Nursing is a female-dominated profession. After the new education policy 2002 in India, nursing education is commercialised and private institutions numbers were increased than the government. Increased number of nursing seat availability and high demand for the nurses in India and abroad attracted a large number of young work oriented aspirants in this profession. Government institutions have limited or no seats for male nurses in their institutions but increased seats in private institutions allowed a larger number of male in the nursing institutions. The range of male student in private institutions varies from 10-30% in private institutions.
Nurse’s numbers were largely equal or less to the post available in the government and few private hospitals. Fast growth in the health sector and it rising as an Industry increased the demands for the nursing personnel not only India but also across the globe. Government short term or contractual recruitment policies like National Rural Health Mission, lack of minimum wages in the unregulated private sector and retrogation in international recruitment from western countries created distress among the young nurses.
Since 2009, across the country, we have read the nurses protest for their basic rights like dignity at work and minimum wages. In these movements’ male nurses were in support and/or leading positions. In the government sector, there was a slight increased of male nurses in the nurse’s recruitment. Being male in the patriarchal society, gave them more privilege to form the unions, associations and fight for the basic rights. We can notice an increase in these activities across the country. There were anecdotes from the hospital administration and senior nurses management over the skill and knowledge level of these young nurses who were certified from the private institutions but could we blame these young nurses who spent lots of money in the non-standard educational instructions? Should we blame the system which is responsible for creating such non-standards or those who invested their life in these once?
Recently AIIMS nurses recruitment announced the gender-based recruitment for the nurses. This gave momentum across the country to reassess the emergence of the male in the female-dominated profession.
IAPH, a volunteer nurses organisation took the initiative to organise the series of the webinar on this theme.
Gender and Nursing: Trends, Issues and challenges: Series 1 part 1
