Despite a growing demand in cities, qualified male nurses can’t find jobs. Some are now turning to other careers. Many are attributing the scarcity to perceptions that nursing is a woman’s job though hospitals need male nurses in emergency rooms, men’s departments and psychiatric hospitals, Xinhua News Agency reports
According to some media studies, many students and their parents hold the wrong concepts about the profession. This is the main reason very few males are likely to take nursing when they choose a subject for their secondary or higher learning.
According to a staff member of Jinan Health School in the Shandong provincial capital, in 2002, the institute recruited more than 130 students for its nursing program. Among them, only eight were male. What’s worse, four later transferred to other specialties.
Although hospitals claim a scarcity of males in nursing specialties leads to the recruitment difficulty, those seeking employment see it rather differently.
In a recent employment poll of male nurses conducted by China’s Male Nurse Forum (www.malenurse.cn/bbs/), the 31 nurses participating gave surprising responses.
The results showed only five were still on the job, two had changed occupation, and the other 24 were looking for employment.
