Gender Disparity In Nursing

Gender Disparity in Nursing Males were originally the first caregivers; during the black plague in the third century, they would walk around looking for sick patients on the streets (Genua, 2005). There are two known groups of men who cared for the sick during this time, the Alexian Brothers and “Fathers of a good death” (Genua, 2005). There were many other religious orders that came about that turned into nursing orders; however, when the monasteries fell, men's role in nursing care changed (Genua, 2005). During the Crimean war, men still played a role in nursing by working in hospitals and these men created some of the male nursing organizations that still exist today (Genua, 2005). When Florence Nightingale created her version of nursing
“Men have a decided advantage when it comes to promotion into management and administration positions” (Perkins, 2016). In a Forbes article written on May 2012, they stated, “Men hold a disproportionate number of these positions” (Perkins, 2016). Men are promoted faster than women in nursing, even when their counterparts may have more education (Perkins, 2016). However, men still leave the nursing field faster than women; in a study it was shown that men “are 2.5 times more likely than women to leave nursing” (Perkins, 2016). Economic. There has been a shortage of nurses for many years and Universities and the Government has worked hard to overcome this shortage. They have added accelerated programs, “scholarships, government sponsored debt forgiveness and hospital based tuition reimbursement” (Roth & Coleman, 2008). Even with these added opportunities the nursing shortage is increasing; with an estimated twenty percent decrease between 1995 and 2003 (Roth & Coleman, 2008). Nursing is one of the more stable jobs in the United States, offering higher wages than other companies and more job security (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011). Even though women still have a hold on the nursing profession, when it comes to wages, men make about 16 percent more for full time positions and around 9 percent more for part time positions (Casselman,
Many of the ethical issues men face in nursing are in regards to providing care for women. It is already not common for there to be male lactation consultants, nurse midwives or working on the obstetric wards (Kouta & Kaite, 2011). Women have rejected having a male care for them and requested another nurse. In one study, a male nurse reported that a woman requested another nurse come out and care for her, solely based on the fact that he was male (Gunua, 2005). It is for reasons like this one that men are afraid to care for women; male nurses should not have to face the fear of being accused of sexual assault when caring for patients (MacWilliams, Schmidt & Bleich, 2013). Patients and Nursing staff should feel comfortable with the effectiveness of the male nurses