J Educ Res Nurs. 2024; 21(4): 313-318 | DOI: 10.14744/jern.2024.82474

Manager Nurses’ Views on Male Nurses: A Study of Phenomenology

Rujnan Tuna¹, Birsen Kahraman^2
1Department of Nursing Administration, Faculty of Health Sciences, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Türkiye
²Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital, Bakırköy, Istanbul, Türkiye

Background: For hundreds of years, nursing has been perceived as an occupation primarily for women. However, although the number of male nurses is increasing, it has not yet reached a desirable level. It is important for both men and women to be included in the profession to help eliminate gender stereotypes in nursing.

Aim: This study was conducted to determine how nurse managers perceive the presence of male nurses, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of working with male nurses and their contributions to the profession.

Methods: The qualitative study was conducted using a transcendental phenomenological approach. Data were collected from 22 nurse managers who agreed to participate in the study. The study involved administering 10 open-ended, semi-structured, in-depth interview questions between May and December 2018. The interviews were analyzed through content analysis.

Results: All of the nurse managers were female, with the majority being married (77.27%) and holding a bachelor’s degree (59.09%). The study findings categorized nurse managers’ perceptions of male nurses into five themes (perception, advantage, disadvantage, professional contribution, and future roles) and fifteen sub-themes.

Conclusion: The study found that nurse managers recognized that male nurses provided advantages in the workplace, citing fewer responsibilities in their personal lives due to not being female and greater physical strength. Additionally, male nurses contributed to enhancing the professional image by reducing conflicts and violence in the workplace. It is important to support the presence of male nurses in the profession and, as in any other field, to eliminate gender discrimination in nursing by addressing social prejudices.

Keywords: Discrimination, gender, male nurses, nurse manager, qualitative study

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