Lack of awareness of nursing as a career choice for men: A qualitative descriptive study

AIMS: This research aimed to identify the factors that impact why men do not view nursing as a career choice. DESIGN: Qualitative description was utilized to capture the rich narratives and insight of participants. METHODS: Through convenience sampling, nine New Zealand qualified male nurses within their first three years of practice were recruited. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted between November 2019 and January 2020 via zoom from sites across New Zealand. All interviews were recorded and transcribed, with the data analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. RESULTS: The findings reflected the experiences of the research participants as they made sense of a predominantly female‐dominated work environment both during their undergraduate training and prior to recruitment. The research identified two key themes: The first found that men in nursing experienced isolation due to the societal gendering of nursing influencing the participant's knowledge and understanding of what nursing was, as a career. The second theme found that for participants, nursing was not prominent in their awareness when leaving school and making career choices. CONCLUSION: This research indicates that nursing as a career choice for men is still underpinned by a lack of understanding of the actual role of the nurse and what nurses do, and is more supported by a societal perception that nursing is still a feminized profession. Findings can be used to make recommendations for change in the profession to strengthen diversity in the workforce and redefine the recruitment of men into nursing. IMPACT: This research reviewed the career choices of men in nursing and why they chose nursing as a profession. Understanding the barriers of why men do not consider nursing as a career choice assists with finding strategies in both the clinical and academic environments that can enable greater gender diversity within the nursing profession. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This applies to this research as the focus was on male registered nurses only.