A History of The Male Nurse

Nursing until the 1960s and 1970s was seen as a female profession; it is only in recent years that men in any number have entered this perceived female bastion. It is generally thought or assumed that it has always been women who have been the only nurses through the centuries. However with even the most cursory glance at the literature available or even on the Internet it is soon realised that this is not the case. It is impossible to talk about or discuss trained nurses per se when there was no actual recognised training available in any shape or form. Again it is a general assumption that historically the only trained nurses were female. This certainly was not the case but nursing was seen up to quite recently as a job for women mainly because of the social and cultural norms.