Stereotypes In Nursing Essay

Stereotypes affect all of us, more so when we are not aware of them. Recognizing stereotypes helps us to move past them. Choose one stereotype about nursing. In at least three paragraphs, describe the stereotype, show an example of the stereotype from literature, television, a movie, etc., and then describe how the stereotype could positively and negatively affect the image of nursing. Cite your sources in APA format. Save your work as a Word document and submit as an attachment in Blackboard.

During the Victorian times, men were perceived to be better to women when it came to education. Therefore, educating a woman was completely a waste of resources and what men expected from women was to be obedient, humble and generous to men (Carol, 2011). Oakley (1975) highlighted that women did work in jobs associated with supposed female skills for example cleaning. (Up until the 19th century) . Until the mid 19th century nursing was not an activity, which was thought to demand either training or skills as nightingale stated that nursing was left to those were too drunken, (who were drunkards), who had no money for apprenticeship or too dirty (Allen, 2001). Carol (2011) pointed out that respectable woman were not interested in hospital jobs because it was considered as menial jobs and nursing was described as duties of servants.

The Motion picture film, “Sentimental Women Need Not Apply”, highlighted that the first group of nursing students were all white women (1988). Black women were unwelcomed in some nursing schools hence nursing schools were establish for colored people only (Gary & Hott, 1988). One nurse shared that the lack of black doctors rendered black nurses as the sole healthcare providers in some communities. After years of speaking out against segregation, any capable human, regardless of race or gender can now become a nurse. In the 21st century both men and women of all cultures are welcome to becoming a nurse. Though nursing remains a female dominated profession, the gap between male and female nurses has narrowed. In 1970, three percent of nurses were males compared to ten percent in 2013 (Tanner,

Nursing as a profession is often portrayed by the media in demeaning ways. “Nurses have often been unfairly and unrealistically portrayed as “battle axes” or psychologically compromised. And that’s if they are written into the script at all.” (Berkowitz, 2014). “They are often portrayed as physician helpers, not the highly skilled independent clinicians that we know they are.” (Berkowitz, 2014).

From earlier in their lives, girls learned the responsibility of caring for others. While boys played baseball outside, girls played house inside. They viewed themselves as mothers, sisters, and friends- not as individuals (Norman 7). Nursing then became the logical career choice for women.

profession and should be respected as such. Congruent with nursing stereotypes comes gender roles. Naturally, women are the care-takers thus the profession is predominately female, but it should be noted that this predisposition of women taking on this role has too altered the perception of nursing. “Although the number of men in nursing is growing, campaigns and targeted recruitments should be displayed more often to draw more men into the profession” (Cohen 2007).

Oakley (1975) highlighted that women did work in jobs associated with supposed female skills for example cleaning. Until the mid 19th century nursing was not an activity, which was thought to demand either training or skills as nightingale stated that nursing was left to those were too drunken, who had no money for apprenticeship or too dirty (Allen,2001). Carol (2011) who pointed out that respectable woman were not interested in hospital jobs because it was considered as menial jobs and nursing was described as duties of servants.

Saving lives matters. You do not have to be a Doctor or a Police officer to save a person life. Being a Nurse has greater or equal value in saving someone life. A registered nurse or RN is a person who has graduated with a nursing degree from an accredited college or university, has passed the state board examination and is licensed to practice nursing. It is very important for a person who wants to become a nurse to research the pros and cons of the different areas of nursing. Gender is a big role in nursing, especially when a specific area of interest is chosen by the individual. For instance, women are gentle so they will probably do well with caring for the babies. While the men are physically strong, they are needed in the physical therapy area to help with lifting patients. Being a nurse you must have patience, customer service, being independence, and honesty. I believe that being a nurse will not be an easy task. Becoming a nurse takes hard work and dedication. Being a nurse may be an accomplishment for those that enjoy helping others. It also has great pay and benefits and offers a secure job for a career.

“Males make up about 5% of all RNs working in the United States today” (Poliafico). Nursing is a profession in the health care field that concentrates on the nurturing care of individuals. The United States currently lacks testosterone (the male hormone) in the nursing field. The subject is something many people have thought about at least once in their lives. Some may argue nursing is a career meant for a woman, while others may argue it is a non-gender specified career option. Either way, the world has come to accept the lack of men in nursing. The nursing profession should be for both men and women, but society puts a stereotype on the ‘average nurse’ preventing men from being accepted into this career.

Nurses in the USA make up the biggest workforce of any country in the world. However nurses continue to be in short supply even with an aggressive campaign to attract foreign nurses (Brunetto et al., 2013). It is estimated that “the United States will need to have produced 1.13 million new RN’s to fill the future demand” (MeMenamin, 2014). Of the current-working nurses in the United States, “males represent approximately 7% of the nursing workforce…”(Colby, 2012). The percentage of men in nursing must improve if nursing is to become diversified. Although the number of men in the nursing profession is slowly growing, they will not have an impact on the future nursing shortage. In order for men to choose nursing over other professions, men should be exposed to the historical contributions of men in nursing, as well as changing the perception of male nurses. The lack of male representation in the field of nursing is due to “the feminization of modern day nursing by Florence Nightingale” (Colby, 2013) in the nineteenth century. Nightingale saw all women as nurses and believed that those who entered the nursing field “were doing what came naturally to them as women (Evans, 2003).” According to Evans (2003), “The failure to recognize their contributions leaves male nurses with little information about their professional background and historical position, a situation in which nurse Okrainec (1990) suggests perpetuates the notion that male nurses are anomalies.”

In Meet the Parents starring Ben Stiller plays a role as a nurse, Ben walks into the kitchen and is meets the family of his girlfriend, Pam. Pam introduces her sister’s fiancé, who is an M.D, and his father who is a Plastic Surgeon. When Ben tells them he is in nursing, they start laughing and say, “No, really what do you do?” They continue to ask him why he did not go for being a doctor instead of staying a nurse. He replies, “Nursing was just a better fit for me.” In many movies, the male nurse is made fun of simply because nursing is for women and being a Doctor is for men. Many men fight the stereotype, as being known as a gay-male-nurse. Many have believed that men should take the one extra step and become a Doctor, simply because it is manlier. Statistics have shown 9.6% of nurses are males, and that number continues to grow every year (USA Today). We could have the most outstanding, most caring, skilled, male nurses in the world, but most will not come forward, the reason being they do not want to be terrorized, since they settled at being just a nurse and nothing more. In the article one male nurse, Ryan McFarland claims, “This job is manly, simply because you must have the stomach for it; you must be able to handle moving residents from one bed to another, helping using bedpans, wrapping bandages and so much more. (USA Today). Bishop claims that this job is not just for the women who have caring hearts but as well as for the men in this

We all have been victims of gender bias, whether in the academic fields; our roles at home; or even in the clothes we chose to wear. This problem is not something that came up recently, rather it’s an issue that has been ongoing for centuries. As a child, if you are a girl, you wear pink clothes with flowers and play with Barbie dolls. A little boy on the other hand, wears blue and walks around with toy cars and video game controllers. Before we can choose our goals, we are assigned specific gender roles and career paths according to our sex. Nursing is one of those fields oriented mostly towards females, despite all the advancements made in gender equality; a male nurse is still frowned upon. According to the textbook, nursing originates

When I think of a nurse I think of a caring person who respects others unconditionally and helps to promote wellness and also to be an advocate for their patient. I do feel that sometimes some people go into nursing because of the money that can be made. Also there are more nurses going into advanced practice such as nurse practitioners, management and teaching to name a few, so this makes staff nursing more difficult when there is less floor nurses. I also feel that nurses that have been nurses a long time get exhausted with all the pressures of the job that result in burn out. I know in my hospital that most of the nurses that are in my department wanted to get out of floor nursing. I have heard people say that it got to be too much working on the floor. Most nurses in the profession today are older and have health issues.

While there are a lot of responsibilities that nurses have to do most of the nurses being female or males do their work good

Among twenty leading female-dominated professions, registered nurses (RN’s) are the second most occupation that employed women in 2006¬. Similar to many traditionally female professions, the percentage of male in nursing is small. In fact, male nurses only comprised eight percent of RN’s in 2008. Although much effort has been made to recruit more men into nursing, many contributing factors have driven them away from this profession. Those factors include poor nursing image, negative public perception, low economic status, and gender stereotypes. One of the most significant factors that deter men from entering the profession is stereotypes. Research shows that men might be more likely to encounter stereotypes than discrimination;