Context: Men entering the nursing profession have been investigated from several different perspectives. Due to male gender characteristics and existing public image, nursing is often not considered as a career choice by men. Whether nursing would benefit from increased number of men is a key question in the literature. The purpose of this integrative review of the literature was to identify factors influencing men to enter the nursing profession. In addition, it sought to understand the challenges they are confronted within this profession. Evidence Acquisition: A systematic search of the existing literature was performed using an Internet search with broad keywords to access related articles in both Persian and English databases. Finally, 34 studies (written between 2000 and early 2013) were selected and surveyed. Results: Most of the studies were conducted in developed counties. The review identified reasons why males choose nursing, and other challenges facing men entering and working in nursing. Themes that emerged from the literature include educational and societal barriers experienced by men in nursing, recruitment, career choice, and role strain. Conclusions: Regarding men’s influences on professional development, and also the importance of gender-based caring, policies for recruitment and retention of men in nursing must be followed hastily. However, there is a need for further research regarding the challenges faced by men entering nursing, in both Iran and other developing countries.

Factors influencing men entering the nursing profession, and understanding the challenges faced by them: Iranian and developed countries' perspectives.

This paper critically interrogates and re-evaluates the notion that it is somehow difficult being a man in nursing and suggests some ways forward which will allow us to gain a more politically astute purchase on gender, nursing and the socio-political context in which the profession operates. Men appear to be well served by a career in nursing. Despite their lesser numbers they are likely to earn more and be promoted into leadership roles more readily. Yet there is a pervasive sense in the literature on men in nursing that they feel unhappy as a minority in a predominantly female occupation and feel a disjuncture between masculine identity and the nursing role. The genealogy of this idea can be traced to a more extensive literature in the 'men's movement', in sex role theory and masculinity studies which has tended to focus on the putative hurts that men suffer as they are socialized into the male role. This is itself informed by experiences and discourses from therapy, and privileges these kinds of experiences over and above more sober consideration of the respective powers of men and women and the sociopolitical context of the profession. This 'poor me' discourse deflects attention away from the business of tackling material inequalities and enables men to encroach further into the agenda of nursing discussions. Instead, a view of men and women in nursing is proposed which is attentive to the historical and political operations of power and which sees subjective experiences as the effects of power rather than as a starting point for analysis. We must place individual experience coherently and exhaustively in the material environment of social space and time. It is in this way that we can genuinely advance the interest of men and women and build an effective profile for the profession as a whole.

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Men in nursing: re-evaluating masculinities, re-evaluating gender.

Objective This study aimed to identify potentially important factors in explaining burnout in nursing that have been insufficiently studied or ignored. Methods A three-round Delphi study via e-mail correspondence was conducted, with a group of 40 European experts. The e-Delphi questionnaire consisted of 52 factors identified from a literature review. Experts rated and scored the importance of factors in the occurrence of burnout and the degree of attention given by researchers to each of the variables listed, on a six-point Likert scale. We used the agreement percentage (>80%) to measure the level of consensus between experts. Furthermore, to confirm the level of consensus, we also calculated mean scores and modes. Regardless of the degree of consensus reached by the experts, we have calculated the mean of the stability of the answers for each expert (individual's qualitative stability) and the mean of the stability percentages of the experts (qualitative group stability). Results The response rate in the three rounds was 93.02% (n = 40). Eight new factors were suggested in the first round. After modified, the e-Delphi questionnaire in the second and third rounds had 60 factors. All the factors reached the third round with a consensus level above 80% in terms of the attention that researchers gave them in their studies. Moreover, the data show a total mean qualitative group stability of 96.21%. In the third round 9 factors were classified by experts as ‘studied very little’, 17 as ‘studied little’ and 34 as 'well studied' Conclusion Findings show that not all the factors that may influence nursing burnout have received the same attention from researchers. The panel of experts has identified factors that, although important in explaining burnout, have been poorly studied or even forgotten. Our results suggest that further study into factors such as a lack of recognition of part of the tasks that nurses perform, feminine stereotype or excessive bureaucracy is needed for a better understanding of this syndrome and improve the quality of life in nurses.

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Insufficiently studied factors related to burnout in nursing: Results from an e-Delphi study

Aim
The aim of the study is to establish the main motives for choosing nursing by men in Poland and the results for leaving the profession.

Background
Nursing is a profession less frequently chosen by men. On average, one person in ten working in nursing is a man, but in Poland this percentage is especially low, amounting to 1.8%.

Design
Qualitative research with a grounded theory approach.

Method
Individual semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The study included 17 licensed male nurses. Data were collected between January 2014 - June 2015.

Results
The study revealed the most common motives for choosing nursing as declared by men: vocation, interest in medicine, accident and pragmatic motivation. The men for whom hegemonic masculinity constitutes the point of reference more frequently emphasize their interest in medicine and the pragmatic reasons for choosing nursing; they also more frequently try to gain managerial positions and higher income. The most common reason for men leaving the nursing profession was low income.

Conclusions
Despite the common stereotype, men also choose nursing because of vocation and/or their willingness to help others, but they more frequently declare that chance was the direct reason for their choice of nursing, which helps reduce the dissonance associated with choosing a non-traditional male career path. Leaving the profession was associated with beliefs about its feminine dimension, but it seems that in Poland low income is a much more important reason for such a decision.

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Motives for choosing and resigning from nursing by men and the definition of masculinity: a qualitative study

Background: Men are a growing minority in nursing. A deeper understanding of their motivation, career paths, and job satisfaction is needed to target recruitment and retention efforts. Currently the largest male cohort entering nursing is by second career. This study examines if job satisfaction differs for men who choose nursing as their first choice of career, as a convenience after exploring other options, or as a second career. Methods: This mixed-method study examined the relationship between men entering nursing by choice, convenience or second career and their resultant job satisfaction. A convenience sample of 238 men answered an online survey. Entry path, current practice position, and future career plans in five years was by self report. Job satisfaction was measured using Lester’s instrument. Results: Second career men were significantly more likely to work in specialty practice and more likely to aspire to advanced practice than those entering by choice or convenience early in their careers. No significant differences in job satisfaction were found between entry paths. Conclusions: These data raise provocative issues relating to recruiting men and the impact of men on the profession of nursing. Despite the steady but slow growth in the percent of men in nursing, its image remains overwhelmingly female. This survey does not identify substantial differences in job satisfaction between men who enter through different career paths or substantial differences with other studies of male and female nurses.

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Job satisfaction and career development of men in nursing

This paper investigates the assumption that men have a greater opportunity for career success in the nursing profession than women. This study investigates, through the use of a questionnaire, the attitudes and future expectations of male and female individuals attending interviews to enter a pre-registration nursing course. The results from the questionnaires were analysed using both descriptive and inferential methods of analysis, and the findings were discussed in relation to the existing research. In only two of the items, significant differences were found between male and female nursing applicants' attitudes and expectations towards their future careers. The results of this study indicate that it is unlikely to be the individual differences between males and females that determine their career progress, and instead it is more likely to be the organisational barriers within the health service or changes in expectations that are continuing to slow the career progress of female nurses. The results from...

Jon Harrison

Papers

Male and female nursing applicants' attitudes and expectations towards their future careers in nursing: