While the nursing profession may not have been a childhood dream for most men, a recent survey indicates that for many male nurses, the nursing profession has turned out to be their ideal job. Results from the American Mobile Healthcare(R) 2006 Survey of Men in Nursing found that more than 85 percent of men surveyed were "mostly" or "very" satisfied with their jobs. In addition, the survey found that more than 82 percent would recommend the nursing profession to other males and more than 91 percent said they would stay in the nursing profession over the next five years.

Last spring, 10,000 male registered nurses from across the country were asked to participate in the Men in Nursing survey in an effort to monitor and analyze workforce trends among men working in nursing. Final survey results were released this month.

The main goals of the survey were to determine job satisfaction among men in nursing as well as explore any perceived gender bias against men employed in a female dominated profession. Results indicated that men were not only satisfied with their job but much of the gender bias they felt they encountered was actually in their favor.

Nearly half of the respondents felt that men in nursing are treated with more respect and consideration by physicians compared to female nurses. And more than 72 percent said that they "never" or "only occasionally" experienced gender-based discrimination in the workplace.

Seventy-five percent of the survey participants responded that the perception of nursing as a female profession had no negative effect on their choice to become a nurse. In fact, some men said it actually had a positive effect on their decision to work in the nursing profession. Almost 93 percent "never" or "only occasionally" felt belittled by co-workers, friends, or patients because of their occupation.

Survey participants were also asked what influenced their decision to become a nurse since most did not know any men in nursing while growing up. The survey found three determining factors that motivated the men to choose the nursing profession: job stability, ability to choose job location, and good income.

Despite the high survey marks from the nurses surveyed, the nursing profession is a well-kept secret among men. Men in nursing only represent 5.7 percent of the total U.S. nurse work force.

American Mobile Healthcare, a division of AMN Healthcare, Inc., is one of the leading providers of travel nurse staffing in the United States, placing thousands of nurses and allied health professionals in top health care facilities throughout the nation. The experiences and concerns of male nurses are of particular interest given that males account for 14.4 percent of the thousands of travel nurses American Mobile Healthcare places annually with hospitals and other health care organizations.