一般病棟に勤める男性看護師が職場で感じる困難とその対処

Abstract

We conducted a qualitative research project to determine the coping mechanisms of male nurses in facing the challenges of being males in a predominantly female field. Health care workers and the patients face issues of stigmatization in their interactions within the health care environment. Our team conducted interviews with five male nurses. The purpose was to identify the sources and coping mechanisms of work-induced stress for male nurses in the female-dominated professional field. We found that they faced 3 sources of stress. The 3 main sources of stress were: difficulty in interacting with female patients; difficulty in interacting with female nurses; and anxiety regarding their future career development. The coping strategies of the male nurses consisted of both problem-oriented coping and emotion-oriented coping, with the male nurses gravitating to one or both orientations depending on the source of stress. In order to face the 3 sources of stress, the male nurses used seven coping mechanisms: a tendency to assign tasks among the female members of the team; constructing their own new coping mechanisms such as blocking out unpleasant situations; developing a mature experience-based response procedure for dealing with female patients; realization of their personal strengths as males; relieving stress by sharing challenges with other male nurse peers; developing an awareness of professional pride and responsibility; habituation of being a minority gender in a group of females. We believe the research reveals a need for hospitals to provide specialized support and training to male nurses.