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Prejudice of a Male Nursing

By: Rashid Abbas

Whenever we hear the words like care, support, affection, sympathy, empathy or love, we surely guess of nursing profession and in fact it is true. None of us can deny that nursing is the profession of caring for human beings.

For centuries this profession has been working for the benefit of humanity. From the conception to the birth and death at every moment, nurse plays critical role for human being. They not only care the patient, also teaches how to live and improve living standard.

Nurses care for people without any discrimination on the basis of gender, culture, ethnicity, religion or nationality. Nursing is not the profession of any specific gender, class or group of people.

Many a time I have been asked about the reason of choosing nursing as my careerL. People usually inquire if I have any financial issues or if I am not a Muslim. Adding to this, people even suggest me to change my career pathway to military or engineering.

I certainly respect their views but reality is far different from what they are suggesting. Actually they cannot accept male in nursing profession because they consider nursing as a gender specific profession for females.

Each one of us has the right to make a decision regarding our future. Unfortunately society does not value or appreciate change. If I prefer nursing as my career, I might have reasons and grounds behind.

We are living in a society in which cultural sensitivity, values and believes are consider as an important component during patient care. Females are reluctant to be cared by a male health care professional and some time male patients also refuse to be cared by a female staff. But it does not mean that men should be considered as aliens in this profession.

I have been studying nursing for about four years; no one else can better enlighten what I’ve experienced while caring patients.

Some time ago during my shift duty, one of the patients asked me about my gender. It was startling and funny when I sneak a look into the nearest mirror to confirm my identity. Before I could answer him, he further said that “I believe nursing is a female oriented profession”.

I was astonished and felt guilty. I had a sense of losing my identity. It was not because he asked me such question or he made such comment, it was because of the image, value and understanding of our society about nursing profession.

Nature has created male and female different genetically and physically, however he has kept no difference in roles and performance.

Recently I was on community rotation where I was supposed to perform antenatal and postnatal assessment. But I was refused to do so, because I am a male and I cannot touch a female.

It hindered my learning, however I felt that being culturally sensitive I cannot force any female to let me examine her, But when I will join my professional life then who is going to teach me all these.

I belong to the northern part of country which is rural area. If I plan to continue my career over there, people will expect me to be competent enough to handle such cases in emergency.

I am not sure what will happen at that time, right now whatever is happening with males in nursing profession is so pathetic and unavoidable.

Ms Florence nightingale did great job to improve image of nursing in the society, on the other hand her nursing institutions did not allow the male to get admission in it.

She might think that females are feelers and this is what the nursing is all about. But now time has changed, medicine is not a field of feeling but logistics and reasoning.

Gradually, the image of nurses has been improved. Public have started to think positive aspect of this noble profession. This has only happen because of our legendary and founder of modern nursing Ms Florence nightingale. She formally placed the basis of nursing institutes where nurses have been taught about how to care for people. At the same time, she placed hurdles in the way of men, that her nursing institutes denied access to male students.

It is quite difficult to change the mind of the people to wipe out the existing thinking about nursing. However the immediate solution is to appreciate males into this profession so that the male patients should also be given culturally sensitive care.

I believe media plays a vital role in showing that in our world male nurses exists too. Moreover public awareness should be raised about hurdles for male youth to enter in to this profession.

The understanding of people that nursing is profession of non Muslims shows that they are living in the dark side. They need to know that “rufaid al islamia “is the founder of nursing profession. She was a Muslim lady. She cared of people regardless of their sex in the battle and wars at that time.