Abstract
The minority status of men in nursing often results in advantages that promote rather than hinder their careers, unlike women in male-dominated professions. Benefits to men in nursing are associated with the desire for personal and professional power and with stereotypes about masculine traits. These stereotypes are initially emphasized in the family and reinforced by the power differences and patriarchal structure that continue to characterize the healthcare industry. These advantages translate into preference in hiring and promotion. Strategies that capitalize on increasing men's awareness of these benefits may be employed to increase the number of men in nursing.
Historically, the inclusion of men into nursing has been fraught with difficulties since the era of Florence Nightingale. 1 Although men represent a small minority in the profession of nursing today, 2 this does not appear to represent a career liability in the same way minority status does for women in male-dominated fields. Although sex role stereotyping has hindered the recruitment efforts of many, 3,4 obstacles to entry into practice are superseded by a quest for personal and professional power among men that facilitates professional career advancement in nursing. 5-7 One perspective on men's advantages in nursing may be viewed from within the context of gender socialization as etiologic to men's desire for power. Applying the model of tokenism 8,9 to men in nursing suggests that men possess professional advantages based on their minority status compared to women in male-dominated fields. 10 A discussion of the evidence suggests that there is a relationship between increased desire for and attainment of power by men in nursing as compared to their female colleagues. 5,11,12 An examination of the benefits that accrue to men in nursing may have implications for recruitment of more men into the profession.