Gender Role Conflict and Male Nursing Students' Academic and Program Success

Background: Despite calls to increase the proportion of men in nursing, little change has occurred, and anecdotal accounts suggest poor retention of men in nursing pro-grams. This study explored the role that gender role conflict (GRC) may play in men's academic success.Method: Men in a large nursing program (n = 123) in the United States were surveyed to explore their GRC upon entry to their nursing program and then again 1 and 2 years later. GRC results, academic test scores, and indicators of program suc-cess were analyzed to explore GRC patterns over time and the influence of GRC on academic and program outcomes.Results: GRC did not significantly influence most measures of academic success, program completion, or NCLEX-RN results.Conclusion: GRC does not appear to influence aca-demic or program success; however, additional research is needed.