| Although they remain a small percentage of nurses, men are entering nursing in increasing numbers. As men enter nursing programs to prepare for entry into the profession, they may encounter role stereotyping and gender bias through the assumption of stereotypical notions of caring by nursing faculty. In order to better understand how caring can be facilitated in male nursing students, the purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to describe the ways faculty perceive and respond to caring in male nursing students. The central question for this study was: What are the essences and meaning of nursing faculty notions regarding caring in male nursing students? Six faculty members in a nursing program with a large percentage of male student enrollment were interviewed. Applying a method proposed by Moustakas for phenomenological data analysis, the researcher identified six themes that elucidated the essences and meanings of the phenomenon of faculty and caring in male nursing students: altruism, antecedents, attainment, ambiguity, agency, and anecdotes. Although complex and variously defined, caring in nursing was viewed by participants as involving a selfless regard for others' well-being. Participants believed that male nursing students come into nursing programs with a desire and ability to care for others. This desire and ability to care for others can be developed further as male nursing students learn caring as the essence of nursing. Certain aspects of caring in male nursing students were viewed with uncertainty. Participant use of self to influence change in male nursing student caring arose from participants' own experiences with caring. Lastly, participants perceived caring in male nursing students through the use of storied narratives. Implications for nursing education and practice were made, including the need to recognize, allow, and support male students' ways of caring whether those ways of caring are viewed as expected or those that may be unique to the student. |
