UNC-TV ONLINE: North Carolina Nurses: A Century of Caring

Men first began to enter the nursing profession in the late 1950's. Today, approximately 5.4% of the 2.2 million nurses are men. However, a 2000 survey found that almost 13% of the students enrolled in nursing school are men. Dwight Elliott is the only black male in his graduating class at East Carolina University. "It has been kind of tough being a black male in a predominantly white female profession." Another black male nurse said that he had gotten questions like "Are you an orderly?"

There are certain areas in hospitals (such as labor and delivery and nursing units) that are still closed to most male nurses. However, Ramon Lavandero, Director of the International Leadership Institute of Sigma Theta Tau International, had a very positive experience working in obstetrics. He was offered three positions in women's health care after graduation.

The American Assembly of Men in Nursing is a fairly new organization which is open to both men and women who share "our beliefs that nursing is a profession, not a gender-based profession," said Gene Tranbarger, President-Elect of the organization.

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