Breaking Down Barriers

White women, white dress, white cap – the quintessential image of a nurse.

While the depiction may have rung true just a few decades ago, today’s nursing field continues to diversify.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, men accounted for nearly 9.6 percent of all registered nurses in 2013. While that might not sound like much, it’s up from less than 3 percent in 1970 and less than 8 percent in 2000. The annual sample survey by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing found smaller numbers, with men accounting for just 7 percent of the RN workforce today.

While the NCSBN reports about 83 percent of nurses are still white, racial lines also continue to diversify. The organization found 19 percent of RNs in 2013 had minority backgrounds.

“The field of nursing is changing,” said Kurt Abbey, executive director of nursing for Mercy. “A lot more men are going through nursing school and that correlates directly with what we are seeing in the workforce.

“I think we see that particularly in Springfield. We have always been higher than the national average in male nurses.”

Of the 2,050 nurses at Mercy Hospital Springfield and surrounding clinics, 231 are male. At 11.3 percent, that’s nearly 2 percent above the national average. The numbers are slightly higher at CoxHealth, with a 12 percent combined male nursing population at the health system’s Springfield, Branson and Monett sites.

A 17-year Mercy employee, Abbey, the first executive director of nursing at the hospital, said he sees nursing as a good launching point for men into other areas of health care, such as nurse practitioners and physicians assistants. The training is also a stepping stone for paramedics, a traditionally male-dominated field, he said. Abbey served as a flight nurse for seven years before working in the intensive care unit and moving into his current position, which was created four years ago.

“A lot of men gravitate toward trauma and intensive care because it’s always a thrill, everything is going 110 mph, sometimes literally,” he Abbey. “Females are great at the job, but it also has a lot of physical requirements when lifting people in and out.”

New chapter
What’s the recent draw for men in nursing? Traditionally male-dominated professions, such as construction and manufacturing, began hemorrhaging jobs during the recession and were slow to rebound during the recovery. Meanwhile, the health care sector added jobs and continued to grow. The Census Bureau reports health care employment is up 1.4 million jobs since the recession began, while manufacturing and construction are down 3.6 million jobs nationwide.

“In Springfield, the Zenith plant closed and across the country people in banking and auto were losing jobs quickly,” said Paul Pope, a nursing instructor with the Mercy College of Nursing and Health Sciences of Southwest Baptist University. “Nursing began to have a greater appeal and people started to consider it as an option.”

A 23-year employee with Mercy, Pope said he’s seen a shift in the student population and aims to welcome the newcomers to the ranks with open arms. In February, Pope helped start the Greater Ozarks Chapter of the American Assembly of Men in Nursing. Just three months in, the group only has 10 members, but Pope said with a goal of 50 by year’s end, he’s spreading the word.

“There were no venues for men to get out and network,” said Pope, president of the group. “Women here get together at the start and end of every semester to socialize, and while the men are always invited, the trips are usually to places like nail salons. We weren’t excluded, but we weren’t included either.”

Pope hopes to reach out to practicing nurses and other students. Cox College President Lance Ratcliff said male nursing numbers at the school also are on the rise, averaging 10 to 15 percent during the past five years.

“The health system in Springfield is very strong and very progressive in their expectations of the roles nurses can have,” he said. “I think that opens the door for more employment and more male students.”

Mercy’s Abbey said that progressive attitude leads to greater job diversity as a whole. Traditionally a male-dominated role, about 1 in 4 of Mercy’s 611 physicians are female. However, some stereotypes still hold true. According to the Census Bureau, men still outearn women in the nursing field, with women taking home about 91 cents for every dollar male nurses earn.

Overcoming the stigma
Despite auspicious signs for men in nursing, barriers still remain.

“Nursing is not considered to be a manly job. You lose that manly edge that a profession like a lumberjack might have,” Pope said.

Consciously or not, the advertising and entertainment industries tend to promote feminine traits associated with nursing, which turn public attitude off toward male nurses. Abbey said men in nursing are often presumed to be physicians or asked why they opted against medical school.

National organizations such as The Truth About Nursing, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that seeks to increase public understanding of the central, front-line role nurses play in modern health care, continue to break through the stigma with articles combating nursing depictions in popular TV shows, movies and advertising.

Pope said he’s also noticed a shift in college textbooks with writers leaning more toward neutral pronouns and images of both men and women.

“We are starting to see a change in mindset,” Ratcliff said. “It’s good to have a mix in the classroom, because varying opinions create a rich academic mindset.

“As more men come through the program and more graduates spread that mindset, the culture is starting to shift.”

Abbey said he’s never heard a disparaging word form a patient, adding many even felt more comfortable with him.

“If you are a 250-pound guy standing for the first time, you might not exactly trust a 120-pound female nurse to catch you if you fall,” he said. “It’s all about perception. I’ve been razzed by family and friends, but never in the workplace.

“Change doesn’t happen overnight.”[[In-content Ad]]