Emotion management and stereotypes about emotions among male nurses: a qualitative study

BMC Nursing

Sergio Martínez-Morato¹  Antonia Arreciado Marañón²  Maria Isabel Fernández-Cano³  Maria Feijoo-Cid³  Paola Galbany-Estragués⁴ 

[1] CAP Vila Olímpica, Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili, Barcelona, Spain;Department of Nursing. Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain;Department of Nursing. Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain;AFIN Research Group and Outreach Centre, Autonomous University of Barcelona Campus Bellaterra, Carrer Vila Puig, s/n, Edifici B-13, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain;Department of Nursing. Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain;Grup de Recerca Multidisciplinar en Salut i Societat (GREMSAS), (2017 SGR 917), Barcelona, Spain;Research Group on Methodology, Methods, Models and Outcomes of Health and Social Sciences (M3O), Faculty of Health Science and Welfare, Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic‐Central University of Catalonia (UVIC‐UCC), 08500, Vic, Spain;AFIN Research Group and Outreach Centre, Autonomous University of Barcelona Campus Bellaterra, Carrer Vila Puig, s/n, Edifici B-13, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain;

关键词: Emotion management;    Male nurses;    Gender roles;    Gender stereotypes;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12912-021-00641-z

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundNursing requires a high load of emotional labour. The link between nursing, emotional labour and the female sex, complicates the figure of the male nurse, because masculinity is associated with physical or technical (rather than emotional) and moreover is defined in contrast to femininity. Our objective was to understand how emotion management is described by male nurses who work in the paediatrics department of a Spanish tertiary hospital.MethodsQualitative descriptive study. The participants were selected through intentional sampling in the paediatrics department of a Spanish tertiary hospital. We conducted semi-structured interviews until reaching data saturation. We carried out a content analysis, using Lincoln and Guba’s definition of scientific rigour.ResultsWe identified two key themes in the data: 1) Stereotypes related to the emotional aspects of care: Participants took for granted some gender stereotypes while questioning others and defended alternative ways of managing emotions related to care. 2) Emotion management strategies: Participants described keeping an emotional distance, setting boundaries, relativising problems and using distraction and humour.DiscussionNursing care is conditioned by gender roles and stereotypes that present men as less capable than women of feeling and managing emotions. However, emotion management is necessary in nursing care—especially in paediatrics—and our participants reported using strategies for it. Although participants continued to interpret care in terms of traditional roles, they contradicted them in adapting to the emotional labour that their job requires.ConclusionsNew behaviours are emerging among male nurses, in which care and emotion management are not exclusively the purview of women. Our participants reproduced some gender stereotypes while disrupting others, and they tended to cling to the stereotypes that were favourable to them as male nurses. As we work towards a gender-neutral profession, these results represent a first step: male participants reported that they provide care and manage their emotions as well as (or better than) women. However, because they substantiated their claims by drawing on negative stereotypes of women, further progress must be made.

【 授权许可】

CC BY