ABSTRACT
The various institutions offering nursing programmes have continued to witness very low male enrollment
while female enrollment continue to increase. This situation created the problem of sex stereotype, gender
bias and lack of professional autonomy which could have been addressed if men were well represented in
nursing profession. This work therefore was aimed at determining the factors restraining choice of nursing as
a career among male SSSIII students in Enugu Urban. The specific objectives of the study were to ascertain
the personal, social/environmental, economic, job-related, career-related factors as well as determine which of
the group of factors has the most restraining influence in choosing nursing as a career among male SSSIII
students. A cross-sectional survey design was used for the study which was carried out in 9 secondary schools
in Enugu Urban. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the schools. No
sampling technique was used to select the students as all the SSSIII students from the selected schools were
involved in the study. A total population of 638 male SSSIII students from nine (9) randomly selected
secondary schools in Enugu Urban were used for the study. A self-developed questionnaire in 4 point
modified Likert type scale with reliability of 0.90 was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were
used to analyze data. Results were presented in tables as percentages, means, and standard deviations.
Findings revealed that respondents identified “I don’t like nursing as a career” (mean 2.8; SD=1.11), “I
cannot think of myself being a nurse” (mean 2.7; SD=1.05) and “Nursing will lower my ego and integrity”
(mean 2.5; SD=1.03) as personal factors that restrain males from choosing nursing as a career. Findings also
showed social and environmental factors that prevent males from choosing nursing as a career as “People
expect nurses to be women (mean 3.1; SD=0.97), “Nursing has traditionally been viewed as a female
profession” (mean 3.1; SD=0.99) and “Nurses are seen as doctors’ servants (mean 2.9; SD=0.99). “Wanting
to be rich/make money (mean 3.0; SD=0.9), “Nursing being noble but not lucrative” (mean 2.7; SD=0.99) and
“Nursing not being regarded as one of the highly paid jobs” (mean 2.7; SD=0.99) were also established as
economic factors that discourage males from choosing nursing as a career. Findings also indicated job-related
factors that hinder males from choosing nursing as a career to include “Nurses work during the weekend”
(mean 3.1; SD=0.93), “Nursing jobs extend into the night” (mean 3.1; SD=0.91) and “Most nurses work in
the hospital” (mean 3.1; SD=0.94). From the findings, the career-related factors that restrain males from
choosing nursing as a career are “I did career research on my own” (mean 2.7; SD=0.94) and “I would
consider a career held traditionally by males” (mean 2.5; SD=1.01). Based on the findings, the job-related
group of factors (with group mean 2.8 and SD=0.61) had the most restraining influence on male SSSIII
students in choosing nursing as a career in Enugu urban. Based on the findings of the present study, the
following conclusions were made: That secondary school students involved in this study generally identified
the factors that restrained males from choosing nursing as a career. That the issue of choosing or not
choosing nursing as a career do not solely depend on one single factor; rather it involves the combination and
interaction of all the factors (i.e. personal, social/environmental, economic, job related and career influential
factors) which hinges more on the individual decision to do or not to do something. It is therefore
recommended that the media should present nursing as a gender neutral profession via strategies such as
pictorial representation of males as nurses, stories of successful males in nursing and production of home
videos where males play the role of nurses. Practicing male nurses should engage in career promotion
programmes in secondary schools. Career counselors in secondary schools should clearly explain the career
opportunities for males entering nursing.
GLORIA, O (2021). Factors Restraining Choice Of Nursing As A Career Among Male Sssiii Students In Enugu Urban. Afribary. Retrieved from https://tracking.afribary.com/works/factors-restraining-choice-of-nursing-as-a-career-among-male-sssiii-students-in-enugu-urban
GLORIA, ONWUMERE "Factors Restraining Choice Of Nursing As A Career Among Male Sssiii Students In Enugu Urban" Afribary. Afribary, 14 May. 2021, https://tracking.afribary.com/works/factors-restraining-choice-of-nursing-as-a-career-among-male-sssiii-students-in-enugu-urban. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
GLORIA, ONWUMERE . "Factors Restraining Choice Of Nursing As A Career Among Male Sssiii Students In Enugu Urban". Afribary, Afribary, 14 May. 2021. Web. 24 Nov. 2024. < https://tracking.afribary.com/works/factors-restraining-choice-of-nursing-as-a-career-among-male-sssiii-students-in-enugu-urban >.
GLORIA, ONWUMERE . "Factors Restraining Choice Of Nursing As A Career Among Male Sssiii Students In Enugu Urban" Afribary (2021). Accessed November 24, 2024. https://tracking.afribary.com/works/factors-restraining-choice-of-nursing-as-a-career-among-male-sssiii-students-in-enugu-urban