China's first batch of male nurses recently graduated from
university has been described by People's Daily as "a fresh
power on the medical battlefield in Beijing."
All 11 graduates from Capital
University of Medical Sciences have been employed by third
grade hospitals in Beijing including Chaoyang Hospital, Friendship
Hospital and Anzhen Hospital.
According to the publicity office of the university, it started
enrolling male students for the nursing major in 2002.
"They immediately became hot property when a number of hospitals
scrambled to sign them up," said?an office staff surnamed
Zhao.
"It's a very exhausting job," said one of the graduates Li
Yunsheng who's now working in Friendship Hospital as a surgery
nurse. "You cannot eat or drink and have to stand for long periods
of time, especially during a surgery. I remember one time I had to
assist a doctor straight through from 8 AM to 4 PM."
Li said that he chose the nursing major out of curiosity at
first. "Boys hadn't enrolled before, so I knew there'd be more than
enough space for me in the class."
Although he is one of the first male nurses at his hospital, Li
doesn't feel any different from the others.
Liu Xingliang, another graduate, now works in the Intensive Care
Unit at Friendship Hospital. He said that male nurses are necessary
particularly when a patient slips into a coma and needs to be
lifted. Liu, too, doesn't feel that he is special or any different
from other nurses. "I have the support of my family and friends.
What I most care about at present is to get familiar with my job as
soon as possible."
According to an official with the personnel department of the
hospital, Liu was among the first male nurses recruited, and the
response from colleagues and department supervisors has been good.
The official said they would consider hiring more male nurses.
However, male nurses are still in short supply, which has to do
mainly with conventional views of the nursing profession. Chinese
parents don't usually encourage their sons to take up nursing. Boys
themselves don't typically voluntarily enroll for nursing
courses.
According to a survey conducted by Xuanwu Hospital, female
patients aren't comfortable being tended to by a male nurse because
of the physical contact.
Another survey suggested that most women wouldn't like to have a
boyfriend who was a nurse. Only 9 percent of those polled said they
would consider marrying a nurse; 69.1 percent said they would never
consider it because of the "special" nature of the job.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui, September 8, 2005)