Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
adhered to more female gender role characteristics had a tendency
to perceive caring in an instrumental manner, rather than an
expressive manner.
Conclusion/recommendations. The results obtained in this study
have illuminated that this sample of male nurses are most adherent
to female gender role norms. In addition, this study has found that
male nurses perceive of care in almost equally expressive and
instrumental terms, challenging the supposition that male nurses
perceive of care in a one-dimensional instrumental manner. The
main recommendations include the need for further research to
investigate if these men’s gender findings are unique to male
nurses, and whether these men’s gender perceptions change over
time. In addition, research is warranted to explore the effects of
gender on other dimensions of caring and to ascertain the reliability
of examining gender and/or caring from a quantitative as opposed
to a qualitative stance. Furthermore, implications for practice
include an examination of whether male nurses actually do migrate
to certain ‘masculine’ areas within the profession as widely
purported. Recruitment recommendations stemming from this study
include considerations of how to increase the number of males in
undergraduate nursing programmes. Finally, educational
recommendations include broadening the nursing curricula in order
to familiarise students with all the dimensions of care.
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