With the demand for nurses only continuing to grow, the opportunity for men to close the gender gap is better than ever. Jeff Stoner, founder and CEO of Ethos Medical Staffing explains why nursing is a great opportunity for anyone looking for a rewarding career.
The Gender Gap
In the mid-19th century, Florence Nightingale paved the way for women in nursing, and ever since, this career has been largely female.
“Historically,” Jeff says, “nursing has been a female dominant industry for various reasons. For one, it was founded by a female – which created an excellent career path for women looking to enter the workforce and to follow in her footpath.”
Despite other occupations reducing their gender inequality over the years, nursing has remained predominantly female. Today, women account for 2.1 million registered nurses while men account for less than 500,000. This statistic was reflected in Jeff’s own class – he states,
“We had about 10 male nursing students – out of 60.”
Although recently, male nurses are on the rise. Beckers Hospital Review found that between 2014 and 2019, male registered nurses grew by almost 2%. Despite being slow now, this progress is projected to accelerate in the next few years.
Why More Men are Becoming Nurses
More men are becoming nurses because of the vast opportunities in this field. When discussing this career with others, Jeff likes to mention a few of his personal motivating factors.
First, the opportunity to travel. Becoming a travel nurse allows for a few unique benefits – such as the freedom to choose where you want to work. As a travel nurse with Ethos, you have access to jobs in all 50 states, plus the US Virgin Islands. Second, Jeff mentions the opportunity for pay, benefits, balance, and autonomy.
“There’s great pay, benefits, work/life balance, and work autonomy – which gives anyone the ability to take care of their family member(s). There are also numerous advanced degrees available that can provide high income, more professional autonomy, and job security.”
However, Jeff says his main motivation to become a nurse is the same as many others who enter this field.
“The common denominator for most nurses entering healthcare is to help others in their time of need – and there’s no better way to help positively impact someone’s life than to save it.”
The Future of Men in Nursing
With men like Jeff providing representation of the modern nurse, more men will be encouraged to enter this field. Furthermore, as healthcare systems focus on revising gender norms and emphasizing diversity, nursing stereotyping will be eliminated. In time, we will see a nursing industry as diverse as the population it serves. Now more than ever, the world is in need of good nurses – regardless of gender.
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