Listening to the minority: A qualitative study exploring male students' perceptions of the nursing profession and reasons for choosing nursing as a career

Introduction: Nursing is a rapidly growing profession that has traditionally been dominated by women. Research has highlighted various challenges associated with increasing the number of male nurses, such as cultural challenges and stigma related to nursing. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has experienced an increase in male students enrolling in nursing programs. To ensure this is sustainable, it is important to understand how male students perceive nursing and clarify factors that influence their decision to choose nursing as a career. Objectives: To explore male nursing students' perspectives of the nursing profession and understand why they chose nursing as a career. Methods: Participants in this qualitative analysis were 30 male students that were selected using purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data about participants' experiences. We used a qualitative content analysis to guide the data analysis. Results: Three main themes were identified that described male students' perspectives of and reasons for choosing nursing: (1) perceptions of nurses and nursing profession; (2) individuals as facilitators or role models in choosing the nursing profession; and (3) barriers to choosing the nursing profession. Discussion and conclusion: Our results regarding barriers and facilitators for male students in choosing to study nursing may be useful to help improve the recruitment of and learning opportunities for male nursing students. Highlighting the male presence in the nursing profession and positive male role models may encourage males to enter the profession. Therefore, understanding the experiences of male nursing students in choosing nursing as a career has important implications for nursing practice and education.