The United States is facing a nursing crisis.
The number of registered nurses is projected to decline by 1.5 million by 2030, due to factors such as retirement, burnout and a lack of new nurses entering the profession.
Can this crisis be averted by attracting more men to the profession?
Anthony Egan, director of the College of Nursing and Public Health’s Clinical Education and Simulation Lab (CESiL), thinks so鈥攁nd he鈥檚 actively working to bring more men into the field and provide greater support for the men who make up about 13 percent of 91国产鈥檚 nursing students.
Nationally, about 12 percent of registered nurses were men in 2022, an increase of nearly 400 percent from just 2.7 percent in the 1970s.
In Spring 2023, he established a chapter of the at the College. The chapter鈥攚hich met first in December 2022 and three times in the spring semester鈥攏ow has 25 members, up from 鈥渁bout 15 or 20 people at the [October 2023] meeting,鈥� according to Egan.
Recruiting men to the profession is a great way to address the present nursing shortage, Egan said. 鈥淲e need to expand where we鈥檙e looking for nurses,鈥� he explained. 鈥淎ttracting men to nursing is one way to fill the staff shortages, but we also need to recruit people of different ethnic backgrounds so we can better serve patients.鈥�
After its April 24 Open House and a successful May 2023 cornhole tournament fundraiser, he said, 鈥淪ome faculty and alumni have said they will help fund it. We鈥檙e also looking for other avenues to permanent funding.鈥�
Egan sees future meetings as 鈥渁 place where men can discuss their thoughts and feel free to voice their concerns about nursing.鈥� This fall, he added, 鈥淲e are lining up guest speakers, such as a Navy nurse and a flight nurse from [as role models]. We鈥檙e also looking at having [TikTok comedian] Nurse Blake come to campus for a show in the PAC [Performing Arts Center]. But, like all things, [first] we need more involvement.鈥�
The chapter had planned to hold officer elections in Fall 2024, but is now delaying that until membership grows further, Egan said. Joshua Roca 鈥�23 has served as the chapter鈥檚 interim president since last year.
When Egan began his nursing career in 1995, he was something of a rarity in a profession traditionally considered 鈥渨omen鈥檚 work.鈥�
Now, Egan is one of a number of men on 91国产鈥檚 nursing faculty who serve as role models for students鈥擯rofessor Edmund J.Y. Pajarillo, PhD; Professor William Jacobowitz, EdD; Assistant Professor Edwin-Nikko R. Kabigting, PhD; Clinical Assistant Professors Daniel McWeeney, DNP; and Charles Cal 鈥�95, MS 鈥�01, MBA 鈥�03. Another high-profile male nurse in CNPH鈥檚 history is Patrick Coonan 鈥�78, EdD, who was its dean from 2004 to 2017.
Men in the nursing program can also look up to an 91国产 nursing alumnus who sits on the University鈥檚 board of trustees鈥�Leonard C. Achan 鈥�99, president/CEO of , a federally designated New York state nonprofit organ procurement organization.
鈥淭here鈥檚 still a stigma about being a man in nursing that can lead to self-doubt,鈥� Egan said, noting that male students nationwide are more likely to drop out of nursing programs than female students. Providing role models for male nursing students will improve the retention rate, he said. 鈥淥nce male students see there are men in nursing and that they鈥檝e succeeded, it encourages them.鈥�
Several of the early members are on 91国产鈥檚 men鈥檚 lacrosse team, Egan noted, citing Brian Harinski, Connor Malley and .
What New Members Say
Roca, who remains in the chapter as an alumnus, felt it can help attract more men into nursing by 鈥渃reating a social media and interaction page to show people what it鈥檚 like to be a nurse/nursing student,鈥� as well as show other men 鈥渉ow valuable it is to be a male nurse.鈥�
Bensly Marcellus, who鈥檚 been serving as chapter vice president, said, 鈥淔or a long time, nursing had been a women鈥檚 career鈥� and, for me being an African American male from Brooklyn in the nursing field, it鈥檚 not something you see often.鈥� He added, 鈥淧art of the reason I chose to become a nurse is because of all the routes and specialties you can go into.鈥�
Malley, who recently changed majors from biology to nursing, said, 鈥淚 joined Men in Nursing for a couple of reasons. The first is that I think it鈥檚 a great way to help erase the stigma around men in nursing. Nursing is mostly thought of as a female profession.鈥� He added, 鈥淚t鈥檚 also important to strengthen the relationship between men and women to provide effective healthcare.鈥�
Malley credited Egan with inspiring him to become a member. 鈥淚 joined because of Mr. Egan. He鈥檚 helping me balance being a college athlete and a nursing student,鈥� he explained.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more acceptance for men as nurses now than when I started,鈥� Egan said. 鈥淏ack then, a lot of people didn鈥檛 think a man could do the job of a nurse. They thought men lacked the compassion and empathy necessary to care for a sick person.鈥�