These men are nurses ... and they're proud of it

Nursing student Ben Eithun started MANUP, a program to support male nurses at Penn. To appeal to men in the profession, the group plans to work topics such as testicular cancer and dealing with aggression into its agenda

In certain respects, Ben Eithun is the typical all-American jock - he stands 6 feet 4 inches, weighs 265 pounds and was once a lineman for his football team at Edgewood College.

But one thing separates him from the rest of the pack: He is a male nurse.

Eithun - a candidate for accelerated bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing - admits that his situation is "not normal" and that he is part of a small minority of male nursing students at Penn.

But a new group that calls itself MANUP - the Men's Association of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania - is determined to change that.

MANUP, of which Eithun is the president, hopes to serve the gender-specific needs of male nursing students as well as bring more men into nursing.

"We want to create an environment for male nurses to come together and to open doors for men to enter into the nursing field," said MANUP faculty adviser Chris Coleman, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing.

Male nursing students "need a place to talk about specific issues that affect them," Coleman added, ranging from problems with their girlfriends to strategies for success.

For one of its first major events next spring, the group plans on inviting Eagles linebacker Dhani Jones to campus to speak about health issues.

Eithun and co-founder Jay Roth got the idea to create the organization after enrolling in a case-study class on aggressive behavior in the spring of 2005. The class had only four students - all male - and a male professor.

"This was something that had never happened before," Eithun said.

They found that they could discuss things among themselves that "you would want to ask students, but not administrators," Eithun said. They soon realized the need for a sense of community among male nursing students.

"I think that men in nursing need to stick together," Nursing sophomore Jake Bevilacqua said.

Coleman believes that MANUP will play an important role in creating awareness among male students about aggression and violence, sexually transmitted diseases and how to do self-checks for testicular cancer.

Among organizations for men in nursing, MANUP is the first to be established at a nursing institution, according to Coleman. That may be because male nursing students are not only a minority at Penn, but in similar programs across the country.

Records show that just 7.2 percent of students in the Nursing School are men.

While this percentage might seem small, it is still above the nation's average for men in nursing - a mere 5.7 percent, according to the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses.

Penn's Nursing School has also been ranked the most "male-friendly" nursing school by Male Nursing Magazine in recent years.

Despite Penn's success in diversifying the Nursing School student body, many agree that more needs to be done to bring men into nursing.

"More men need to be aware that nurses do more than emptying bedpans," Coleman said. "Nursing students can become scientists, researchers, advanced practitioners and executives," he added.

Bevilacqua agrees.

"There are still a bunch of stereotypes about nursing being a female-oriented field," he said.

Comments (9)

Nice article..I was just doing a search on the web to stregnthen my unceratainties as a nursing student, and came across this. I'm Nigerian, and just started studying at the Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica. This quote from the article: "Nursing includes the promotion of health, the prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. The promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management...", if remembered always, will help us have the right attitude and motivation in being a nurse profession. I hope that I can be a part of you group, to lern from your experiences and be able to share mine with you from time to time. Uche Obi NCU Jamaica

Im doing a senior benchmark on male nursing and would just like to know if this is always what you've wanted? I support what you guys want to do and I think its great. When i graduate I plan on bedcoming a nurse.

Right on. I just want to point out that the phrase "male nurse" in the second sentence of this article strengthens the conclusion that nursing as a profession, and men as nursing professionals, still have a way to go. The concept of "nurse" still is heard and understood both on campus and in the world in a feminine context. A guy in nursing isn't a male nurse. He's a nurse. Matt Fox MANUP

Beta losers have a lot of male nurses.

GREAT JOB on starting MANUP Ben and Jay! I greatly admire you all for entering the nursing profession. It takes a lot of self-reflection and confidence to understand your position and the stigmas that society breeds about men in the nursing profession.

Great job gentlemen. Your work will be respected a long time. I'm a nursing student at the University of Akron. My class of 170 students has 39 males. We starrted an organization call Men in Nursing and have had some fantastic speakers come support us. We have been given recognistion from the University and have done some community work as well. Thank you for sharimng your story Kevin Asbury President, Men in Nursing University of Akron

Well down.I approve of what they have done. Who can help me ??? How can I contact with the leader who organised this organization.I'm a student studying in HOPE nursing college in Wuhan university in china.I do a research on male nurse,so I have something to share with the leader.Maybe the organization can give me some support. If anyone have the way,please let me know.Thank you for your help. My email adress is lihuizws@yahoo.com.cn My MSN Number is lihuizws@hotmail.com

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