Abstract
The cultural norms of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia do not encourage men to choose nursing as a career. Understanding male nursing students' experiences of their clinical exposure to the nursing profession throughout their internship might increase their retention. This study explored the experiences of final-year male nursing students as they transitioned to the role of registered nurse. A qualitative descriptive research design with an inductive content-analysis approach was used. The experiences of 22 final-year male nursing students from three public hospitals in a major city of Saudi Arabia were explored. The data were collected using focus-group interviews and documentary analysis in March 2015 and May 2015. Content analysis revealed three major themes: the societal and cultural image of male nurses, male students' engagement in nursing practice, and restructuring the internship programmes' policies to suit male students' needs. The findings reveal issues that mainly stem from negative social views of nursing as a male profession. Considering the students' social and cultural needs during their internship programme will facilitate their transition into the role of registered nurse and their retention in the nursing profession.
Highlights
The trend for male nurses to enter the nursing profession has been increasing universally
The focus groups yielded a large volume of rich data regarding the internship programme
There was consensus across the four groups regarding the negative societal and cultural attitudes about a nursing career for men, which was accompanied by male nurses' low social prestige and value
Summary
The trend for male nurses to enter the nursing profession has been increasing universally. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), as in many other countries, the nursing profession remains a female-dominated profession, and male nurses represent 18% of all RNs in Saudi Arabia's public hospitals, yet only 3% are Saudis [4]. There is general agreement in the studies that have investigated the issues facing males in the nursing profession. Analysing and solving the difficulties facing male nurses in a female-dominated profession is important for retaining them [1, 2, 3]. Understanding male nursing students' experiences of their clinical exposure to the nursing profession throughout their internship might increase their retention. This study explored the experiences of final-year male nursing students as they transitioned to the role of registered nurse
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