A shortage of nurses calls for the recruiting of more men

“ONE reason I can do stand-up comedy is because of all the material I have from being a male nurse,” says Adrian Matei. False stereotypes about nursing make for good jokes. But they may also put men off the job. Just under 11% of nurses registered in Britain are male, a share that has been steady for over four decades after climbing from 1% in the 1950s.

At a conference in May of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the profession’s union, David Ferran, a nurse in Belfast, proposed a campaign to promote nursing to men. His motion did not pass, as the view was that nursing should be pitched to anyone with the right skills, regardless of gender. Undeterred, Mr Ferran started a group, Northern Ireland Men in Nursing, which visits schools to promote nursing as a career for men. Similar groups are being set up elsewhere. Several universities have launched social-media blitzes to draw men into nursing programmes. Coventry University is offering male nursing students a new £3,000 ($3,800) stipend.