Tackling the nursing shortage one man at a time - The University of Iowa College of Nursing

Tackling the nursing shortage one man at a time

Despite recent gains in the number of men in the nurse workforce, they still represent only about six to 10 percent of America’s nurses.

Todd Ingram, MA, RN, assistant professor in The University of Iowa College of Nursing, hopes to persuade more men that nursing is a viable, attractive career option. Ingram won a Catalyst seed grant from the U of I Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity to establish an eastern Iowa affiliate of the national American Assembly for Men in Nursing.The grants target creative projects with immediate impact for enhancing the diversity goals of "The Iowa Promise" the UI's five-year strategic plan.

“Once our group is organized, we’ll focus on recruiting more men into the profession, creating more diversity, and providing support for practicing nurses,” Ingram says. “The group will be open to all.”

Members will speak at high schools, recruitment fairs, and organizations such as the Boy Scouts about the nature of nursing to generate interest among young men. Of particular interest to boys may be the fact that technology used in nursing and nursing education has become increasingly sophisticated, incorporating the use of computer programmable simulation mannequins.

Ingram says, “It’s important to educate the public about the role of men in the profession. There are so many career choices within the nursing field. You can work as a nurse anesthetist, bedside nurse, nurse educator, nursing administrator, and any number of focal areas from surgical nursing or critical care to mental health. Men work as nurses in all these areas, and more.”

According to Ingram, 60 to 75 percent of men surveyed said they would be interested in joining a chapter of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing. Another of the group’s aims is to examine cultural issues and specific challenges faced by men on the job.

“How do you speak for yourself as a man in nursing? How do you make your mark in a female dominated industry? Those are example of issues I would expect we’d address,” Ingram says. “I’d also like to bring men together to work on men’s health issues.”

The soon-to-be-formed group will also give students the benefit of mentoring from nurses at the local hospitals, and the hospitals will benefit from greater access to the students for recruiting purposes.

“Nursing hasn’t reached out to men or minorities enough,” Ingram says. “These groups are a potential gold mine to tap as we face the impending nursing shortage.”

May 5, 2008