A Comparative Analysis of the Characteristics of Males and Females Who Select Nursing as a Profession
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Authors
Tremmel, Nancy J.
Issue Date
1997-12
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Nurses. , Nursing. , Sex role in the work environment.
Alternative Title
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine if there were any changes
over the last 33 years in factors that influence career choices of males and
females who become registered nurses. A structured self-report survey
including 33 fixed alternative and short response questions, patterned from
studies by Mannino (1963) and Williams (1973), was developed by the
researcher and mailed to 150 male and 150 female registered nurse in Iowa.
Data examining background characteristics and demographic information were
collected from a sample of 63 male and 84 female registered nurses in Iowa.
Four research questions were developed to help determine the factors
that influence males and females to choose nursing as a career, specifically
those factors that were similar and different between male and female nurses.
The data were utilized to determine implications for the marketing and
recruitment of men into the nursing profession. The theoretical framework of
the study was social role theory.
The respondents were primarily caucasian, Catholic, married with
children, and averaged an age of 41.8 years. They had been in nursing 14.2
years and their most recent nursing position was staff nurse.
An analysis of the data revealed the factors that influence males and
females to choose nursing as a career to be similar. Ranked factors influencing
the choice of nursing as a profession by both male and female subjects
included "to help people". The male nurse was single, was older when he
decided to become a nurse and when he entered a nursing education program.
He aspired to obtain a management position in nursing, and had relatives in
nursing. He had an associate degree in nursing, had been in the armed forces,
had a college degree other than nursing and a career prior to nursing.
Findings of this study reveal that the male nurse of today had changed
little from the male nurse in the studies of Mannino (1963) and Williams
(1973) and is similar to the female nurse of today. Suggestions to increase
recruitment and marketing of men in nursing included presenting nursing to
males as appealing, introducing non-traditional career choice possibilities to
males early, and actively targeting young males through the media. Marketing
should be done in an androgynous manner, recruitment should be aimed at
men in allied health professions, male role models such as male nurse
recruiters or nursing faculty should visit with potential male nursing students,
and school counselors need to be informed about the potential of a career in
nursing. The advanced practice nurse needs to continue to conduct research on
men in nursing to identify more factors for marketing and recruitment.
Description
vii, 137 leaves. Advisor: Sandra Sellers.
Citation
Publisher
Drake University