Skip to main content

Male Nurses Facts and History



Isn't it odd when most people describe a nurse, and it happens to be a male nurse, they almost always have to point that out? It is true that most nurses are female, but the number of male nurses grows by the day.

Male Nursing Facts

 

Many people are surprised to know that the first nurses throughout the world were actually men. The first nursing school was in India in about 250 BC and only men were allowed to be nurses. During the Black Plague in the 1300s, a group of men formed one of the first hospitals to care for the victims.  Today, about 6% of the nursing workforce in the U.S. is made up of men. However, in the military at least 35% of the nursing force in each of the three branches is composed of men. Men were excluded from nursing in the military in the early 1900s and did not resume this function until the early 1950s, after the Korean War.  Throughout the world today, more men are entering the field of nursing and there is a major push to delete the stereotype that nurses are women. In fact, men are finding roles in all fields of nursing. Nursing is a not a gender, it is a profession. The art of caring is not something only women understand. With the tremendous shortage of nurses, more men are encouraged to join the profession.
After the events of September 11, 2001, people throughout the world began to feel a sense of needing to bring more meaning into their lives. The desire to do something to make a difference has led many to look to nursing as a new career. Many more men as well as women have begun to find a great satisfaction in becoming nurses. And more and more men are considering nursing as a second career.


The History of Male Nurses

 

Nursing has become so associated with women that modern schools of nursing try to attract men with ads.  Two influences played a pre-eminent role in the evolution of modern nursing and men’s involvement in care of the ill.
During warfare, men had long been involved in caring for the sick and wounded – for example, men were trained to nurse the soldiers of the Roman Empire.  The most famous association of nursing and warfare lies in the figure of Florence Nightingale. Before she went to the Crimea, male orderlies nursed the British soldiers, although they had no training, except through experience and by working closely with surgeons.  In the American Civil War, men were also involved in caring for the sick and injured; the Confederate army designated 30 men per regiment to care for the wounded and remove those from the field who could not walk. The title of nurse, however, was only awarded to the women organized by Dorothea Dix, who was appointed Superintendent of the Female Nurses in the Union Army by the Secretary of War.  There were also groups of male volunteers on both sides who served as nurses. The most famous of these was the poet Walt Whitman. He is unusual in that he left a personal account of the care of the sick during the Civil War from a male perspective: two collections of poems, Drum-taps (1865) and Sequel to Drum-taps (1865-6), and a memoir, Specimen Days in America (1887). One of his most famous poems from this period is ‘The Wound Dresser’, which 150 years later still resonates as it describes activities and emotions that nurses continue to experience.
There is evidence that nursing care in colonial hospitals was provided by a mix of both males and females, mainly without formal training until the late 19th century. A history of Parramatta Hospital (1790-1818) reveals that “the sick of the day were cared for by incompetents, for the most part drunken men and in some cases drunken women”.


The use of the word ‘wardsman’ illustrates one of the mechanisms by which men’s contribution to nursing has been rendered invisible. The title ‘nurse’ became associated almost exclusively with women, while men delivering care similar to or identical with that of their female colleagues were variously titled wards men, stewards, orderlies, porters and attendants, etc. Often the work they undertook was circumscribed, such as the provision of care to groups of male patients which might have offended the sensibilities of a woman.

Fortunately, today most of society has gone beyond assigning the role of nurse to females only.  The fact is, more and more men are entering the field of nurses.  Men make great nurses, just as women do. A great nurse is determined by skill and ability.


Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest  and Twitter

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

As a Nursing Student, what Extracurricular Activities are Beneficial?

We already had our time to treat the immense demanding curricula a nursing school provides. Nursing students are often familiarized with it at the very beginning of their journey. Information usually being provided is strictly covering what the school curricula involve. It does not provide hints on possible courses or extracurricular activities a nurse-to-be has to follow in order to get the most of his/her studying years. A nursing student might consider going for a nurse related extracurricular activity that will be efficient in terms of time management. What might count as a productive extracurricular activity for a nursing student? o      Initiating one or more community service projects o      Job shadowing o      Volunteer   Why should one consider these extracurricular activities once he or she is studying to become a nurse? Well, first of all, nursing requires a lot of good will and dedication. It is that kind of profession you need to put all your physic

Where do Registered Nurses Work?

Registered nurses are needed far and wide, and there dispersal amongst various facilities is illuminating.   Commonly, you associate nurses with hospitals, but their expertise is needed in a plethora of environments.   An overwhelming amount of nurses, (60% to be exact) operate in hospitals.   Comparing this percentage to the mere 5% working in nursing homes, RN’s have disseminated into non-governmental and EDU positions, as well as employment facilities and doctor’s offices.    Related : 2016 INTERNATIONAL NURSES ASSOCIATION (INA) SCHOLARSHIP AWARD Visit www.nurseadvisormagazine.com for more information on nursing. R elated : Top Nurse with the International Nurses Association, Steven Eric Southerland, RN, BSN, AAS, EMT-P to Publish in the Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare Please follow us on Facebook , Linkedin , Pinterest , Twitter

Insomnia in Nurses

The nursing profession has more workers suffering from insomnia than any profession overall.   It's really not surprising: rotating shifts, long hours, emotionally draining days or nights, and of course the pressure of not making a mistake. It all can take its toll, and that toll may be in the form of insomnia.   Insomnia Facts Do you ever look at s sleeping baby, and think about how you wish you could sleep like that?   Babies have no daily worries. Someone always cares for their needs, so their minds are not preoccupied with “what ifs”, or consumed with thoughts of everything that must be accomplished the following day.   No wonder we can't sleep!   One of the main reasons so many nurses suffer from insomnia is that it's difficult to essentially shut the mind down.   You can physically put your body to bed, however you cannot reach in the brain, flip a switch, and turn of the mind.   Think of it like this; you get a comfortable blanket and pillow however ins