(ThyBlackMan.com) While you will still find many more women in the nursing field compared to men, employment and educational trends are beginning to change. As the Baby Boomer generation reached retirement age, the number of healthcare workers needed to keep the U.S. healthcare system running increased. High school students learned that nursing was a lucrative career, and seasoned professionals switched careers to have more flexibility and an increased ability to earn a living. Nursing definitely isn’t as female-centric in the 21st century, and here is why.
The World Has Changed
Nurses are no longer required to wear matching uniforms, skirts, or heels to work. The nursing industry has become more streamlined, more skilled, and more welcoming to men and women. The reality is that there is always a need for more dedicated, intelligent, hardworking individuals in the healthcare field. Click here to see how the field of nursing has evolved over time. As U.S. based hospitals and healthcare centers welcome male nurses, they are also welcoming nurses from abroad. Nurses have gotten older and younger. Some nurses are bilingual while there are nurses who know sign language. Patient needs have become more specific, and the healthcare industry has been adjusting to keep up with growing demand.
Changes in Gender Norms and Roles
Although there are still quite a few more women in nursing than men, there has been a noticeable change in gender roles and expectations over the last decade. There are more prominent female world leaders and CEOs. Stay-at-home-dads are respected, and it is now normal to see groups of them congregating around playgrounds and schools. Society is finally getting to the point of accepting the fact that both women and men can do it all. Since men now feel more secure expressing themselves and pursuing whatever interests they want, it is only natural that more are entering the nursing field. Males are pursuing degrees in nursing, going after jobs as teachers, and entering other markets that were formally totally female-centric.
Nursing Has Become Popularized
In general, people who go into nursing are thought of as being empathic, gentle souls, who only want to see the best for their patients. And while this might be the case, the life of a nurse was never really thought of as being exciting or even daring. Despite the fact that they work to save lives every day, the image of the happy, cheery, nurse stayed on as the sole representation of the field for years. Recently, nursing has become popularized in different television shows. Now, nurses are being thought of as three-dimensional individuals – heroes even – who save lives and then go home to their own assorted homes. A nurse working in the N.I.C.U. is now known as the person who works around the clock to keep premature babies healthy. On the flipside, society also knows that nurses are just as likely to play in a band as they are to baking cookies in their free time.
The Invention of Online College
To become a nurse, you have to get a degree. And in order to receive an advanced degree, you have to attend a college, university, or specialized school. Before online college, going to college meant that you had to physically show up. Whether you lived in an area that had plenty of schools nearby or you had to commute hours to get to class, expectations were the same. This one barrier to education prevented a lot of people from attending college as they either had no means of transportation, or their schedules simply didn’t allow them to make the trek. With online college, there is no travel involved. You simply turn on your computer, connect to the internet and attend your courses virtually. Many people graduating with degrees in nursing are taking online courses, at least in some capacity.
The Healthcare Industry Boom
There are currently tens of millions of senior citizens who require around-the-clock care from home health attendants, private nurses, and even in-patient care. Add to that the growing U.S. population, and you will most definitely understand why there is a healthcare industry boom going on. Hospitals just cannot seem to keep up with the demand. Nursing colleges have expanded, opened new campuses, and ramped up recruiting. Traveling nursing is becoming more popular, as healthcare facilities will do just about anything to find skilled workers. Whether you are a registered nurse or even a CPA, there is a job out there waiting for you. The same can’t be said about all other fields. More men are going into nursing because there is a demand for more trained workers.
Jobs that Pay a Livable Wage
While inflation is a concern for anyone who is gainfully employed, stagnant wages are actually the kicker. The federal minimum wage has not budged in over ten years, and in many fields, there are workers who have not seen a raise in ages. In order to provide for a family, have enough money to save for retirement, or do the occasional nice thing for yourself, you have to earn a livable wage. Factories have shut down and some career paths have led to a dead-end. Nursing, by contrast, has only become more lucrative for tenured workers. A job in the nursing field generally comes with great benefits, and also the ability to choose a schedule that workers for you. Anyone who wants to work within a career where they will be recognized for their skills and financially rewarded for their dedication should look into nursing.
Nurses are certainly college educated, highly skilled, and well trained. On the other hand, those who go into the nursing industry also have a lot of compassion. They are the people that work on the frontlines after natural disasters, during global pandemics, and when their communities need them the most. It only makes sense that the nursing field would become more inclusive, welcoming men, non-binary, and all other people who express their gender in different ways. Nursing might not be as female-centric in the 21st industry, but it definitely is still very progressive.
Staff Writer; Terry Parker