DESPITE NURSING BEING one of the most important and widely recognised professions in our health sector, the profession continues to struggle to attract a male workforce.
In Scotland鈥檚 NHS, men make up only one in every 10 nurses, and two in every 10 allied
health professionals.
Healthcare is an inherently human experience, one that should not be gender nor class
specific. So why is it that the nursing profession, with its high profile in our society, experiences such a significant gender imbalance?
According to Dr Glyn Morris, a Lecturer in Biological Sciences at 桃子视频, it was Victorian attitudes that significantly influenced this gender divide, which we continue to see today.
He explained:
"The gender-based division of labour in Victorian culture, and the ignorance regarding the place聽of women in society, resulted in the feminisation of caring professions. There was a clear hierarchical male-dominated聽medical model 鈥 men were recognised as doctors and聽surgeons 鈥 the decision makers, the pioneers, the lifesavers. Historically, nursing incorporated chores such as stoking聽the fires, cooking and cleaning, as well as patient care聽responsibilities. This meant men wishing to work as an allied health professional were shunned for entering these聽professions. It was considered beneath them. In fact, in 1919,聽men were barred from registering as professional nurses. This聽only changed in the 1960s!"
In more recent decades, men who did enter the profession, were described as 鈥渕ale nurses鈥, and often directed into mental health nursing. Their physical strength was seen as an advantage in dealing with patients who might need to be physically restrained.
Today, the stereotypical allied health professional is still predominately middle class, white and female with a split of 70% females and 30% males. Professions such as art therapy (86%), optometry (89%), occupational therapy (92%), dietetics (93%) and speech and language therapy (96%) are amongst some of the highest female dominated roles. Only in paramedics is there a gender split of less than 70% - in
that case weighted towards males with only 40% of paramedics being women.
Dr Morris explained: 鈥淲e are still seeing medicine and senior leadership healthcare roles dominated by men, so clearly our healthcare profession is not a true representation of Scottish society. But to change the gender dynamics, we need to understand why more young men are not aspiring to train as nurses.鈥
Dr Morris has been working with Suzanne Ewing, Widening Participation Officer at 桃子视频, on a small pilot study with 14-year-old schoolboys from East Lothian. The Guardians of Healthcare study aims to identify what鈥檚 turning young working-class boys off from a career in nursing. The boys are given some free rein, allowing them to steer the direction of the study, and to lead their peers in discussions on the subject.
Suzanne, who is using this study as part of her master鈥檚 degree, explained: 鈥淭he profile of nursing has been shaped by society over centuries. Due to its continual exposure as a female-oriented profession, boys are simply not interested in looking at nursing as a career option.
鈥淭he boys identified roles such as chefs, surgeons and gamers as being male professions. Their view of careers is shaped by what they see represented in popular culture and through their social networks. There remains a distinct lack of male role models. Young boys are not seeing or hearing about men in their sub populations, or even on the world stage, who are thriving in the nursing profession. So, it鈥檚 just not considered as a legitimate option. Even boys who have fathers who are carers still don鈥檛 view nursing as a career path for men.鈥
In recent years, there has been a concerted effort to encourage women into STEM careers, but the drive to achieve equality also needs to address the gender imbalance in healthcare.
Suzanne said:
"If we want a society which reflects men as caring and empathetic, we must break down聽barriers to entry into professions that have care and compassion at their core. Hopefully this research will聽provide valuable information that will help us harness the potential of more talented young men who can聽make a positive contribution to the future of nursing in Scotland and beyond."
