diverse set of
potential caretakers; and for the nurses themselves, this
11 meant stable employment, relatively high wages, and a
rewarding career.
history reaching back over two thousand years. Men
attended the world’s first nursing school in India in 250
1 BCE founded a hospital to provide care for the sick
during the Black Plague epidemic and cared for wounded
soldiers in countless wars throughout history. Yet despite
the historical role of men in nursing, men currently
comprise less than 10 percent of the nursing population
in the United States. While the reasons behind the dearth
of men in nursing 2 are numerous, a current rise in the
number of men in the nursing field bodes well for nurses
and patients alike.
Although men played a prominent role in the nursing
field for millennia, shifting gender norms in the late 1800s
caused a dramatic drop in the number of men pursuing
nursing as a career. Part of this trend was related to the rise
of the family medical model in Victorian England.
3 According to this model, the ideal medical team
mirrored the patriarchal Victorian family unit, with men
(doctors) as the heads of households, women (nurses)
as the “handmaidens,” and children (patients) as the
dependents. This model dissuaded men from entering the
nursing profession, directing them instead to the more
socially acceptable role as physicians.
In addition to the influence of the family medical
model, the teachings of Florence Nightingale—often hailed
as the founder of the modern nursing 4 profession,
further discouraged men from entering the nursing field.
While Nightingale was successful in 5 inflating the status
of nursing as a respectable profession for women, her
axiom that nursing was the ideal profession for women
created social and professional barriers for men interested
in pursuing 6 nursing jobs as a professional career path
for themselves. For example, in the early 20th century,
many nursing registries created separate lists for men and
women, legally preventing men from practicing in areas
such as maternal/child health, obstetrics, and gynecology.
7
The tide against men in the nursing field began to
change directions in the 1970s and 8 1980s. Due in part
to a United States Supreme Court decision that held that
the women-only admissions policy of the Mississippi
University for Women violated the Equal Protection Clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment. Since this decision, the
percentage of registered nurses who are men in the United
States has increased 9 from 2.7 percent in 1970 to 7.6
percent in 2011. This growth is likely to prove beneficial for
both the nursing community and the patients they serve.
10
With the demand for nursing services projected to
surge over the next decade, the time could not be better for
the equitable inclusion of men into the nursing workforce.
For patients, this will mean a larger and more diverse set of
potential caretakers; and for the nurses themselves, this
11 meant stable employment, relatively high wages, and a
rewarding career.