Caring behaviors of male nurses: A descriptive qualitative study of patients' perspectives
Amara Sundus, Ahtisham Younas
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Caring is mostly considered a characteristic of women and men are considered hard-hearted. In the nursing profession, female nurses are considered more caring than male nurses which influence patients' views about the care provided by male nurses. There is limited knowledge about patients' beliefs and views about caring behaviors of male nurses. PURPOSE: To explore caring behaviors of male nurses from patients' perspectives. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative study drawn from a larger convergent mixed methods study METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 15 patients from 14 medical surgical units of three private hospitals in Islamabad, Pakistan. Inductive thematic analysis was used for data analysis. FINDINGS: Patients reported that male nurses are respectful, considerate, good listener, unbiased, and supportive. CONCLUSION: These findings delineated five tangible caring behaviors that patients expect from the male nurses who care for them. It suggests that patients have specific expectations from their male nurses for providing effective nursing care. The male nurses can foster these behaviors to enhance their relationships with their patients.