More men finding rewards in nursing career | Mark Ryan
The negative stereotypes in the once female-dominated profession are slowly fading away.
Men are filing in to nursing classes in bigger numbers.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are roughly 3 million registered nurses and 676,000 licensed practical or licensed vocational nurses in the nation – with 12 percent of the RNs now being men, up from 2.7 percent male RNs in 1970.
Meal planning:Put balanced meals at your finger tips with a master plan | Anna Jones
Healthy habits:Focus on 5 healthier living habits for 2023 | Mark Mahoney
Positive efforts in Florida to develop the male nursing workforce have included Partners for a Healthy Community’s “Are You Man Enough to be a Nurse?” six-month billboard recruitment campaign on Interstate 4 in 2008. The project was initially funded by a grant from the Florida Center for Nursing.
There have also been challenges to the underlying gender structure that positions masculinity as inherently different than, and superior to, femininity – such as the popular movie series featuring Ben Stiller as registered nurse.
Stiller, who played Gaylord “Greg” Focker, tries his best to gain the approval of his future father-in-law, Robert De Niro’s character Jack Byrnes. But Focker not only fails to impress Byrnes, he becomes his frequent target of ridicule.
In “Meet the Parents,” the breakfast scene includes the following dialogue:
Jack Byrnes (De Niro): “You know Greg is in medicine, too, Larry.”
Dr. Larry Banks (James Rebhorn): “Oh really, what field?”
Greg Focker (Stiller): “Nursing …”
Dr. Larry and table full of guests: (bursting into laughter)
Dr. Larry: “No, really?”
Greg Focker: “Nursing …”
Dr. Larry and guests: (dead silence)
The movie pokes fun at male nurses, but it also highlights in a humorous way the narrow-minded attitudes some – De Niro’s retired ex-CIA character, in particular – still hold toward male nurses. (Jack Byrnes, with his priceless facial expressions, is the perfect comic foil for Greg Focker.)
The gender label attached to male nurses is not generally meant in a complimentary way. One doesn’t hear, “The male plumber fixed the leaky sink,” or “There’s a male cook working the evening shift at the diner.”
These days, however, most men working as nurses are oblivious to the negative comments. The jump in interest could just be that nursing is more appealing than many male-dominated occupations. When firefighters and police officers are risking their lives, male nurses are saving lives. When sports writers are catering to prima donna athletes, male nurses are being appreciated and loved by their patients.
Truck drivers are on the road for days or weeks on end.
Construction workers come home dirty every day.
According to the Nurse.com’s Nurse Salary Research Report for 2022, the median salary for male RNs is $90,000 as compared to $76,000 for female RNs.
Job-market trends would seem to confirm that male nurses are not much bothered by the Jack Byrneses of the world.
Yes, male nursing is a lucrative and growing profession.
There might even be room for a few male CIA agents interested in a career change.
Mark Ryan is a Tallahassee RN and a member of Premier Health and Fitness Center.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: More men finding career in nursing lucrative, rewarding
