I was reading an article in the Wausau Daily Herald yesterday and a couple of points got my attention. The piece was about the increase in the number of males joining the nursing profession. One man mentioned in the article was a travel nurse and that always gets my attention, of course. But a comment made by a nurse supervisor in the article also got my attention.

A nurse manager in the article was quoted as saying about male nurses, “They tend to remain calm and level-headed during stressful situations, and they balance the dynamic.”

Balance the dynamic? The impression that I get from this comment is that calm, serene male nurses are a balance to the female nurses that can’t handle stress and are over-emotional.

I just wonder what the female nurses, who comprise 90-95% of the nurse population think of this characterization? I just was quite surprised that of all the statements that could have been made about the positive aspects of more males entering the profession, that a male nurse’s ability to handle stress is front and center.

Any comments, criticisms, howls of outrage?