Discrimination of Male Nurses

Discrimination of Male Nurse

In this generation women have effectively entered male dominated professions with a great deal of support, however the same has not occurred for men particularly in the field of nursing. Public perception, sexual stereotypes, and legalized discrimination are the barriers that male nurses face in this society. Men are often critisied as being emotional different from women. They are also know for being inferior and not as capable of caring. I interviewed two male nurses that currently work at St John Hospital. I asked them a series of questions in order to get a clear view of the discrimination that male nurses face in this career field.

I sat with Christopher Magee in the cafeteria at St John Hospital to discuss the issues men face while working in the medical field.Christoper Magee has been a registered nurse for St John Hospital for seven years. He graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelors degree in nursing. Christopher knows firsthand the discrimination men face while working as a nurse. While speaking to Mr. Magee , he explains why there is gender disrcimation against male nurses. He says, people think men are not capable of being a nurse. "They feel that men should leave the nursing to women, and men should do manly jobs".

The action Christopher is taking to try eliminate gender discrimination is educating indivalus of the importence of being a nurse. Christopher states" it doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, the only thing that matters is the passion you have for helping people". When Christopher enters a patient room he comforts his patients showing his warmth and compassion with the patient. He takes extra precaution in particular with female patients. Using towels to cover their genital areas while he examines a patient, and having another nurse with him in the room if he has to catheterize women. This usually eliminates some of the anxiety patients may have. Christopher thinks that male nurses are just as caring and passionate as women nurses. He's doing his best to try to educate on the importance of helping people, weather if you're a woman or a man this should not stop you from performing your job.

I also had the pleasure to speak with John Phillips on the stereotypes men often face while being a nurse. John Phillips is also a registered nurse for St John Hospital. Nursing was not Mr. Phillips first career choice. He was forced to return to school to obtain his nursing degree after being laid off from his factory job. I spoke with him on the issues of stereotypes male face while being a nurse, and why this field is dominated by women. It was a nice day so we decided to set outside in the hospital garden to discuss these issues. John feels that men are always stereotyped when it comes to nursing. "When you think of a male nurse you often think he is gay" is