African-American Men in Nursing

A confident nurse ready for the day ahead (jupiterimages, 2008)

There is much information available to the average person who wants to learn about male and female nurses. From their struggles within the nursing profession, to the organizations that help advocate on behalf of them, access to this information is available. What is less available to others is information on African-American male nurses. Since they are such a small percentage of nurses, their role within the profession is often overlooked. The purpose of this blog is to learn about the role of African-American male nurses from a historical standpoint, and to analyze the factors that can help to ensure that more African-American males purse a career in nursing.

The Pioneers
Despite the relatively low numbers of African-American males today, none of them would be able to enter the nursing profession if it were not for a few pioneers in the past. James Derham was an African American male who worked as a nurse in New Orleans in 1783. He was able to save enough money to buy his freedom from slavery. He later studied medicine and became a respected physician in Philadelphia and the first African American physician in the United States (Kalisch and Kalisch, 2003). Derham was able to stand in the face of harsh criticism and break social stereotypes at a time when black male nurses were virtually non-existent. In 1967, Warran Hatcher became the first black man nurse to earn a Ph.D. That same year, Lawrence Washington was the first man (who happened to be black) to receive a regular army commission in the Army Nurse Corps. In 1976, Cleophus Doster from California was elected president of the National Student Nurses’ Association. Moreover, he was the first African-American male to hold this position (Carnegie, 1986). Given these facts, it is clear that African-American males of the past have cared enough about the nursing profession to accomplish tremendous feats and pave the road for others. It is the job of nurses to ensure that this road remains open.

I WANT YOU!.....To become a Nurse (gallup, 2008)

Recruitment & Retention
It is estimated that there are 2,694,540 licensed registered nurses in the United States. Of this number, 146,902 registered nurses are men and approximately 133,041 are black (non-Hispanic) nurses (Minority Nursing Statistics, 2000). Even though African-American males constitute a minority within a minority, there is a promising future for them. Between 1996 and 2000, the number of minority RNs increased at a faster rate (about 35%) than the number of non-minority RNs (2%) ("Minority Nursing Statistics", 2000). Due to the shortage of nurses in California and elsewhere around the United States, schools of nursing have stepped up recruiting efforts toward African-American men. Similarly, minority men within the profession are ever so cognizant of the realization that there is much work to be done. As Vickie Chung states, “There is no single united viewpoint or experience that speaks for all minority men in nursing, theirs is a voice that is growing in strength and numbers.” A major concern of late has been nursing profession’s obligation to reflect the diversity of its patients. The emerging voice of the minority male is a “voice that loudly proclaims the importance of the nursing profession reflecting the diversity of its patient population—including gender” (Chung, 2007). The nursing profession arose out of society’s need for the service. Therefore, the people involved in nursing should reflect the population in society. It has been expressed that there is a pressure for minority male nurses to excel in the nursing profession. In an explorative article by Townsel (1996), an African-American nurse by the name of Bivines states, "I've got to know what I'm doing. I can't go in there scratching my head because I'm a minority-not only because of my color, but because I'm also a male in the nursing profession." Furthermore, Townsel gains the insight of Houston ICU nurse Isaac Smith, who claims:

"Black male nurses must be twice as good as women. They must possess
professionalism, have the highest moral values and they're going to have to do
well in the performance role in order to reach their goals. Women have been
accepted in the field as a whole, but the Black male in nursing is still a
minority" (Townsel, 1996).

Thankfully, there are a number of nursing organizations that have joined forces to help bring in more African-Americans and protect them from racial discrimination. The earliest example of this is the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN), which was dedicated to promoting the standards and welfare of Black nurses and breaking down racial discrimination in the profession (Kalisch & Kalisch, 2003). Although the group was dissolved in 1951, they laid the foundation for other organizations to protect the interests of African-American males. More recently, organizations like the American Nurses Association (ANA), the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMN) and others have been active in promoting the interests of African-American male nurses across the globe.

An African-American male nurse has a superman mentality, ready to serve his patients
(jupiterimages, 2008)

Ethics
The whole issue of recruiting African-American men relates to the issues of ethics. The push by minority men of late has been to start recruiting nurses that will reflect the population that it serves. Patients come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with different sets of beliefs, customs, religions, etc. There should be nurses that are in the least familiar with these differences, so they are better able to serve the patient. In Debra William’s article, she introduces the first African-American man to earn a PhD in nursing, Randolph Rasch. In the article, Rasch elucidates that “You have to know about their lives and families so you can plan care that is appropriate for that person” and stresses that:

“We each have our own cultural experience. If you just have people with the same
experiences, you narrow the perspective. You get people that look at everything
the exact same way and there’s no growth. With a diverse group, you can look at
things more creatively and come up with a wider range of possibilities and
solutions” (Williams, n.d.).

Bunkhardt and Nathaniel define and illustrate ethical principles critical to a nurses role in the hospital, such as beneficence, fidelity, nonmaleficence, respect for persons, and veracity. Creating diversity within the nursing role would help facilitate proper use of these ethics, because nurses would be dealing with individuals with whom they can relate to. Recruiting more African-American males is essential to this notion, due to the vulnerability of the African-American population.

Two nurses at work (nursezone, 2008)

For more information on African-American male advocacy groups, visit the following websites:

• (http://www.cbnlosangeles.org/)
• (http://www.minoritynurse.com/)
• (http://www.diversitynursing.com/)
• (http://www.malenursemagazine.com/index.html)
• (http://www.nln.org/aboutnln/ourmission.htm)

References

Burkhardt, M. A. & Nathaniel, A. K. (2007). Ethics & Issues in Contemporary Nursing, 3rd Edition. United States: Delmar Publishing.

Carnegie, Mary Elizabeth (1986). The Path We Tread, Blacks in Nursing 1854-1984. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company.

Chung, V. (2001). Men in Nursing. Retrieved December 1, 2007 from http://www.minoritynurse.com/features/nurse_emp/08-30-00c.html#top.

Kalisch, P.A. & kalisch, B.J. (2003). American Nursing: A History. 4th edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Minority Nursing Statistics (2000). Retrieved February 23, 2008, from http://www.minoritynurse.com/statistics.html

Townsel, L. J. (1996). Male Nurses: An Increasing Number Find Fulfillment and Security in Non-traditional Field. Retrieved December 1, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_/ai_18664180/pg_1.

Williams, Debra. Nurse, Teacher, Trailblazer. Retrieved February 29, 2008 from http://www.minoritynurse.com/features/other/03-15-05a.html.