The Evolution of the Nursing Gender Stereotype - Article Example

The Evolution of the Nursing Gender Stereotype Nurses have always been ified as a profession for women. Why? Basically because as the mother of all nurses, Florence Nightingale (1859, Preface), would put it: “The following notes are by no means intended as a rule of thought by which nurses can teach themselves to nurse, still less as a manual to teach nurses to nurse. They are meant simply to give hints for thought, to women who have personal charge of the health of others. Every woman, or at least almost every woman, in England has, at one time or another of her life, charge of the personal health of somebody, whether child or invalid,-- in other words, every woman is a nurse.” Whether the role is God ordained, for women bear children, or, Society ordained, as women are primarily left to care for the household, has categorized the woman as the best candidate for the nursing profession. Nuns and lay women have been helping to care for the sick even before the time of Florence Nightingale. It is only during her time that the first nursing school was established. Nursing thus became a profession. Coupled with Nightingales belief and fact that society has dictated women to care for the injured soldiers has cemented the nursing profession as a profession for women. This designation of the profession as “only for women” has changed over time. The three pictures of groups of nurses presented, depicts nurses over a vast period of time, will attest to this. The first is a picture of six nurses taken during Florence Nightingales time. The women are dressed all in white long gowns with what appears to be a nursing cap on their heads. The cap is quite larger than the common white nursing caps worn by nursing students of today. They look very neat with their hair fastened away from the face and tucked underneath their caps. Their white gowns cover their bodies and arms provide protection from contamination and also prevent them from coming into skin contact with their patients. Their gowns are all starched up seeing that it does not follow the contour of the body also serves to prevent dirt from sticking to it. They do not wear jewelry as this might only get in the way as they move about their business. Their faces bearing a serious and yet small smile shows that they mean business. They are ready to do their task. Not one wears a big smile probably because during their time women were supposed to be meek and reserved. The head held high and eyes looking straight at the camera shows confidence. They epitomize Florence Nightingales’ Nurse as clean, neat, formal, confident, and competent. The picture also shows the bond that these women have. The way they are seated, with the women on the floor having their arm and elbow on the lap of the woman seated behind them and with the woman at the back sitting forward and placing her hands at the back of each nurse seated at her front shows the relation of togetherness at work and in service. The picture also shows that age is not an impediment to service. The picture shows women of varying ages. This disparity in ages is further emphasized for the youngest nurse, the one wearing a different headdress was made to sit beside the oldest nurse in the picture (2nd row extreme right of the picture). The second picture are the nurses of the late ninety’s. It shows three women nurses and three doctors. The nurses are in scrub suits while two doctors are in doctors gowns and another has a stethoscope hanging around his neck. The ratio of doctors against nurses in the picture can be interpreted to show equal importance. Both are equally important in the field of caring and nursing a sick patient to good health. The nurses in the picture are easily identifiable by the scrub suits they are wearing. They are no longer encumbered with the lengthy, up to the neck and long sleeved gowns. They can move with ease and are more comfortable. Although no longer sporting the traditional white long gowns, they are as clean as ever with the help of antibacterial soaps and anti-bacterial hand sanitizers. They look neat with their hair either cut short or in a bun. They still sport no jewelry. These show that they are ready competent and ready to work. Their stance with their hands crossed in front of their bodies and their legs slightly apart show confidence and strength. These nurses still carry the characteristics of Florence Nightingales Nurse. The only difference in appearance is the suits they are wearing and the smiles that they are showing. Both the suit and the smile adds warmth and a welcoming feeling. It depicts the nurse as a person. The nurse is more real performing not only the ministerial duty of helping the sick get better but of being a friend and confidant. This is the rationale behind the nursing profession as being both an art and a science. The picture also shows nurses of varying ages and nationalities. The differences in ages shows that similar to the time of Florence Nightingale, age is not material to caring for others. As to the difference in nationalities or skin color, the picture truthfully depicts that nurses abound in all society’s be it Asian, Caucasian or African. The Nursing profession is open to everyone—young and old; brown, black or white. But is it open to males as well? Admittedly, there are men in the field of nursing. Historical data from the Army Nurse Corps Collection records that as early as World War II there were already male nurses: “Historical evidence places men contract nurses on many battlefields throughout the course of American History. As early as 1898, during the Spanish –American War, male nurses served and died as contract nurses in Cuba. Arlington National Cemetery interment documents confirm the burial of male contract nurses who died while serving their country during the Spanish-American War.” Few as they are according to Sierra Reyes (2007, pp.2), their numbers are growing: “In the recent years, there has been an increase in the number of male registered nurses in the United States. Up from 3.1 percent in 1986, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the number of male registered nurses was 5.6 percent at the end of 2005.” The third picture is an open invitation for men to enter the field of nursing. The picture shows no women only men. It depicts men in various fields of work—an athlete, a coach, a martial arts expert, a football player, a worker and an executive. They are all standing in a row with a caption of “Are You Man Enough to be a Nurse?” This can very well mean that all the other so called “man-professions” represented by the men in the picture is not as “manly” as being a nurse. Being a nurse therefore is to become a true “Man.” Accordingly this is not only a way to invite other males to join in but also to affirm that males can do the work of nurses and can be good at it too. Does this contradict the belief of Florence Nightingale? No it does not. Florence Nightingale merely stated the obvious during her time that it is the women who have are in the position to nurse a person back to health. She did not negate the possibility of men being nurses. In fact Nightingale (1869,letter) she declares that in pursuing the nursing profession a woman should be like a man: “I have no peculiar gifts. And I can honestly assure any young lady, if she will but try to walk, she will soon be able to run the “appointed course”. But then she must first learn to walk, and so when she runs she must run with patience. But I would also say to all young ladies who are called to any particular vocation, qualify yourself for it as a man does for his work. Don’t think you can undertake it otherwise.” But can these men perform the same as women? This is a proven fact that the Historical data from the Army Nurse Corps Collection can vouch for: The passage of time changes everything and nothing. The Army Nurse Corps we know it today strives to represent the values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless, honor, integrity and personal courage. The Army Nurse Corps expresses these values of the Army through the motto “Ready, Caring and Proud.” The growth of the male nurse within the Army Nurse Corps identifies with these values.” According to Reyes (2007, pp.2), Jason Payne who is a nurse practitioner and clinical instructor at the Ohio State University commented that: “… he does not understand why gender is a factor when people perceive the occupation. Payne said he believes nursing to be a complicated field requiring skills that can be met by males and females.” Taking all these things into consideration, the nurse stereotype of being a profession only for women will drastically change now that the number of male nurses continue to grow and now that they have come to realize that the nursing profession offer bigger options. Reyes (2007, pp.2), further provides another testimony in proof of this: “Matt Freeman, a nurse practitioner and clinical instructor at OSW said he believed many people underestimate the benefits of going into the nursing field. “Nursing is very diverse,” he said. “There are opportunities to work as registered nurses in emergency rooms, intensive care units, operating rooms, helicopters, you name it.” Even the capacity to earn and be a provider as “Men should be” is better fulfilled by working as a nurse. References: The Army Nurse Corps Collection. United States Army, Office of Medical History, Office of the Surgeon General, Falls Church. Available at: http://history.amedd.army.mil [Accesssed 9 May 2010]. Nightingale, F., 1869. Letter published in the Englishwoman’s Review. Available at: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REnightingale.htm [Accessed 9 May 2010]. Nightingale, F., 1859. Notes on Nursing. Available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12439/12439-8.txt [Accessed 11 May 2010]. Reyes, S., 2007. Male Nurses Stitching Stereotypes. The Lantern Ohio State’s Student Newspaper. Available at: www. Thelantern.com [Accessed 10 May 2010]. Read More