I’ve never published a guest post on here before, despite receiving many pitches, because I view this site as a personal platform.
For the first time someone came to me with something I would have wanted to say, at an important time, having already done the research.
Thanks to Julia Merrill for this one. She’ll take it from here.
When most people picture nurses, they probably think of women dressed in white, smiling down on patients while administering medicine and coaching laboring women through childbirth. But in so many scenarios around the world, male nurses are doing those tough jobs, too.
Still, relatively few men pursue nursing as a career path, and the ones that do are often undervalued. Here’s why men make great nurses and how to take this path if you find it calling you.
Guys Have Feelings, Too
Society often praises women for being more emotional than men. But the truth is that being open and vulnerable with your feelings is beneficial in so many ways. Humility and vulnerability — not to mention empathy — are essential traits in all nurses.
Guys who are open with their feelings to begin with make excellent nurses because they’ve developed a natural empathy for others. More than that, male nurses can connect with male patients in different ways than female nurses might. It’s not better or worse – just different, and the variation can be beneficial with a diverse patient population.
Male Nurses Add Diversity
The diversity of patients in healthcare settings leads to another fact about men in nursing. Adding male nurses means more diversity in healthcare, and the more varied caregivers’ backgrounds are, the more positive patient outcomes are.
As Hopkins Medicine notes, diversity in medicine offers visible payoffs — patients are more comfortable, practitioners are more effective, and visits are more productive. Other types of diversity are crucial, too, but adding men to the nursing equation is a clear perk for patients and fellow medical staff.
Guys Can Be Chill Under Stress
Emergency room nurses (especially) know how stressful a hospital environment can be. Both men and women need healthy coping strategies to manage high-intensity work conditions, but studies show that women tend to feel stress more intensely.
The American Psychological Association suggests that women are more likely to have physical manifestations of stress, such as irritability or anger, fatigue, feeling depressed or sad, and feeling as if they need a good cry. That’s not to say men don’t feel that way — it’s just that they’re less likely to show outward signs of those emotions. When dealing with crises where patients may be feeding off their nurses’ energy, this could be a particular benefit of having male nurses on staff.
Looking to Become a Nurse?
Becoming a nurse is no easy feat, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also suggests a nursing career is a good move — job growth is expected to average 7 percent in the next 10 years.
Of course, if you’re a man considering a career pivot to nursing, you will have some challenges ahead of you. First, you’ll need to earn a degree in nursing — an RN, PN, or APRN — and become licensed in your state. Then you can begin working as a licensed nursing professional.
From there, you can achieve even more in your career. 38 percent of all nurses opt to continue their training after becoming licensed. By pursuing a master’s degree in a field like nursing leadership and management, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health leadership and administration, you can set out on a lucrative and rewarding career path. Plus, attending classes online and obtaining an online degree also means you can fit your schoolwork into a busy schedule, even if you’re working full time while receiving your education.
Becoming a nurse isn’t the only career path that’s perfect for men, but it’s a solid option. In today’s economic climate especially, choosing nursing can mean boundless growth for your career — and a rewarding way to make a living.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels
Julia Merrill is on a mission. She wants to use information to close the gap between medical providers and their patients. She started Befriend Your Doc to do just that. The site offers an abundance of information from tips on finding the right medical care to help with dealing with insurance companies to general health and wellness advice and more.
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