Working As Male Nurses In Brunei: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Objective: To explore the views and experiences of male nurses in nursing as a profession in Brunei Darussalam. The objectives of the study were to explore the perception of male nurses in Brunei about the nursing profession, to examine motivation to become nurses and to explore the challenges that they have encountered in the profession. Background: More men are now choosing the profession, given the growth of health care needs. Evidence suggests that there are obstacles and barriers to men's career choices of being nurses. Design: A descriptive qualitative study using content analysis. Methods: A descriptive, qualitative approach was used to gain valuable insight into male nurses' views on nursing as a career. Using purposive sampling, a total of 11 male nurses from two state hospitals in Brunei were individually interviewed. Participants were interviewed for between 45-60 minutes and were audio-recorded with prior consent. Recorded interviews were transcribed, coded manually and subsequently thematically analysed. Results: The analysis revealed three broad themes, namely 'making the career choice', 'working as male nurses' and 'being in the profession'.  The first theme indicates the nurses' initial perception of the profession. The second one describes the nurses' experiences once they enter the profession. The final theme illustrates how nurses perceived the challenges of being in the profession. Conclusion: The evidence in the current study suggests although men's entry into nursing is slow and gender disparity continues to affect the profession, the results in this study indicate that, for male nurses, the motivational factors outnumber the barriers to entry. Overall, male nurses reported being positive with their career choice.