Role Strain in Male Diploma Nursing Students: A Descriptive Quantitative Study

Male High School Students' Perceptions of Nursing as a Professional Career Choice: Nursing Pathway Project

AIM

The aim of this study was to understand male high school students' perceptions of nursing as a professional career choice.

BACKGROUND

Nursing is predominantly female, with male nurses accounting for less than 10 percent of the nursing workforce.

METHOD

A 32-item descriptive survey that contained demography items and constructs of the theory of planned behavior was administered to 820 high school students from a large Pacific Northwest school district.

RESULTS

Male students scored higher (less positive) relative to female students on all scales. When gay and bisexual male students were compared to female students, there was no statistically significant difference. Gay and bisexual male students scored significantly lower (more positive) than straight male students.

CONCLUSION

Self-identified female individuals and self-identified gay and/or bisexual male individuals have a more positive perception of the nursing profession than other self-identified male individuals. Nurse educators should work with high schools, schools of nursing, and nursing professional organizations to implement strategies to recruit male high school students.

Barriers and facilitators to recruiting and retaining men on pre-registration nursing programmes in Western countries: A systemised rapid review

BACKGROUND

The recruitment of men to pre-registration nursing programmes in many Western countries has remained static at approximately 10% per year.

AIM

To identify the experiences and attitudes of men on pre-registration nursing programmes in Western countries and the barriers and enablers to their recruitment and retention.

DESIGN

Systematized rapid review.

METHODS

Searches were undertaken in Medline (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO) and PsychINFO (EBSCO) databases. Studies in English were included if they were from Western countries, were published since 2000 and related to men's experiences of, or attitudes to, applying for or studying pre-registration nursing. Included papers were quality appraised and findings were thematically analysed and presented in a narrative synthesis.

RESULTS

Records were de-duplicated and 2063 records were screened and 44 articles assessed for eligibility of which 23 articles relating to 22 empirical studies were included in the review. Findings were categorised into the following themes: recruitment experiences/reasons for studying nursing; gender experiences; barriers, difficulties and challenges with programme; and factors affecting retention.

CONCLUSION

Evidence suggests that many men who come into nursing have a family member or acquaintance who is a nurse or that they have had contact with a male nurse as a patient or carer. Motivating factors such as financial security, career mobility and the opportunity to have a job in a caring profession were reported. Improved career advice at school is needed and shortened graduate programmes could be attractive. On programme, some clinical areas were easier for male students, while in others, treatment refusal could cause difficulties. Being in a minority and gender stereotyping can affect experiences. Ensuring equitable treatment, providing additional support and placements in clinical areas with more men could minimise these challenges.

Role strain among male RNs in the critical care setting: Perceptions of an unfriendly workplace

PURPOSE

Traditionally, nursing has been a female-dominated profession. Men employed as registered nurses have been in the minority and little is known about the experiences of this demographic. The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative study was to understand the relationship between the variables of demographics and causes of role strain among male nurses in critical care settings. The Sherrod Role Strain Scale assesses role strain within the context of role conflict, role overload, role ambiguity and role incongruity. Data analysis of the results included descriptive and inferential statistics. Inferential statistics involved the use of repeated measures ANOVA testing for significant difference in the causes of role strain between male nurses employed in critical care settings and a post hoc comparison of specific demographic data using multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs).

RESULTS

Data from 37 male nurses in critical care settings from the northeast of the United States were used to calculate descriptive statistics standard deviation, mean of the data analysis and results of the repeated ANOVA and the post hoc secondary MANOVA analysis. The descriptive data showed that all participants worked full-time. There was an even split from those participants who worked day shift (46%) vs. night shift (43%), most the participants indicated they had 15 years or more experience as an registered nurse (54%). Significant findings of this study include two causes of role strain in male nurses employed in critical care settings which are: role ambiguity and role overload based on ethnicity.

CONCLUSION

Consistent with previous research findings, the results of this study suggest that male registered nurses employed in critical care settings do experience role strain. The two main causes of role strain in male nurses are role ambiguity and role overload.

Males in Dietetics, What Can Be Learned from the Nursing Profession? A Narrative Review of the Literature

In Canada 95% of dietitians are female despite serving a sex-diverse population. Literature examining why there are so few male dietitians is limited. However, nursing, like dietetics, is female dominated but has a large body of literature examining sex diversity within the profession. Therefore, a narrative literature review was conducted to find articles that examined the following questions: (i) What are the barriers and motivating factors for prospective male nursing students? and (ii) What are the perceived sex-based challenges that male nursing students encounter during their education? A total of 38 articles were included in the final review and the results are presented under the following headings: barriers, motivators, and educational experiences both in the classroom and during clinical rotations. The review outlines the current state of knowledge regarding sex as it relates to nursing and how this information compares with the current dietetics literature. Conclusions and recommendations are drawn about what changes could be made in dietetic education immediately and how further research could provide insight towards reducing the barriers and facilitating easier access to dietetics education for males.

Core professional nursing values of baccalaureate nursing students who are men

BACKGROUND

The perceptions of core professional nursing values of men in baccalaureate nursing programs are poorly understood.

OBJECTIVE

The study purpose was to understand and interpret the meaning of core professional nursing values to male baccalaureate nursing students.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND CONTEXT

One-to-one interviews were conducted with male nursing students from a public university in the Midwest, following interpretive phenomenology.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Measures to protect participants included obtaining Institutional Review Board approval, obtaining signed informed consent, and maintaining confidentiality.

FINDINGS

The study revealed five themes and several subthemes under an overarching finding of caring. Acquisition of professional nursing values began prior to the nursing program and continued to varying degrees throughout the program.

DISCUSSION

Several implications are offered for nursing education, nursing practice, research, and public policy. These include identification of common values, teaching-learning strategies, inclusive environments, teamwork, and conflict resolution.

CONCLUSION

Caring was revealed using a metaphor of a puzzle.

Nursing instructors' and male nursing students' perceptions of undergraduate, classroom nursing education

Attrition rates of male nursing students exceed those of females yet the experiences of male students in nursing school are poorly understood. This interpretive ethnographic study explored the experiences of male nursing students and female nursing instructors in the context of classroom education. Data collection consisted of participant observation of classroom teaching sessions followed by interviews with six male nursing students who were participants in the classes and six female nursing instructors who taught the classes. Themes resulting from data analysis addressed men's roles in the nursing classroom and the culture of nursing education. The theme of "nursing like a real man" was characterized by men's reliance on roles and behaviours associated with traditional masculinities including leadership, assertiveness and risk-taking. The theme of "masculinities in a feminine place" captured the gendered culture of nursing education which manifested in stereotypes and a sexualized identity, where men saw themselves as accommodated but not integrated. "Diversity between masculine and feminine" communicated the incongruity between men's educational preferences and the techniques that predominate in nursing education. These findings suggest that nursing instructors need to consider gender in their teaching practice, avoid parody or stereotypes of masculinities, and reject assumptions that male students are homogeneous.

Exploring the Challenges for Nontraditional Male Students Transitioning into a Nursing Program

The nursing profession aims to increase the number of male nursing students and practicing nurses. Although a laudable goal, research on the factors associated with retaining male nursing students is lacking. In addition, research has failed to incorporate the challenges facing nontraditional male students, who represent a significant proportion of men enrolled in nursing programs. This study used a mixed method design to explore challenges experienced by nontraditional male students in a nursing program at a 2-year private college in the northeastern United States. Students cited difficulty balancing school, family, and work as among their greatest concerns. They also described their experiences as a numerical minority and how their life experiences and maturity helped them cope with the challenges they faced.