A 23-year-old male nurse in Nigerian who seeks to improve nursing in the country has listed the challenges men in his profession face.
The young man identified as Odunoye Olanrewaju expressed that people look down on male nurses because men believe the profession is meant for women alone.
In an interview with NAIJ.com, Olanrewaju noted that female patients are reluctant to let male nurses examine or administer treatment for them.
He also complained that male nurses are normally used in hospital for doing heavy lifting chores rather what they were trained for.
Nigerian man talks about challenges male nurses face in the country
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According to him, many of his colleagues are reluctant to refer to themselves as male nurses because they are ashamed.
Olanrewaju revealed to NAIJ.com that like many of his colleagues he never intended to become a nurse and he always dreamed of becoming a doctor.
He noted that he decided to become a nurse after failing the Joint Admissions Matriculations Board (JAMB) exams several times.
He never intended to become a nurse, he always dreamed of becoming a doctor
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The young man who graduated from the Ogun state school of nursing in Ilaro, in 2016, expressed that he is proud to be a nurse.
Read what he said below:
"The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge" this is the definition of nursing according to Virginia Henderson.
In this definition no gender role was described and nursing is not called a female profession. But a typical Nigeria male nurse faces lot of challenges physically, emotionally, socially and mentally.
As a male nurse myself being in this profession has a negative and effect on me . Some of the effects are :
Heavy lifting: The society we live in believes men are physically stronger than women, so all the heavy lifting are placed on the male nurse. Starting from moving patient to and from bed, lifting heavy hospital materials especially in a country like Nigeria where nursing attendant are not common. All these responsibilities fall on a male nurse . And a as young male nurse who just stated working in a private hospital all these responsibilities falls on me
A man or a nurse: Most of my friend both colleagues and friends says whenever you're a nurse you're less a man. And this happens because I'm in the female world. When I was a student, my female colleagues will say we (males) have turned to female because once we decided to step into their world we should be ready to give up our masculinity.
Gender bias: being a male nurse for me comes with lot of sacrifices from females. As a nurse part of my duty are to perform physical examination such as breast examination, insertions of catheters, given of injections and assisting during birth delivery. Being a male nurse compromises these sometimes as some of our female clients and patient rejects our services. Recently, a female patient was to be given injection and I was to give it to her she declined saying she wants a female nurse . Still that doesn't make me lesser of nurse it's just part of what the profession offers. Stereotypes
Why not a midwife or a "midhusband": Sometimes I wonder if a male doctor can be a gynecologist why, can’t a male nurse be a midwife. Female patients will come to the hospital and will allow a male gynecologist to examine them but in nursing men are not allowed to be midwife. I remember when I was a student, during one of my posting a snr nurse sent me out of the delivery room saying men are not allowed in midwifery. I felt embarrassed because the examiner with them was a male gynecologist.
Nursing has to evolve in this country and as a proud male nurse I love what I do.”
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Source: Gossip.naija.ng
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