A new children’s book about male nurses, aimed at four to seven year olds, is being championed by male nurses at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust who are challenging gender stereotypes in nursing.
‘My Daddy is a Nurse’ defies the assumption that all nurses are women by showcasing men working within the traditionally female-centric profession.
The book marks the beginning of International Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020, a year-long celebration of NHS nurses and midwives during Florence Nightingale’s bicentennial year.
Christine Pearson, Director of Nursing at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are committed to overturning the long-standing stereotypes that have historically deterred men from considering a career in nursing. It’s a stimulating, rewarding, highly purposeful job. Anyone who likes working with people, in teams, away from the desk, applying their specialist nursing knowledge in a job where no two days are the same should definitely consider nursing. My Daddy Is A Nurse provokes much needed discussion and recast a tired narrative that has – for too long – positioned women exclusively for such jobs.
Following his mother, sister and aunt into a nursing career, Nurse Endoscopist Myles Daley was inspired by the nursing care he received as a child to follow his mother, sister and aunt into nursing. “If it wasn’t for the caring, compassionate and kind nurses, doctors, family members, friends and past colleagues I would not be where I am today or possibly be alive.
Charge Nurse Dragos Carcel found his nurse calling after previous jobs as an IT specialist and male model. “So for me personally, My Daddy Is A Nurse challenges those perceptions about nursing that I encountered and I’m confident the book will go a long way to help transform the typical view of nursing and encourage more males to consider becoming a nurse.”
While My Daddy Is A Nurse is very much targeted at Millennials, it’s recognised that gender stereotyping occurs at a very early age. So My Daddy Is A Nurse forms part of a 360 degree approach to tackling this, nipping the development of misconceptions around what constitutes ‘a man’s job’ or a ‘woman’s job’ in the bud before these are able to flourish.
Staff Nurse Darren Stokes works in Surgery and Anaesthetics at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and encourages more men to consider a nursing career. “Go for it because life soon passes by. The potential to make a difference in someone’s life is enormous.