More Men in Nursing: Is Trend Enough to Solve Shortage?

When the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released a report in 2014 stating that the nurse shortage is now at a critical point, it caught many by surprise. With an annual growth rate of 20% between 2007 and 2012, nursing has become the fastest-growing profession in America.

This development has led to more men entering nursing schools, but with only 5% of nursing positions left unfilled, according to DHHS, could this be enough to stem the tide? Or can they actually make more of an impact on future staffing shortages? Many nurses and hospitals are hoping so. But as always with statistics, there are also many concerns that this move just won't be enough.

The problems of the nurse shortage go beyond just a matter of having too few nurses to cover all the shifts and care for all the patients. Many hospitals are now feeling the effects of this shortage as well, with many having to close beds and cancel surgeries because they lack adequate staffing. Costs are spiraling out of control, but so is patient satisfaction when it comes to hospital stays. With many hospitals now facing financial ruin, it is essential to get ahead of this problem rather than react to it.

In order to do this, it is important to look at the growing trend of more men entering nursing school in the hopes of making a difference. Though the number of men in nursing schools has remained relatively steady since 2000, the sudden surge in new male students has been a great help. With 20% more males than females attending programs across 2013 and 2014, it's clear that there is much more potential for their numbers to increase.

But while this may be encouraging news, it has many concerned that they will only be able to bring one man along with them into the nursing profession. With only 5% of positions currently unfilled, it is clear that a surge of new men entering the nursing field will not be enough to solve this shortage. With over 70% of programs in the U.S. being female-only, there are going to be more men than ever before in nursing schools, but they will still never make up more than half of all nursing graduates.

For those who are concerned about the ratio between male and female students, there is no reason to worry; while they do remain relatively balanced at this point, there is always a chance that things could change in the future. This is especially true considering that the percentage of female nursing graduates has been growing slowly since 1991, when it was at 60%. While this number is lower than it used to be, the percentage of men in nursing schools has also risen slightly in the same time period, from 5% to 11%.

While neither number appears to be high enough to increase the number of jobs available for nurses, many are hoping that they will soon. The fact that there are now more students entering each year could be enough to counteract the rate of growth seen in these last few years.

Though many hospitals and nursing programs still maintain a majority-female student body, there are two key factors that have led so many men into nursing this last decade.

First, the economic need for nursing has skyrocketed in recent years, with an astonishing 60-fold increase in demand since 2000. Many hospitals have seen their revenues and profits drop thanks to these health care reform laws that make it harder to collect insurance and Medicare reimbursements. This has led to a surplus of nurses, with many hospitals now experiencing a shortage of staff rather than too many. As a result, they are willing to spend more money on recruiting new employees; the fact that so many students are now entering nursing schools ensures that they will have enough applicants to choose from.

Second, there is also a growing awareness of the crisis of nurse shortages across the country and in other parts of the world as well. Included on the list of countries with a high shortage of nurses is Germany, which has seen over 15,000 nursing positions go unfilled since 2010. With so many jobs going unfilled in this country, it is no surprise that more people are now interested in nursing than ever before.

To summarize, while it may seem as if men will be able to make at least some small impact on the shortage problem, there are still a number of serious concerns that they will not be able to make a significant difference. Though men's numbers have gone up considerably since 2000, their numbers still only make up 5% of all nursing graduates each year; there are simply not enough new jobs to go around.

If there is an increase in the number of men successfully becoming nurse practitioners, there will likely be a corresponding increase in the numbers of new female nurse graduates to fill the needs of hospitals across the country. But with many healthcare institutions still reporting severe shortages, they may need to seek out both new male and female nurses to cover their needs in the future. It may just be that having more men being trained as nurse practitioners will give them more opportunities to make a difference in this shortage problem for good.