Male Nurse Evolution

Evolution of Male Nurses in the Army
Nursing was often considered to be a profession dominated by females. There were strong stereotype that promoted ideas about profession and gender type. Men that were nurses often face assumptions based on their jobs. In fact, male nurses have existed in the United States for nearly as long as female nurses. Prior to the early 1900s, men dominated the field of nursing. In fact during wars prior to 1900’s, men serving as frontline nurses, while female nurses were restricted to hospitals.
The military began to adapt these same stereotype ideas in the early 1900’s. The government as well as the military ignored the idea that a male could be nurse. In 1901 the United States Military reorganized the nursing corps and men were no longer allowed to serve as nurse. Florence Nightingale is widely blamed for the "demise of men" in nursing, because she believed that the organization and supervision of nursing care should be taken out of the hands of men (“Just call us nurses,” 2012). This contributed to the general feminization of nurses. Males nurses struggled to find their place in the military. Male nurses argue that they had the same training and hold the same State Diplomas but they were classified as orderlies and paid about half
the salary of a female nurse. Male nurses’ organizations were formed who submitted official letters to the government about the inequality. Despite the continued effort for gender equality for male nurses, the government refuses equality for the male nurses.
During the Korean War there was shortage of qualified nurses.
The government had to come up with a plan to recruit more nurses. There had also been several series of legislature from previous years that was not passed. Finally on August 9th, 1955 President Eisenhower signed into law an Act that provided commissions for qualified male nurses in the military. This allows the Army to commission its first male officer on October 6th, 1955. Lieutenant Edward T. Lyon became the Army Nurse Corps' first male nurse. This Bill allowed male nurses to be commissioned on a regular basis in the military. That stereotype barrier had begun to be broken and male nurses were proving their worth throughout the
military.
Despite all the societal advances that have been made with regard to gender equality, most people today still think of nursing as a female profession. The media continue to portray stereotype of “a nurse,” that is a woman with a white dress and white cap, while the man is portray as a physician. There are male organizations, such as American Association for Men in Nursing (AAMN) which provide a framework for nurses as a group to meet, discuss, and influence factors that affect men as nurses. According to the Dr. Don Anderson, AAMN board member, AAMN is encouraging men of all ages to become nurses and currently running a campaign to see a twenty percent increase in male nurses in the United States by the year 2020. Military has an increase in male nurses in which out of all U.S. military nurses, roughly one-third are males. The civilian sector has a slower increased rate in which there is only one out of every ten are nurses (Payne, 2013). Today, male nurses represent over 35% of the Army Nurse Corps and they have expanding their role in the medical field and procuring specialty positions. The outlook for military males shows a positive increase of growth occurring over the next decade ("Nurse Journal," n.d.). This is partly due with the military offer a competitive salary with good benefit from financial incentives (repaying student loans, special payment and affordable insurance).