Stereotypes In Nursing

Are men allowed to become nurses? The history of male nursing began long ago. As time went on the number of male nurses in the medical field increased more and more. This topic was chosen because it relates to my personal life and my career in nursing. Being a male and a nurse has been always laughed upon, and there are many stereotypes that man cannot be nurses. Some say that men do not have the heart to care for their patients, or do not have the compassion to care. I believe that some men have more compassion and a better heart than some women. We all have our strengths and weaknesses no one is ever perfect and every single one of us is different. So, the rise in male nurses should keep rising and men should feel more comfortable going
Much of the men in nursing had to do with the Christian era and how religious men were compared to women. Men were considered more “pure” than women therefore women were not allowed to be nurses. Moving on through history to around the Civil War, there were women nurses working in the hospitals while men worked on the frontlines. After that, that’s when men in nursing started to decrease. Florence Nightingale was on a mission to make nursing a women’s job only. The first nursing school was created in the late 1800’s. Men were not allowed to be in those nursing schools. The first-time men could actually be trained in school was in 1882. After that more men started to enter the nursing field, but they were still laughed at. Nowadays men are actually wanted in this field. Nursing is in a big shortage and men are needed in this field. Men have more advantages in nursing. They are stronger which is needed to transfer patients or to control fights in the hospitals. Men are also attracted to nursing. This field has always had job security. Nursing field always had an attractive salary, and many job opportunities. In this paper I will discuss when male nursing actually started and how did it change throughout history? Why are men beginning to go into the nursing field, what is the attraction? Also, why should men be
“Few people are aware of the long tradition of men as nurses; documentation exists dating back to 1600 BCE and the 2nd century CE.” (ARTICLE 2). Not many people knew this but, nursing has been documented back to the 1600 BCE and the 2nd century Christian Era. Back in the day men were the only ones that were allowed to be nurses. They were the primary care givers to the sick, and women were not allowed to care for the sick. In 235 AD, during the Christian Era, Egypt was effected by many different plagues. Men created a group known as Parobolani and it was organized for the men and made them in charge of caring for the ones affected by the plague. Then, “In the 5th Century, St Alexius founded the Alexian Brothers, an order of religious men who provided care to the sick at Edessa.” (ARTICLE 2). The Alexian Brothers was a religious group that was created in Europe during the Black Death. The Black death effected hundreds of millions of people, and it was the job of the men to care for them. Skipping to the Civil War, “there were many volunteers who provided care for the massive numbers of wounded” (ARTICLE 2). There were many injured in this war, hundreds of thousands of men were injured in this war and they all needed caring for. Men were mostly nurses on the front lines and on the battle field, and the women were working in the hospitals. On the front lines these men saw many different types of injuries, from stabbings,