THE SOCIALIZATION OF MEN TO THE NURSING PROFESSION: A SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST APPROACH
Open Access
- Author:
- Wise, Rita Ellen Mullen
- Graduate Program:
- Adult Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Education
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 14, 2009
- Committee Members:
- Edward W Taylor, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Edward W Taylor, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Patricia Angelica Cranton, Committee Member
Kamini Grahame, Committee Member
Raymonde Ann Brown, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Symbolic Interaction
Nursing Education
Gender
Male Nurses
Female Occupations - Abstract:
- ABSTRACT The profession of nursing is composed, primarily of females. Hence, the profession becomes gendered due to the persons who primarily engage in the work and the characteristic that is primarily associated with the profession – caring. When men enter the profession, they are challenging the gendered image of the profession. Those individuals who socialize men to the profession are primarily females. Research informs us that males have special needs when being socialized into what are considered the “female” professions. To date, although there have been studies on males who enter female professions from the male’s perspective; there have been no studies which explore the females who socialize men to these professions. This study used the theoretical lens of symbolic interactionism to study the interactions of female nursing instructors as they socialize men to the nursing profession. Basic qualitative was the research type used to guide the study. Methods of observation and semi-structured interviews where employed to unearth the symbolic nature of interactions. Participants were observed while interacting with male students within a patient care area. Results were coded and themes emerged from the data that identified instructors view male students having special needs that, to some extent, set them apart from their female counterparts. Notably, most of these perceived needs of male students involve assisting the male to cope with role strain experienced when socializing to the nursing profession as well as assisting the male in learning how integrate and navigate in a female dominated profession. The instructors in this study utilized strategies which they have learned via experience. Based on the findings, a discussion regarding the impact of gender on professional role socialization of men to a female-dominated profession with implications for educational practice is presented.