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Jessica Lankheit
Instructor Sara Alvarez
English101-28
13 November 2014
Final Ethnography
For many years, nursing has been portrayed as a female dominant occupation. Maybe
women dominated the nursing field way back when, but things have changed. While exploring
the nursing community I have come to the conclusion that men are needed in this particular field
of work just as much as women. Men bring just as much professionalism and integrity to nursing
as women do. Both men and women work hard, but maybe show or bring their work in different
ways. Without men in the field of nursing, the community would stand incomplete. Throughout
this ethnography, I will explore the nursing community through interviews with registered nurses
and a nursing student, information provided through fieldwork, and cultural artifacts.
Initial Overview and Assumptions
When thinking about the nursing community, a lot comes to mind. The “nursing
community” involves many people, including most of the hospital or doctor offices. It includes
nurses who travel across the world to third world countries or certified nurses that do not
necessarily even practice nursing. This particular community has grown and will continue to
grow.
Looking deeply into this community, you will see many different races, ethnicity,
religion, languages and clothing. St. Elizabeth Hospital, located just south of Cincinnati, Ohio,
continues to have my presence (as it did before I came to college). This hospital in particular is
Catholic, based upon the St. Elizabeth. My mother, residing as a nurse at this hospital, practices
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Catholicism. That does not necessarily mean though that every nurse who works in this hospital
resides in the Catholic faith. St. Elizabeth Hospital does not hire nurses based upon their religion.
Many of the nurses of St. Elizabeth fall into the category “white”, when thinking of race.
Although, that has a lot to do with the location. St. Elizabeth occupies an area populated with
many Caucasians and very few African Americans or Natives.
Many think of nurses as being only female, but that is history. A lot has changed since
then. Men are becoming nurses and do work in the hospital with women more and more. The
ratio between men and women still presides, but men continue to step up and work as nurses.
Now, the clothing aspect of nursing varies, depending on the nursing unit or type of nurse. My
mom, a nurse manager in the recovery room, wears navy blue scrubs. But, as a nurse manager,
she sometimes has to dress in professional clothes to attend meetings and whatnot. In the article
“Hot Town,” which focused on the Dirt Bowl here in Louisville, Ky, one of the women stated
that she enjoyed going to the dirt bowl for fashion (Garvey). Fashion shows peoples personality
and how they like to express themselves. But in nursing, the dress code is limited. Nurses have to
figure out different ways to show their personality. For example, presenting themselves in a way
that shows their true colors or wearing jewelry that represents them as a person. Nurses must
acquire professionalism, no matter the circumstance. Nurse must communicate clearly with their
peers and also their patients.
Growing up with a mother as a nurse has had its ups and downs. Growing up around the
hospital has also had its ups and downs. I wouldn’t include myself in the nursing community, but
I do know a lot about this community and what it takes. My Mom, when she was not a nurse
manager, woke up at 6 o’clock AM every morning, went to work, and worked till 5 of 6 in the
evening. I do know that it’s complicated to have a family and also work as a full-time nurse.
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Nursing takes hard work, but more than that, it takes people skills. You really need to know how
to communicate nicely but also, nurses need to make sure they return information to patients
clearly. I have had one really bad experience with nurses and that’s when I volunteered in the
NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at St. Elizabeth Hospital. These nurses were very rude and
did not appreciate the work I did for them. One thing to think about when nurses are uptight is
whom they are taking care of. These nurses in particular worked with very ill infants, who could
die at any point in time. This specific field of work can be hard on people’s emotions, causing
them to express themselves in a bad manner. In my mother’s unit, the nurses take care of postsurgery patients. The nurses seem very loving and endearing to their patients.
As an outsider, I think I could enter this community pretty easily. For class, we read the
article, “Crack in Spanish Harlem,” which focused primarily on the young adults who resort to
working in the underground economy, like selling drugs, due to the fact that they claim they are
treated unfairly at entry-level jobs. The specific people talked about in this article would have a
hard time trying to enter into the nursing community. To join this specific community, you have
to go though incredible amounts of schooling. The kids in Spanish Harlem barely want to go
through high school; therefore, they would make it into the nursing community (Bourgois).
That’s not to say that they couldn’t change their lives around and work hard at getting into the
nursing community. Currently enrolled as a nursing major, I hope to one-day practice as a nurse
practitioner in the NICU. Because my mom went through nursing school, and back again to get
her masters, I know the hard work that it will take.
Because of my age and education level, I reside as an outsider. I do not exactly think it’s
legal to be a nurse at the age of 18 because I have not yet met a nurse that young. Also, the
knowledge required for nursing I have not yet acquired, which also makes me an outsider.
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Although, I will join this community someday. Nurses start such good relationships with the
nurses they meet over time. The nursing community really works as a community. The nurses
work together for the better good of people. They work as a team to reach their specific goals.
My mom has such good friends with her peers and also the people that work for her. They
always look out for one another and helping one another out, no matter what. Many people think
of their bosses as frightening or scary. But my mom has an amazing relationship with her boss
and I think that really makes a job, a community.
In the first picture shown, which dates a few years back, shows my mom and some of her
other nursing colleagues. If you look
closely you notice the crucifix hanging
in the back. I mentioned before that she
has always worked at a Catholic
hospital. It’s interesting to think that
some of the nurses in that hospital do
Image 1: Zieglar, Suzanne. Group Nursing Photo.
N.d. Facebook, Edgewood, Kentucky.
not practice the Catholic faith, and how
that might or might not affect their
work. You also notice that they all wear similar uniforms, which gives them an effective,
professional look. I also mentioned that more men have started taking jobs as nurses, but in this
picture, only one man presides (Ziegler). The male nursing community, I feel, would interest
many people, focusing on how men feel and act in this specific job. Do men feel feminized when
working as a nurse? Do men feel as a minority when working as nurses?
Now, as I said, nursing requires professionalism. While observing my mom’s unit and
also the NICU, I realize how focused and involved each nurse stands with his/her patients.
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Nurses ask questions and evaluate their patients, trying to
give the best care they possibly can. But, that’s not
saying that they do not get to laugh or enjoy being
around their peers. In image 2, my mom works at the
station computer, where they can enter information for
specific patients (Lankheit). Each bed has a station
computer to help each patient receive the care they need.
A typical day for my mom involves taking care of the
patients, doing paperwork for patients and also for
employees, and also making sure everything runs
smoothly in her unit. Her days usually consist of very
Image 2: Lankheit, Lisa. Nurse.
St. Elizabeth Hospital. Personal
Photograph by author. 2014.
much stress.
Again, touching on the professionalism aspect of nursing, when greeting one another,
nurses maintain professionalism. Nurses smile, shake hands, wave hello or just simply say hi. It’s
a very professional community, and without professionalism, you probably would not make it as
a nurse. Leaders in the nursing community maintain their position by professionalism, integrity,
and working their hardest. Hopefully, when devoting this semester to the nursing community, I
can get a feel for what my job may be like in the future. In the community profile, I will
introduce three informants with whom I got the chance to talk too.
Community Profile
Many stereotypes have gone back and forth in this world about male nurses. Well, the
three persons profiled in this paper will present their thoughts on this topic. I established rapport
with my informants in various ways. Lisa Lankheit, my mother, stands at about medium height
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for women. Since employed as a woman of power, you will find her confident. Raised by a
Nicaraguan mother, and herself being twenty five percent Nicaraguan, she obtains dark features.
For example, Lisa present’s with brown eyes, brown hair and tan skin. Most often found in
scrubs (her work uniform), she is always on the topic of work. Lisa, maintaining 46 years of life,
looks very well for her age. Many have called her beautiful.
With myself at college and my mother very busy with work, we found it very difficult to
find a time to conduct a formal interview. But, we did it. Her office, which had a door, still felt
as small as a cubicle. With her office located in St. Elizabeth hospital, the smell was sterile, clean
but not great smelling. Sitting down in the office, I felt confined. But as our conversation ignited,
we proceeded to walk through her unit, so called the “PACU.” Really, the unit is Post Anesthesia
Care Unit, which really means the recovery unit for all patients except those who went through
open-heart surgery. As we walked, I found it challenging to listen to every word she said. The
lights were dim, with zero daylight streaming in due to no windows. That annoyed me slightly
because I am so used to being in the sunlight at college and also fresh air. All I saw as I walked
were beds lining the walls sort of in a square shape. In the middle of this square resided the
nursing station, which held many computers, a dry-erase board with many things written, a
machine for medicine, and lots of phones. The phones rang occasionally. Nurses were minding
there own business, other than a “hello” thrown out here and there if my mom introduced me to
anyone new. The unit stayed pretty quiet unless you paid attention to the alarming sounds
coming from the machines. I also found it challenging to not pay attention to the patients in the
room, some restless but also some looking almost dead-like. After a while of showing me
around, I asked if we could please go back into her office.
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Lisa’s office, piled high with papers, also felt a little home-like. She had a jar of candy
sitting on her desk, along with pictures of family hanging on the wall. While sitting, my mom
took one phone call while I played on my phone. The phone call took no longer than a minute, so
then we got started. Although I have heard this answer a thousand times, I asked once again.
“Why did you choose to become a nurse mom?”
She answered, “I believe God guided me here. I enjoy working people. I was not sure
what I wanted to do out of high school. I went away to college for one year, came home and
started working at a hospital as a unit secretary. I loved it. I soon realized I wanted to be a
nurse.”
I asked, “How long have you been a nurse?”
“22 years.”
Lisa has been a nurse for 22 years, like she stated. She first got her Associate Degree as a
nurse from Northern Kentucky University. After practicing with that degree for 13 years, she
decided to go back to school for her BSN and then again for her MSN. What I am seeking
though is information of male nurses, so our conversation turned to that topic.
“How many male nurses do you have working for you?” I asked.
“One.”
“Do you think male nurses are considered a minority in the hospital?”
“I do not think they use to be more of a minority than now.”
I then asked, “Has this or could this change?”
“Yes, it seems there is less of a negative stigma to a male nurse and more are going into
the field.”
“Explain why or why not you see nursing as a female profession.”
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Lisa went on the explain,
“When you look at the history of nursing and how it evolved during times of war
and hardship, it made sense for women to be caring for people and men were out fighting.
Times are much different now and each male and females bring balance to the profession.
I don’t believe it is only a female profession. There are so many different opportunities in
nursing now aside from just patient care and many men and women are capable of doing
them. Hospitals must be run more like business and much knowledge is necessary to
understand about insurance and reimbursement. It is important for all nurses in all roles
to keep the patient at the center and understand how our decisions affect them.”
To me, Lisa has a very open mind about everything. During the interview, she smiled
constantly, just happy to talk about anything with her daughter. We talked about her training
courses when she was in nursing. Recalling only about 5-10 men being in her classes against 75
women (Lankheit 21 October 2014). That’s a huge difference. I am currently studying nursing
and the classes contain many more male young adults than I expected. It’s totally surprising to
me seeing all the young men wanting to be nurses. I do have to say though, these men studying
to be nurses strictly seem to be white. I have not seen different ethnic backgrounds to these
young males trying to become nurses. I’m not sure why that is though. As our interview came to
an end, we decided to have lunch, only because we do not get to do it very often anymore. I
hugged and kissed my mom goodbye and continued my day.
William (Bill) Bitters works for my mother in the PACU and I have met him once.
Walking through the unit with my mom last year, I became acquainted with Bill. I do not
thoroughly remember what he looks like, so I will not go in to detail. This specific informant
gave me his knowledge through email. We were not able to meet in person. Bill is a sixty-four
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year old male who has been a nurse for 36 years. Prior to becoming a nurse, he worked as a
firefighter wanting to become a paramedic, but the city he resided in was never going to develop
that position. He then served as a orderly at the old Booth Hospital in Covington, Ky. When
asked how long he trained for and where to become a nurse, Bill stated, “My nursing degree in
from Eastern Kentucky University and it is an Associate Degree. When I was manager, I got a
bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Thomas More College.”
Bill has gone on to work at two different hospitals, including Good Samaritan Hospital in
Cincinnati and also St. Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood, Ky. When first going into nursing, he
held positions as Asst. Nurse Manager and then Nurse Manager. He decided though that he did
not want to reside in management any longer, so he transferred to the PACU as a staff nurse,
where my mother and him met (Bitters 23 October, 2014). When asking Bill matters on male
nursing, I became a little intimated. I did not want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I had to go for it.
It took a few days for him to respond to my email, but his answers were very nice and helpful.
When asked, “How many men were in your training courses? Explain if your training
course consisted mostly of women.”
Bill responded, “When I started in the AD program there were in excess of 60
students. There was one other guy beside myself.
I then asked, “Explain if your teachers were mostly female or male during your training
years.”
“The Nursing Instructors were all female. I did have male professors in some of my other
courses.” Bill stated.
His answers surprised me a little but at the same time I expected it. Times keep changing
dramatically, especially when looking specifically at male nurses. We see more and more males
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challenging themselves to become male nurses. I would not know where to begin thinking of the
reasons for this. Bill resides currently as the only male working in the PACU. I would really love
to ask him how he feels about this or why he thinks this is. When he worked at Good Sam, there
were only five men working in the department.
I asked, “Have you ever been treated differently at work because you are male? If so,
please explain.
Bill responded, “I think that some of the women look to the men when they have a patient
who is violent. There are also times when a female nurse may be uncomfortable performing a
procedure on a male patient. I have been asked to do those procedures by female nurses.”
“Do you believe women are more suited to the job? Explain.”
“No, I think that men and women can work together to provide the best care for the
patient. Different people bring different skills and strengths to the job.” Bill answered (Bitters 23
October 2014).
Bill really helped me out to understand a man’s perspective on nursing. I can say that we
did not necessarily click when I first emailed him, I was quite nervous. But it turned out great.
Now I will focus on a childhood friend of my family. Eric Schieman, a student here at the
University of Louisville, is 20 years old. He stands at average height, probably about 5 feet 6
inches and has brown hair. Eric orients himself in a very nice way. He is super genuine and very
friendly to talk to. Eric attended St. Pius grade school in the same grade as my brother. He then
went on the graduate from Covington Catholic High School. As you can probably tell, Eric’s
practices Catholicism, as do I. His mother, Judy, and father, Dan, raised him and his two
siblings, Abby and Ben.
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Starting out as a nursing major, and also having experience in the hospital, he has great
input to share on male nursing. This interview happened via email due to our busy schedules, but
it went very smoothly. I asked why he chose the nursing profession in the first place and his
answer stated, “I chose Nursing as a profession at first because I always loved to help people in
need, especially when they were sick. I thought I had a great personality for it, and I loved seeing
the patients make progress during their recovery. During my time at the hospital, I always
enjoyed spending quality time with the patients and really acting in the best interest of everyone I
worked with.” Eric’s mother, a nurse also, was over joyed to see her son want to follow her
footsteps. He expressed, though, that some of his peers reacted differently to his choice of
becoming a nurse. His peers often thought of nursing as only for females.
I asked, “Do you believe women are more suited to the job? Explain.”
Eric responded, “I believe this is true to some extent. For example, when I worked at the
hospital, most of the patients preferred a women give them baths, showers, etc. The majority of
the time I tried to do these tasks, they would fight back and demand a female. With that being
said, I think the overall job of a nurse can be done by a male or female as long as the person has
a loving, caring nature (Schieman 23 October 23, 2014).”
Overall, I do not think male nurses are treated any differently than female nurses on the
job. All informants gave abundant funds of knowledge and for that I am grateful. It was nice
having a woman’s perspective on all of this. Lisa’s ideas brought a different vibe to the paper as
did Bill’s and Eric’s. All nurses strive for excellence as they perform their jobs in hospitals or
wherever. No discrimination should be brought forth. In the literature review laid out next,
articles are presented and go into greater detail about why nursing needs both men and women.
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Literature Review
Male nursing is a very under-appreciated and degraded profession in American culture. I
did research on this topic, looking for articles that could help back up my argument. Not only did
my findings help give leverage to my argument, but what I found also surprised me.
According to Jay E. Roth of the Journal of Cultural Diversity, only 7.9 percent of
registered nurses in the United States are men compared to 10 percent being men in the United
Kingdom. This is quite interesting because according to this article, men represent half of the
potential nursing candidates. Standing barriers need to be knocked down. In this article, Roth
explains his methods of figuring out statistics of male nursing. Roth searched key words on the
Internet, including PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Google Scholar to find articles that were
relevant to support his argument. Roth found 745 articles that showed relevant to his topic, 16 of
which related to the struggles male nurses face. Also in research, Roth used 15 interviews of men
in nursing that helped support his case. Roth discovered that men would take more masculine
tasks around the job to affirm their masculinity (Roth 149). This goes along with an interview I
conducted with William Bitters, nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood, Kentucky. Mr.
Bitters, who works in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), claimed that, “Women tend to look
to men when they have a patient who is violent.” This statement shows the advantages men can
have in the nursing profession. (Bitters 23 October 2014)
In an articled titled, “If They Do Call You a Nurse, It Is Always a ‘Male Nurse’;
Experience of Men in the Nursing Profession,” they focus primarily on the isolation felt from
specific males in nursing. When talking to my mother, Lisa Lankheit, who works as a nurse, she
claimed that she only has one male working in her unit. But, as the conversation went further,
Lisa explained that she did not feel that nursing was primarily a female occupation. She stated,
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“When you look at the history of nursing and how it evolved during times of war
and hardship, it made sense for women to be caring for people and men were out fighting.
Times are much different now and each male and female brings balance to the profession.
I don’t believe it is only a female profession. There are so many different opportunities in
nursing now aside from just patient care and many men and women are capable of doing
them. Hospitals must be ran more like nosiness and much knowledge is necessary to
understand about insurance and reimbursement. It is important for all nurses in all roles
to keep the patient at the center and understand how our decisions affect them.” (Lankheit
21 October 2014)
These isolations need not to exist. In a Canadian study, certain barriers seemed more prevalent
including: sexual stereotypes, lack of recruitment strategies, nursing as a female-orientated
profession, and a lack of male role models in the media. (Rajacich 71) Most television series that
focus on the medical field are likely to have the male characters playing doctors or business-like
roles.
The study focused on 16 male nurses who ranged from the ages 21 to 48. Starting out,
Rajacich found that most males chose nursing in the first place because of family members or
friend who were in the health care field. Most of the participants in the study felt that the nursing
profession was very rewarding. But, the male nurses in the study also had negative feedback to
give. Many felt underappreciated and also did not like the first-time jobs they were receiving out
of nursing school. Some of the male nurses participating in the study stated that their invisibility
and representiveness encouraged them to work hard, to obtain a more positive standpoint for
their gender. (Rajacich 76) One man in particular had a female nurse say to him, “nursing is for
women and you shouldn’t be in nursing.” Only a few times had the male nurses felt that they
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were stereotyped by patients, but it did happen occasionally. These nurses claimed to get called
upon for more strenuous tasks or physically engaging, which by this they felt appreciated.
Interesting to me is the whole “male” nurse characterization. Women are referred to as nurse, not
“female” nurses. But, men are continually referred to as “male” nurses. The study reported that
the “male” nursing name is incredibly common. (Rajacich 76-77) As a nurse manager, Lisa
Lankheit noticed that there once was a negative stigma cornered around male nurses, but she
feels that this stigma may be fading. (Lanheit 21 October 2014) The stigma is definitely fading
and has faded from back then. I see a peak in male nursing coming, and they will overcome these
barriers.
From my experience observing nursing and/or male nursing, I have not yet come across a
reason for there to be barriers or stereotypes against males pursuing a career in nursing. When
asked about women being more suited to the nursing professions, Eric Schieman, a 20 year old
white male nursing student, responded,
“I believe this is true to some extent. For example, when I worked at the hospital,
most of the patients preferred a women give them baths, showers, etc. The majority of the
time I tried to do these tasks, they would fight back and demand a female. With that
being said, I think the overall job of a nurse can be done by a male or female as long as
the person has a loving, caring nature.” (Schieman 23 October 2014)
I do agree that a nurse must first have a loving, caring nature and men do acquire those
characteristics just as well as a woman. In a study called, “Attitudes and Stereotypes of Male and
Female Nurses: The Influence of Social Role and Ambivalent Sexism,” focuses primarily on the
social role theory. “Social role theory proposed that the gendered division of labor leads to the
development of gender stereotypes that are consistent with the social roles that men and women
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frequently occupy,” stated in the abstract of this article. This article starts out explaining the
specific barriers, including: social isolation, failure to acknowledge and discuss gender
differences in expressions of care, sexism, suppression of the contribution men have made to the
field of nursing, and media portrayals of male nurses as socially or sexually deviant. (Clow 446)
People only look at a nurse as being a female, and if the nurse is male, well then he must be
feminine. But that stands false.
When looking closely at the social role theory, you can see that when labor is divided
among the genders, differences in behaviors come about from the differing social roles, causing
behavioral differences among the genders. Observing men and women in specific activities
allows our brain to only associate those activities with that specific gender. Sexism plays a huge
part in why people cannot see men as nurses. Society often puts caring and heart-warming with
women. Men usually get the hard-working, professional and strong characteristics. But why? I
know plenty of women who are hard-working and strong. I know plenty of men who are heartwarming and caring. These stereotypes do not apply to our world anymore. (Crow 447) So all
these years that women practiced nursing and men did not, we cannot get out of our minds. But
the turnaround for this stands right in front of us.
Men and women may have had their places back in the day, but that seems to be coming
to an end. Men acquire the title “nurse” just as well as any women should. The men should not
feel barriers or stereotypes on the job. Also, I can see the high recruitment for men in the field of
nursing.
Cultural Artifacts
Starting on a new topic, I will present some cultural artifacts that embody the nursing
profession pretty well. Cultural artifacts presented usually represent the culture of that certain
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community. While presented usually
as objects or language, the cultural
artifacts have a lot more meaning
behind the actual object.
The uniform that nurses wear
and always have worn presents itself
as the primary artifact. The picture
shown on the right (Image 3) depicts
the first twenty navy nurses appointed
in 1908 (The Sacred Twenty).
Image 3: "The Sacred Twenty", First Navy Nurses,
Appointed in 1908. 1908. Biblio.org. Nursing Link.
Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
Originally, nurses wore white dresses with a nun habit type thing on their heads. As shown in the
picture, these ladies have the original looking gown, but have upgraded to a smaller headpiece
than the habit. The uniform worn today, most commonly know as “scrubs”, looks much simpler.
Looking back to the first two pictures presented in this ethnography, you can see how modest the
uniforms look. Almost all nurses wear these uniforms everyday, unless a special occasion
presents itself, which does not happen very much.
Uniforms bring a sense of professionalism to the job and also a sense of organization. My
mom, Lisa Lankheit, wears navy blue scrubs and works in the PACU (recovery room). I have
seen nurses who work in pediatrics wear light pink scrubs. A lot of the time, uniforms can help
out patients. The patients or visitors can recognize who can help them with what when the
uniforms are worn. But more than that, I think uniforms really help the employees. It establishes
who works where and helps the hospital run smoothly. For a hospital to run, the employee image
must be presented well. And with uniforms, employee image stands much taller. Uniforms have
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been such an important part in the nursing professions and without them the job really falls apart.
Organization exists no more. Jobs throughout the hospital would disappear. Uniforms stand very
important in the nursing profession and the medical field.
The nametag nurses wear exist probably for legal reasons but to also help out in the job
and to help out patients. When looking at the nametag, shown to the left (Image 4), you can see
that it hold a picture of the nurse or employee, their degrees, the position they hold, and of course
their name (Front of Name Tag). On the back of the
nametag resides a bar code so that the nurse can
enter places in hospital permitted only for staff.
And also it allows the nurse to clock in for work.
Every hospital uses different nametags, but this
specific nametag also states the different emergency
codes, for example Code Blue, which stands for
medical emergency. When emergency codes get
called over the inter-com system at a hospital, the
Image 4: Front of Name Tag,
Edgewood, Ky. Personal photograph
by author. 2014.
nametags stand as a reminder for some who forget.
Nametags specifically allow nurses to practice
legally as a nurse. Without it, they cannot practice their knowledge on anyone or anything.
Especially when focusing on the organization aspect of a hospital, nametags stand extremely
important.
Medical field related jargon or literature/vocabulary only pertaining to the medical field.
This literature remains extremely important to this specific profession. When looking at the
picture provided (Image 5), you can see how difficult this language or vocabulary is to
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understand. But, without this specific jargon,
the medical field, especially doctors and
nurses, would not exist (Medical Jargon).
Science years and years ago presented these
terms to us. Scientists and later doctors have
used this vocabulary and knowledge to bring
about the medical field. Medical field
language or anatomical terms are the basis of
medicine. Diagnoses are brought about and
pin pointed because of the anatomical terms
Image 5: Medical Jargon. N.d. Hunlock
Creek, PA. Paper Masters. Web. 24 Nov.
2014.
that have been studied over and over again.
This language allows for communication
between doctors and nurses. Many professionals usually have to explain the terms to patients
using generic words (for example: bruise instead of contusion). Without this jargon, the medical
field would fall apart at the seams. Medicine stands on this certain language. While this language
develops and grows, the medical field develops and grows. Cultural artifacts represent a certain
community as a whole, not just one aspect of the community. I felt that these artifacts I focused
on really represented the nursing community well. Without one of the artifacts, the nursing
community would fall apart.
Starting this ethnography, I had a bad feeling. I did not want to interview, nor did I want
to spend my time on one specific community. I had the feeling I would get bored. But that
opinion has drastically changed. I am here at the University of Louisville to become a nurse. I
have loved the profession for while now, but that passion and love for nursing has increased
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undoubtedly one hundred percent. The informants really helped me realize what nursing stands
for and really made me appreciate the education and opportunities I am receiving. I know that
my mom will help me achieve anything in the nursing community that she possibly can and I am
forever grateful for that. When looking into the future, I hope to continue my studies as an
insider to this community. As an insider, I will be able to find out every little detail having to do
with nursing and I will also be doing what I was made to do. The opportunity to perform this
ethnography has given me open eyes to learn more about my learning habits and myself.
Throughout this ethnography, I have explored the many difficulties and leadership skills
that men acquire being nurses. I have shown that nursing does not exist only for women and
most prominently; men are the top recruits for the nursing profession. Through interviewing 3
informants, looking into scholarly articles, and overall studying the community I remained true
to my word in the beginning. Men are needed in the nursing profession. The profession would
not survive without men. Men provide some things in this profession that maybe women cannot
provide and vice versa for women. Men will and are surviving this era in the nursing community,
no doubt.
Lankheit 20
Works Cited
Clow, Kimberley A., Rosemary Ricciardelli, and Wally J. Bartfay. "Attitudes and Stereotypes
of Male and Female Nurses: The Influence of Social Roles and Ambivalent Sexism."
Canadian Journal of Behavioral Sciences 46.3 (2014): 446-55. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Bitters, William (Bill). e-mail message to author. 23 October 2014.
Bourgois, Philippe. "Crack in Spanish Harlem: Culture and Economy in the Inner City."
Anthropology Today 5.4 (1989): 6-11. JSTOR. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.
Front of Name Tag, Edgewood, Ky. Personal photograph by author. 2014.
Garvey, Amber. "Hot Town." Louisville Magazine Aug. 2014: 128-31. Print
Lankheit, Lisa. Nurse. St. Elizabeth Hospital. Personal Photograph by author. 2014.
Lankheit, Lisa. Personal interview. 21 October 2014.
Medical Jargon. N.d. Hunlock Creek, PA. Paper Masters. Web. 24 Nov.
Rajacich, Dale, RN, Deborah Kane, RN, Courtney Williston, MA, and Sheila Cameron, RN. "If
They Do Call You A Nurse, It Is Always a "Male Nurse": Experiences of Men in the
Nursing Profession." Nursing Forum 48.1 (2013): 71-80. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Roth, Jay E., BSN, and Christopher L. Coleman, PhD. "Perceived and Real Barriers For Men
Entering Nursing: Implications for Gender Diversity." Journal of Cultural Diveristy
15.3 (2008): 148-52. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Schieman, Eric. E-mail message to author, 21 October 2014.
"The Sacred Twenty", First Navy Nurses, Appointed in 1908. 1908. Biblio.org. Nursing Link.
Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
Lankheit 21
Zieglar, Suzanne. Group Nursing Photo. N.d. Facebook, Edgewood, Kentucky.