How do we overcome the stereotypes associated with being men in nursing?
We all deal with the stereotypes that men in nursing are somehow not as manly as men in other professions. Movie characters such as Gaylord Focker in Meet the Parents and Jack McFarland in Will and Grace aren’t exactly role models that help encourage more men to enter the nursing field.A veteran nurse leader of 27 years recently shared an interesting story about a conversation he had with his father when he decided to become a nurse. He compared his nursing role to that of a foreman on a construction site. Much like a foreman coordinates the detailed work of building, a nurse coordinates the detailed work of healing. His father seemed to really understand the role in these terms. (I wondered if, after their discussion, his father simply told his friends that his son was a construction foreman of sorts?)In Johnson & Johnson’s Campaign for Nursing, the company chose several nurses to represent diversity in gender, ethnicity, and race, as well as clinical specialties. These nurses exempli
