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According to a study done in 2019 by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12% of nurses in America identify as male. For reference, that number was only 2.7% in 1970. Here at Grand View University, approximately 15 students in the nursing program identify as male, which makes up approximately 11% of the students. Based on these trends, it is a safe bet for us to believe that male nursing numbers will continue to rise at an even faster rate. Rachel Seltz Faulk, who teaches real-life nursing practices and is a professor practice level one at GV, said male nurses could be a more common scene as the older generation passes. 

“If a male were to walk into the room, they [the patient] would just assume they’re the doctor, and we’ve started to notice that with younger generations. When a male walks into the room, they have started to grasp the fact that they also could be a nurse instead of just a doctor,” said Faulk. “The stigma isn’t right. I think both males and females can be competent nurses and doctors.”

Jason He, a fourth-year nursing student at GV, also talked about the stigma with male nurses. “There’s such a stigma around male nurses that all you do is the dirty work when in reality, a nurse does a lot more than basic care.”

He originally didn’t want to become a nurse but talked about how the wide variety of opportunities in the nursing field led him to change his job path. 

“Choosing to be a nurse became the best decision of my life,” He said.

Along with this stigma against male nurses, they have even found times where they were turned away from helping a patient due to their gender.

 “Sometimes when I walk into a patient’s room, they’ll sometimes call me ‘doctor’ simply because of my gender. Other times I’ll walk in and I’ll introduce myself as ‘sir nurse’ and they’ll say ‘I’ve never had a male nurse before,’” said John Wolken, a senior nursing major at GV.  “It doesn’t affect me in thinking that I’m not doing a good job. It’s just how I have to go with it and move on.”

            Wolken’s path to nursing was different than He’s because Wolken knew he wanted to jump into the nursing field at a young age. His mother was diagnosed with Lupus when he was just ten-years-old which led him to having to help her with her injections and overall care on a daily basis. 

“I realized it’s what I’m good at, and what I like to do,” Wolken said. 

From an outsider’s perspective, the need for male nurses is apparent. Tim Quick is an Anesthesia Tech at UnityPoint Health in Des Moines where he’s worked for the last six years. His career started out like He’s where he didn’t even think of going into the nursing field.

            “I worked as a mechanic at Bob Brown Chevrolet for 15 years and after a couple of knee surgeries, I told myself I just can’t keep doing this anymore,” Quick said. 

During his time as an automotive technician, Quick was also a volunteer firefighter for the West Des Moines Fire Department. It was not until one day when his chief officer in command at the time asked if anyone would be willing to move into a part-time EMT role and that is what got his brain moving. Quick would go on to be an RN and then slowly but surely work his way up through the medical ranks to where he is today.

It is no secret that there is a large difference in the ratio between working male and female nurses, “It’s just not a male-female thing in our area. It’s ‘We need to get this done, we are a machine, we have to keep this rolling.’ When people come in sick, we’re more worried about their symptoms and how to treat them and get them better,” Quick said.  “To me, we’re just all a big team trying to take care of everyone that we can take care of.”

One in every ten nurses in the United States identifies as male. While that number does not seem very high, these numbers will increase and continue to rise as the years go on. It is up to society to accept that times are changing. Society as a whole needs more nurses. One’s gender, ethnicity, etc. does not matter. The need for nurses is at an all-time high. This has never been more apparent than now when nurses are overworked with the COVID-19 pandemic still raging across the country.

Wolken said it best, “Before the pandemic came, we were needed, and when the pandemic leaves, we will still be needed.”