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Men still woefully underrepresented in nursing

Nurse Leader Insider, April 17, 2015

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Men represent less than 10% of the nursing workforce. The number of men in nursing programs is slightly greater, but there is still much work to be done when it comes to creating a diverse nursing workforce.

When Dale Beatty, BSN, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, went to nursing school in the 1980s, he was the only man in his school's nursing program. And, because of social stigmas attached to being a man in the nursing profession at that time, he withheld the fact that he was enrolled in nursing school from his father.

"I'm not proud of it, but for the first six months I was in the College of Nursing, I never shared it with my father," he said. "I love my father dearly, but he said, 'Don't go into that profession. You will never have a good income, and you will never have a good life.'"

But following his heart rather than his father's advice turned out to be the right decision for Beatty, now CNO at University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System in Chicago. "I've got a fabulous life, I've worked with great people, and I've got a terrific career," he says of his 30 years in the nursing profession.

Keep reading the rest of this article from HealthLeaders Media here.

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