A History of The Male Nurse

A History of The Male NurseNursing until the 1960s and 1970s was seen as a female profession; it is only in recent years that men, in any number, have entered this perceived female bastion. It is generally thought, or assumed, that it has always been women who have been the only nurses through the centuries. However, with even the most cursory glance at the literature available, or even on the Internet, it is soon realised that this is not the case. It is impossible to talk

Nursing until the 1960s and 1970s was seen as a female profession; it is only in recent years that men, in any number, have entered this perceived female bastion. It is generally thought, or assumed, that it has always been women who have been the only nurses through the centuries. However, with even the most cursory glance at the literature available, or even on the Internet, it is soon realised that this is not the case. It is impossible to talk about, or discuss, trained nurses per se when there was no actual recognised training available in any shape or form. Again, it is a general assumption that historically the only trained nurses were female. This certainly was not the case but nursing was seen, up to quite recently, as a job for women mainly because of the social and cultural norms.