Exploring Attitudes of Acceptance of Males in Nursing: A Pilot Study

The lack of growth in the number of males in the nursing profession has been identified as an important issue to address not only for the profession, but for the patients that nurses serve. Patient satisfaction is also positively correlated to nursing satisfaction, and nursing satisfaction is positively correlated to nursing retention. An important component of nursing satisfaction is the work environment; more specifically, relationships with fellow nurse colleagues and perceived acceptance by these colleagues. Furthermore, a work environment that does not include the acceptance of others will not foster teamwork and collaboration, which are essential for professional nursing practice and positive patient outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive correlational study is to compare male and female nurses’ attitudes of acceptance of male nurses and to examine if certain demographic variables are correlated to greater attitudes of acceptance. The study will be conducted using an anonymous internet survey utilizing the Sexist Attitude Inventory and collecting demographic information about the study participants. All registered nurses employed at three medical centers (approximately 3,600) within the same healthcare system will be invited to participate. Descriptive statistics for the sample along with a t-test to compare male and females’ attitudes of acceptance of male nurses will be calculated. Pearson’s r to determine covariance between female nurses’ attitudes of acceptance and age, years of nursing experience, number of male faculty and male students in pre-licensure nursing program and Spearman’s rho to determine covariance between female nurses’ attitude of acceptance and their highest-held nursing degree will be calculated as well. This study will provide insights into the current culture of acceptance of male nurses in the workplace, allow for the identification of possible areas of concern, and provide opportunities for growth. Addressing these possible areas of concern may result in greater job satisfaction and career longevity for male nurses, an improved work environment for both male and female nurses, and a means to improve patient satisfaction. Data collection will occur in May of 2017 and the results will be available for presentation at the conference.