Image of Nursing Profession as Perceived by Egyptian and Jordanian Undergraduate Male Nursing Students: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The hiring and maintaining of male nurses in the nursing field is a very apparent issue nowadays. Hence, there is an urgent need to promote a professional nursing image and enhance its standing in the community, especially for men. Although they have an important position in nursing, men are still proportionately in the minority. This study aimed to explore and compare the perceptions of undergraduate male nursing students regarding the image of the Nursing Profession in the two different Arabian countries of Egypt and Jordan. The study was conducted at two governmental nursing faculties; Alexandria University in Egypt and Jordan University in Jordan. The study subjects were all undergraduate male nursing students who enrolled in the fourth academic year, from the previous mentioned colleges, forty one students from Egypt and one hundred from Jordan. The Nursing Image, as a profession questionnaire (NIPQ), was used for data collection. Based on the analysis of the subject's responses, the results revealed that there is a significant positive perception as regards the image of nursing profession among both Egyptian and Jordanian male nursing students in relation to the description of the profession, societal view, benefits of the nursing profession and view of self satisfaction in nursing. The clinical instructor and the relationship with the medical staff are the apparent perceived enhancing factors, while the public view is the major perceived inhibiting factor regarding the image of the profession. The highest percentage of both study subjects ranked the nursing profession in the second position after the medical profession and agreed that they faced several problems in being a male nurse such as: assuming some obstetric nursing practices, lack of specific job title, embarrassment while explaining a sensitive topic with female patients and the refusal of the presence of male nurses in female wards. Conclusion: Egyptian and Jordanian male students have approximately a similar positive perception towards the image of the nursing profession. The worth of the nursing profession have been understood more than in past decades, even though they are exposed to some clinical problems in assuming their role as male nurses.

Key words: Male nurse, Perception, Nursing students, Nursing image, Nursing profession.