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February 16,2009 CAMPUS

PANTHER POST

Males may feel discouraged from going into Nursing

Men are becoming seemingly skeptical about a career in nursing based on stereotypes that the posi- tion is more aimed towards women, and movies and television aren't making it any easier

By Jennifer Michels

Nursing is no different than any other profession when it comes to gender sterotyping, a Dalhousie University stu- dent says.

Fourth year nursing student Shaw Kay said the media plays a huge role in reinforc- ing stereotypes and that can keep men from becoming nurses.

Numerous television shows revolve around health care, Kay said. If the show does have nurses in supporting roles, they are often women or a homosexual man, he said.

Kay’s point is not without foundation. To turn on a TV or a movie involving health- care there is often a male nurse, specifically written in to be scrutinized, so it would seem. One notable film is the hit comedy Knocked Up. Upon entering the hospital, the parents-to-be encounter their nurse, who happens to be male. His professionalism was not an immediate part of the act. Instead, the male nurse was met with snicker- ing from the male antago- nist.

It seems men have to deal with stigma and discrimina- tion while defending their sexuality when they choose to be a nurse, Kay said.

“The battle then is given to the actual men who go into nursing to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Practical Nursing instruc- tors Andrea Slysz and Chris- tie Lougheed-Bambrick at Holland College said they have not witnessed any dis- crimination in their class- rooms.

Men are appreciated in the class, Slysz said. There hasn’t been any experienc- es with stigma in the class room.

Men taking the practical nursing program at Holland College said it was a posi- tive experience, Lougheed- Bambrick said. There is less stigma than in the past.

Slysz said she enjoyed working with male students. It wasn’t looked at as any different. Men going into the nursing field are confident with who they are and aren’t bothered by stereotypes.

“The name nursing leads to the feminine side because women nurse babies.”

Peers could be discrimi- nating towards males in the nursing profession but within the profession it’s not a problem, Lougheed-Bam- brick said. It’s an advantage to have both men and women in the profession.

“Very few patients have a problem with a male care- giver.”

The idea that nursing is a female role is older than many of the hospitals nurses are currently employed in.

During the women’s tem- perance movement of the late 1800s many women found themselves in numerous po-

sitions such as nursing.

The dominating idea of the time was that such jobs are ideal for women since, at the time, it was viewed that women had a natural niche for positions such as nurs-

ing and teaching, as they re- quired certain attention that was roughly similar to that of mothering.

Something the men of the time felt women were a nat- ural talent for.

As history progresses, how- ever, it becomes more ap- parent that these ideas found lingering in hospital halls are potentially detrimental.

Michels is a journalism student at Holland College

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