Professional becoming of male nurses: a qualitative study in Lithuania

Abstract

Purpose: To reveal the features of Lithuanian male nurses’ professional becoming. Methods: The participants were six men who had been working as nurses for over a year, and one man who had been formerly employed as a nurse for over a year. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using inductive thematic analysis by Braun & Clarke. Results: 17 themes emerged after analysis: nursing not being the first choice, weird feelings of being in the minority during studies, having a vague initial idea of the work and a hard time starting the job; desire to help and interact with people, a tiring but fascinating variety of work, wide professional opportunities and love for the job; the challenges of high pace and workload, undervaluation and stereotypes, coping by standing up for oneself and separating work and life; the importance of a good team, gender being of little significance and joy that the number of men is increasing. Conclusion: These findings contribute to the growing knowledge of male nurses’ experiences. The study sheds light on the challenges and rewards of being a male nurse in Lithuania, providing guidance for future research and highlighting the need to raise public awareness.