Poor job prospects, low pay attributed to less number of male nurses in state

Stating that male nurses are only found in departments such as the Prisons Wards, Orthopaedic and the Psychiatry Departments, Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said, “It is true that the numbers are disproportionate. Around a decade ago, the Gynaecology Departments decided that they would recruit only female nurses. 

They therefore stopped the recruitment of male nurses in their departments all together and so was the case with the Labour wards. While these are the wards that need nurses the most, the requirement proved to be far less for men.”

While this discouraged men who were interested in taking up the profession in India, the stereotypical nature of the Indian culture discouraged them further. “It is true that an increase in the number of male nurses would help us in terms of patient handling.

However, male nurses face lack of respect in their profession as well as the lack of a decent salary add to the woes of those interested in the profession,” said Dr L Ponaraj, a senior doctor at a Government Hospital in the state.

Even though the Indian Nursing Council states very clearly that Nursing is an independent profession, it continues to be looked at as a support service rather than a main occupation. 

Besides, despite being a pioneer for medical treatment, Tamil Nadu does not even have a cell for nursing even though it was demanded by the Union Government, said M Umapathy, a staff nurse, who worked at Villupuram Medical College and Hospital.

States like Odisha and Telangana are steps ahead since they have a Nursing Directorate, whereas Tamil Nadu does not even have a cell for nursing, he said. “This lack of importance given to nurses is one of the reasons why most male nurses opt to work abroad instead. Besides, better experience and pay abroad also serves as an attraction,” added a male nurse.

Demanding an immediate change, K Ravi, a member of the Nurses’ Association, said, “In many hospitals, we see male nursing students who are serving as nurses. They are merely being used to increase manpower in a few departments. 

Such situations push these nurses to prefer going abroad where they witness better social acceptance, better pay, and self-improvement.”

They lose interest in studying here as well, he said. “The meagre salary of less than Rs 10,000 and lack of experience as nurses, serves to kill their interest in the profession all together. 

We also live in such a stereotypical society wherein hospitals prefer to hire female nurses – in the belief that they are more passionate and caring and hire male nurses only in departments such as the Orthopaedic wards where physical strength is required,” he added.

It may be noted that Private hospitals too prefer hiring female nurses to male nurses. With a total of around 750 nurses, MIOT Hospital does not have a single male nurse working at the Institution. Fortis Hospital and SIMS Hospital have a total of 380 nurses with barely 10 male nurses working at both hospitals.