When you think of a nurse, you think of a woman, and for the most part, that archetype isn’t wrong. In the United States only about 5%-6% of working nurses are men. Men haven’t always taken a back seat in the nursing profession. In fact, women didn’t begin to dominate the nursing field until after the turn of the 20^th Century.

At that time, the gender shift in the profession was both rapid and profound. In 1900, about half of all students in Registered Nurse programs were men, and men often attended special nursing schools designed just for them. By 1930, however, only about 1% of all Registered Nurses in the US were men.  What is the history of men in RN programs (Registered Nurse Programs) and what changed?

Men were often used as nurses in battlefield environments. Documentation from as early as the 3^rd century AD shows that men provided hospital care and recuperative support during the plagues that affected Alexandria, Egypt. The nurses, called Parabolani, were limited in number, but took their name from the fact that they regularly risked their own health to care for men who had succumbed to the contagions that wracked the city.

Male nurses continued to serve during the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. The Benedictine Order of monks as well as the Alexian Brothers were both commissioned to provide care to victims of the Black Plague. These orders still exist today and still provide health care as part of their religious missions. Other religious orders, such as the Knights Hospitalers, also provided medical care to victims of illness and injury during and after The Crusades.  St. Camillus, a male nurse, invented both the Red Cross battlefield symbol and the first known ambulance service.

Why did the number of male nurses decline so sharply in the early part of the 20^th century?  The role of men as nurses was largely driven by war. Women were not typically found on the battlefield, and men were often conscripted by circumstance or necessity to provide health care to their soldier compatriots. As a peacetime profession, nursing was not very lucrative. Male nurses, many of whom had served as soldiers, moved to permanent careers with better economic opportunities. At the same time, the large number of men serving overseas in World War I created new nursing opportunities for women

In the US, a significant number of men work in nursing roles in the military and in the Veterans Administration, continuing the long tradition of men in wartime or military nursing careers. Ironically, as nursing wages increased substantially in the latter part of the 20^th century, more men returned to RN programs throughout the country.

That doesn’t mean, however, that men are attracted to the profession for its financial benefits.  While financial considerations can keep men out of a nursing career, several significant studies show that men enter the nursing profession for the same reasons women do: largely because they’re searching for a way to take care of people, or provide compassionate service.  For men, nursing is often a second career choice that follows another career in a public service profession.

That “second career” approach to nursing often defuses the claim that male nurses are simply men who couldn’t (or didn’t) complete medical school.  In fact, few students who complete RN programs started out in medical school. Most men pursue a career in nursing as either a first-choice career or a second-career option.

Studies have shown, however, that male nurses tend to leave the profession at about twice the rate that women do. A study conducted by a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009 showed that about 7.5% of male nurses left the profession within four years of entry, compared to about 4.1% of women in their first four years.

The researcher attributed the loss of male nurses to a lower tolerance for disrespect from other health care professionals.  Men also tend to use the general nursing profession as a gateway to other health care careers as critical care health providers and nurse anesthetists. Other analysts say that chronic staffing shortages, mandatory overtime and poor retirement benefits also cause men to reconsider the nursing profession.

On September 9th Dan Newlin was invited to fly with several members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels as a reward for the time and effort he has dedicated to helping wounded soldiers returning from active duty. Dan Newlin suited up and took to the skies with Lt. C. J. Simonsen, where he was put through the typical turns and tricks the Blue Angels perform.