Abstract Background: In the mid-1800s Florence Nightingale ruled that the nursing profession was for women, and men were excluded from the profession. Sweden's first male nurse graduated in 1953. According to the National Board of Health: 13% of Sweden's nurses are male nurses. In modern day culture male nurses are often portrayed negatively, and according to some studies the number of female nurses who have a high acceptance of male nurses are as large as the number of female nurses who have a low acceptance. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe; the male nurses' experiences of working with female colleagues, their interaction with patients within the nursing profession, and to describe selected study samples. Method: The design was a descriptive literature review, which included 13 scientific articles in the result. The 13 scientific articles were searched in PubMed and Cinahl with relevant MeSH terms and Cinahl-headings where they were available. Results: The results showed that the male nurses felt that there was a notion that the nursing profession in the eye of the public was a feminine profession, something that affected their experience of working as nurses. The male nurses felt that there were perceptions about their sexuality and their sexual intentions, both from patients and colleagues. There were also difficulties in the interaction between both female and male patients, male nurses felt that they had to ensure they were more careful to avoid any unnecessary touching. Male nurses also found that they were assigned more "typically male" tasks on the basis that they were seen as being physically stronger than their female colleagues. Conclusion: This study has revealed that male nurses' experiences of working in the profession were impacted by the fact that they were men. Preconceived notions and prevailing gender norms influenced the male nurses’ interactions with their colleagues and patients. Male nurses found that they are portrayed in a negative light by today’s modern society for choosing a career pathe in the nursing profession. The male nurses' experiences were also influenced by established social gender norms that were found in the community. Keywords: male nurses, qualitative research, experience, gender
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hig-20797 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Karlsson, Jenny, Andersson, Mattias |
| Publisher | Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för hälso- och vårdvetenskap, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för hälso- och vårdvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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