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A Shenzhen-based company that provides male attendants for disabled or elderly people in need of professional care at home plans to offer the service in Shanghai next month, but it can't find any qualified male nurses.
"We have 10 male nurses at our Shenzhen branch and they are extremely popular among clients. However, we can't find any qualified employees in Shanghai," said company manager Wang Liang.
The company is looking for a few good men with nursing licenses and work experience, says Wang.
"We went to local nursing schools and put advertisements online. We even offered a fair monthly wage of 3,000 yuan (US$361), but we have failed to recruit any qualified staff," complained Wang. He attributes the problem to prejudices against men in the profession.
Currently, only 40 of the city's nearly 40,000 nurses are male, and half of them work at local mental health centers.
Wang Shuzheng of the Shanghai Nursing Association notes that 6 to 7 percent of nurses in the West are male, but local people consider such jobs inferior and unfit for men.
She said the job is viewed poorly by society and many male nurses themselves.
"Because of the pressure, some male nurses transferred to other jobs. Many even prefer more tiresome physical labor to nursing."
Male nurses are in heavy demand from hospitals and some home-bound senior citizens as "they are stronger and better at dealing with emergencies," said Wang.
Some male patients are embarrassed to be treated by females who might see them naked.
"Male nurses have our own superiority," said Ma Yinlu, a 52-year-old male nurse at Shanghai Xinhua Hospital.
He says that many patients ask for him specifically, but admits four other male nurses at the hospital have already changed to administrative jobs or quit their positions due to discrimination.
"One of them never told his family about his job until he started another job," said Ma.
The shortage of male nurses looks to get much worse as all of the men working in the profession in Shanghai are over the age of 40.
No male has taken a nursing exam in the city for more than a decade, according to the nursing association.
The traditional misunderstanding toward the vocation has prevented youngsters from choosing nursing as a career. Changing people's opinions about the job is the key to solving the shortage of male nurses, said officials from the Shanghai Health Bureau.
(eastday.com April 2, 2003)
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