Perceptions of male students in a baccalaureate nursing program: A qualitative study

Prominent nursing organizations globally have called for a concerted effort to increase diversity in nursing education. While the number of men in the nursing workforce in the United States has increased slowly over the past five decades, the proportion of men in the profession remains low in comparison to the U.S. population. In response to research indicating a less-than-optimal experience for male nursing students, faculty and students embarked on a collaborative effort to improve the experience of this student population. This paper explores the reasons that men choose to enter nursing as well as the lived experience of men in a baccalaureate prelicensure nursing program in the United States. The purpose of the study was to determine if progress had been made toward a shared goal of an improved experience for male students. Of the 19 male students who met the inclusion criteria, 13 students agreed to participate in the descriptive phenomenological study. Findings of this study indicate that previous interventions aimed at creating a more welcoming environment for male nursing students at the research site have been moderately successful. Clinically, it is evident that there is still more work left to be done, specifically regarding the maternal-newborn clinical experience.