Investigating the Occupational Aspirations of Male Nurses in London Hospitals - Dissertation Example

?INVESTIGATING THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND AND OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATIONS OF MALE NURSES IN LONDON HOSPITALS Introduction Florence Nightingale is a synonymous to nursing. This nursing icon called as "Lady with the Lamp" symbolizes feminine role of nursing. McCarthy (2010) states that “indeed, the issue of men and nursing is taxing the Health Service - only 10% of the nursing population is male…Men get turned off by the term "nurse" and feel there is a stigma attached to it”. The qualities such as hard work, devotion, empathy, compassion and commitment have been recognized in the profession as essential rather than gender in the healthcare over the period of time. Marsh (2011) states that latest figures show more than one in ten nurses are men, compared with one in a hundred in the earliest days of the NHS more than 50 years ago… the rise in male nurses is a greater phenomenon among those trained in the UK. Nurses in UK are from different social backgrounds, but generally hail from middle class families. Brown and Stones (p. 98) state that “while the female [nursing] students typically said nursing had been their dream since early adolescence, the male students said that they had been uncertain about their career and had decided to go to nursing school by mere chance, often after experiencing unemployment…” Male nurses were usually employed in asylums. Palmer (2009, P. 70) states that nursing staff were treated as employees rather than members of a morally superior profession, motivated by aspirations rather than material rewards. There is a thought that nursing needs feminine qualities. The male nurses with caring qualities are considered as effeminate. This background in the profession to some extent prevents the male nurses’ growth due to negative image. In the year 1951, Males join the United Kingdom’s register of nurses for the first time helping to end to the discrimination against male nurses. (http://paralumun.com) Research Question The study seeks to answer the question: Does the social background constitute an important factor in occupational aspirations of the Male Nursing professionals? The objective of the study is to analyze the relationship between the social background and occupational aspirations, and the impact of the other related issues such as occupational hazards, discriminatory issues, working conditions and career plan on this relationship. Research Design and Methods The paper seeks to study and analyze the social background and the occupational aspirations of male nurses in London Hospitals. Qualitative research is proposed to be undertaken by interviews and collection of data through questionnaire. However, this needs to be supplemented with the research on secondary sources for a comprehensive analysis. The depth of the subject which involves mainly personal opinions, views on the profession or future career plans and practical difficulties in the profession warrants in-depth interview with the professionals. Analysis of a single case as in the case of Case Study, study based on the structures of experience as in the case of Phenomenology, Ethnography through field observation of socio-cultural phenomena or Grounded theory are considered inadequate. Data collection Method Interview with the nursing professionals in London Hospitals will be used for data collection for this purpose, along with the questionnaires for collecting general information with regard to the various factors involved. Interview Interviews on account of its flexibility is considered ideal for research in this case on account of its open ended nature and the scope it offers in hearing experiences, various points of views and understanding through interaction. Questionnaire The questionnaire will cover a range of issues concerning personal, financial and social aspects of the study. The objectivity in the questionnaire eliminates the scope for interpretation or bias in research. Secondary Sources of Information Secondary data will be useful for ground work and for firming up the strategy. It enlarges the horizon, since the published data instill confidence in approaching the issues. The cost and time involved in research will be greatly in the backdrop of the accumulated wisdom and reliability. Ethical Guidelines The important ethical guidelines with regard to respect for the persons, consent of the participants and confidentiality will be adhered to in the process. The participants will be assured that the data collected will be used only for the research and not for any other purposes. Principal Issues, Problems and Controversies Shortage of nursing professionals has become critical and proactive steps by the government to correct the position are necessary. The study by Mayor (2002) “has considerable policy relevance in view of the National Health Service (NHS) commitment to recruit qualified nurses from overseas to combat the nursing labour market shortages”. Negative image of nursing due to various factors should be dispelled for nursing to be considered as a career choice by the students. Discipline Nursing and Midwifery Council deal with the disciplinary actions and fitness to practice. Clover (2010) states that despite making up just 11 per cent of the registered nursing workforce, men formed 23 per cent of referrals and 42 per cent of those removed from the register in 2009-10…The NMC [also] said because it had no “robust evidence” on the gender difference it would be unwise for anyone to draw a conclusion that male nurses pose a higher risk to patients than female nurses. Class The research with reference to the social background and class perception in nursing is very important to address certain issues such as ‘image of nursing’, ‘career choice’, ‘career development’ and ‘further studies. Neilson (2008, P.90) states that if nursing is going to be viewed as a legitimate career choice and a profession it needs to reflect membership from the different social classes. Otherwise it could perpetuate an image, among the school pupils, that nursing is a job for the lower social classes. Gender Gender-bias towards nursing should be addressed for the growth of the profession. Neilson (2008, p.3) states that gender breakdown of those pupils who had chosen to follow nursing as a career revealed that males only accounted for 12.5% whereas females accounted for 87.5%. The males in general don’t view nursing as their career choice, and their parents’ view on nursing as a career may also be an important factor. Delivery of nursing care in UK could be seriously affected in future due to poor admission of brighter students to nursing schools. Occupational health Occupational health of the nurses is an area where policy reform is felt necessary by the professionals. Palmer (2009, p.99) states that between 1890 and 1919, nurses’ health risk was understood in terms of two categories of illness: infection and ‘overstrain.’ (p. 12) Male nurses had an image of physical strength and were often employed to restrain violent patients, a role that involved a high risk of physical injury. Ethical Issues The profession is wary of cultural misconceptions still existing in the society, as it may give rise to ethical issues, especially due to gender bias. Carvel (2006) states that a former student male nurse yesterday won a landmark sex discrimination case against NHS hospitals that refused to let him perform intimate medical procedures on women patients unless he was accompanied by a female chaperone. Ethical issue is a grey area in the medical treatment. Palliative care to terminal patient calls for discretion and also results in emotional strain on the part of the nurses. Models & Theories According to Holland’s Theory, persons are assumed to be most satisfied, successful, and stable in a work environment that is congruent with their personality type. Two of Holland's basic assumptions are that (a) persons in a vocation have similar personalities and (b) persons tend to choose actual occupational environments (or college majors) consistent with their personality orientations. (Miller, 2005, p.1) Primarily, for a successful career decision making or career development, renaissance in teaching and vocational counseling at school/college level is important to improve the prevailing perceptions about nursing. Person-environment models are gaining importance in vocational counseling. Theory of Gender and Power, Social Change Model and Individual psychological model as well as theories related to practice such as Florence Nightingale- Environmental Theory, Hildegard Peplau -Interpersonal Relations Model and Ida Jean Orlando- Deliberative Nursing Process would be helpful in the study. Conclusion In our study, integration of the findings to the developments in the healthcare system is very important to understand the concept in a larger perspective. The secondary sources will be very useful in this regard which includes government’s policy papers, reports of the committees formed by the government, various professional bodies or associations of the health care professionals and research reports/study papers of medical/nursing journals such as British Journal of Nursing, BMC Nursing and International Journal of Nursing and Midwifery. Bibliography Brown, R.G.S & R.W.H. Stones, (1973) The Male Nurse, London: G. Bell & Sons. Carvel, J. (2006) Former male nurse wins sex discrimination case. Guardian.co.uk, 10 June 2006. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2006/jun/10/equality.health currentnursing.com (2011) Nursing Theories. http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/nursing_theorists.html Marsh, B. (2011). More men than ever work as hospital nurses. The Daily Mail, 13 November 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-145183/More-men-work-hospital-nurses.html McCarthy, C. (2000). Nursing a female bias. BBC News, 12 May 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/746218.stm Mayor, V. (2002) Staying power: the career journeys of leading African, African-Caribbean and Asian nurses in England. University of Warwick. http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b1379685~S15 : http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/1301/ Miller, T. A. (2005) Theoretical application of Holland's theory to individual decision-making styles: implications for career counselors. Journal of Employment Counseling. All Business, http://www.allbusiness.com/sector-56-administrative-support/administrative/1189006-1.html Palmer, D. L. (2009) Who cared for the carers? A study of the occupational health of general and mental health nurses 1890 to 1948. http://eric.exeter.ac.uk/exeter/bitstream/10036/96946/4/PalmerD.pdf paralumun.com. History of Nursing. http://paralumun.com/nursing.htm Read More