Thought you'd like this article from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, too: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_700345.html
Patients often mistake Dominic Denicola for a doctor.
"A lot of people don't realize there are lots of male nurses out there," said Denicola, 21, a senior at Duquesne University's School of Nursing who works as a nurses' aide at St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon. "They'll stop me in the hallway and say, 'Are you a doctor?' "
More males than ever are entering nursing school, according to administrators at Duquesne, where men compose about 16 percent of freshmen in the four-year bachelor's degree in nursing program. Male enrollment is up 6 percent from five years ago.
Male enrollment also is on the upswing at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, with 14 male students out of 50 studying in a program geared for people who already have another degree, said Julius Kitutu, assistant dean for student services. The program had one male student the year before, he said.
Men are entering nursing because they are becoming more aware of competitive salaries, flexible schedules and the ability to work in different settings, experts say. Nursing is not limited to bedside work, and students can choose specialties in management, law and government.
"We're getting students from all over the country," Kitutu said. "We even have people with Ph.D.s who have decided to get into nursing. The demand is there."
Eileen Zungolo, dean of Duquesne's School of Nursing, attributes the increase partly to the changing image of the profession. Society no longer views nursing as a field in which women are expected to follow orders from men, she said.
"That has changed radically, and nurses and physicians work more collaboratively," said Zungolo, who is past president of the National League for Nursing, an organization that promotes nursing education.
A 2008 federal survey from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration shows 6.6 percent of the 3 million nurses in the United States were male, up from 5.8 percent in 2004. The number of men in nursing school has grown to nearly 10 percent nationwide. The percentage is higher at Duquesne, where 13 percent of nursing undergraduates are men, Zungolo said.
Although students traditionally viewed nursing as a career choice for women, Zungolo said men today are less influenced by gender stereotyping.
"It's OK for men to verbalize the desire to have an emotionally rewarding job," she said.
Zungolo said male and female students enter the field for the same reason: to help others. Mark Simmons, a sophomore at Duquesne, said he knew in high school that he wanted to get into medicine. Becoming a nurse seemed more fulfilling than becoming a doctor, he said.
"I felt a nurse is there to help the patient, where doctors are there to fix them or operate on them," said Simmons, 19, a native of Wilmington, Del.
When he began to research the possibility of a nursing career, Simmons learned he could choose from specialties such as pediatrics or geriatrics. He hopes to work with mentally disabled children.
"I feel bad for parents who don't know how to handle them, and they just put them in homes," said Simmons, who is doing a clinical rotation at Vintage Senior Community Center in East Liberty. "It's a great feeling being able to help people."
A related post: http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f...anymore-93540/
Thanks for sharing the article. I'm now back working as an RN, rather than QA officer at Combat Medic program the past two years. In the STICU I'm assigned it is about 70% GS (civilian) nurses & 30% military nurses. Including military & civilian nursing staff the male/female ratio is about 50/50. So, definitely no gender bias where I work. BTW, most of the GS are prior-service, either veteran or 20 yr retired.
Cary James Barrett, RN, BSN
No problem! I figured you would appreciate the article.
Good news to me. Cary, how does it feel to be "back in the saddle" again?
Well, I'm hanging in okay. Got some rust to knock off.Originally Posted by Ricu
Cary James Barrett, RN, BSN
You can do it.
Doing research for an EBP report today, I discovered a very interesting article but not related to my chosen topic, that discussed stress responses in individuals of the minority gender who are working in a gender dominated profession. It was demonstrated that the members of the minority gender did indeed demonstrate increased stress in the workplace among their opposite gender peers. Issues considered were essentially behavioral. Food for thought.
R
Wow, Rico you definitely called a code on this thread... it's alive!
Cary James Barrett, RN, BSN
Thanks, let's hope the rhythm doesn't deteriorate again.
Well it is an excellent post ... no reason to let it go off into forum oblivion. bump! lol
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