While historically
women have typically dominated the nursing field in Canada, those numbers are
slowly starting to change as more and more men enroll in nursing programs
across the country. This change is the result of growing incentives, active
recruiting and the deconstruction of social obstacles that have traditionally
kept men away from the nursing profession.
Nursing with its
challenging roles and vast number of different opportunities is more than ever,
recognized by both men and women as an exciting career choice. In a time when
jobs are scarce and over-educated individuals are accepting any entry level
position available, the field of nursing lets new grads, that have completed
the NCLEX-RN, start work almost immediately in a variety of fields that offer a
completive salaries.
Schools are
showing a definite increase in the numbers of male students registered in
nursing programs and different areas are looking at creative ways to support
and engage with our male nursing colleagues.
In Calgary, male
students are taking a proactive approach by creating their own groups to
encourage and support their gender in the nursing profession. And masculinity
studies are an interesting area of gender research occurring in nursing and
social sciences. Calgary's Nursing Guy's
Club pledges to promote positive messages regarding male nurses by developing a
community where men can speak freely about their experiences in nursing.
Another exciting
example of male leadership in nursing can be found in a British Columbia nurse
Jae-Yung Kwon, whose book: “A lonely Bee in the Land of Flowers” detailing his
experiences as a male nursing student is available on Amazon. Groups like the
Calgary student group and nurses like Jae-Yung are one of the many ways the
nursing community is working to break down the gender stereotypes of the
profession.
At PRIMED one of our most experienced nursing educators is Ken
McDonald. Ken is a graduate of Kwantlen University College. He also received
his Masters in nursing from the University of British Columbia and currently
works in nursing leadership and administration, with a keen focus on mental
health nursing.
At PRIMED we are thankful for Ken's ongoing contributions to our
program, as well as to the many other men that are actively engaged in the
Canadian HealthCare System as registered nurses.
