[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Men in Nursing
An early organization of men in eastern Rome was the Parabolani brotherhood. The name referred literally to those who risked their lives by coming in contact with the sick. The duties of these members of a minor religious order included searching for the needy sick to bring them into hospitals. The members also acted as bodyguards to the bishop and became a burying detail as well. They were forbidden in public places and theaters, perhaps as a way to reduce contagion.
It is believed that this group originated during the third century, when the Black Plague depleted the population of the entire Mediterranean area. When this dreaded disease was at its peak in Alexandria, the Parabolani reportedly organized a hospital and traveled throughout the city nursing the sick. These several hundred men and their nursing work were vividly described in Hypatia, a novel written by Charles Kingsley ). There are specific occupations in health care that are often viewed as suitable careers for women as they are seen as extensions of the caring role women are expected to take in society as mother, wives, daughters and so on. As an example, nursing is seen by many as caring work and to be particularly suitable for women.
It has been argued that because nursing is seen as a female dominated occupation, this has prevented it from gaining full professional status on a par with other health professions such as medicine and pharmacy. Patterns of employment confirm female dominated or sex segregated work within the professions.While women predominate in general nursing, midwifery, health visiting and children's nursing, men are far more likely to work in mental health nursing and learning disabilities (mental handicap) nursing. Vertical segregation is also visible from examining employment patterns in nursing with men in nursing often progressing at a quicker rate than women up the career ladder, holding more senior positions, and different career progressions......
