Lived Experiences of Male Nurse Educators: An Interpretive Phenomenological Inquiry

Male nurses experience stereotypes and obstacles that affect their career progression in clinical and leadership roles. The experiences of male students and nurses in educational and clinical settings are documented, but no research explored the experiences of nurse educators. To explore and develop a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of male nurse educators. An interpretive phenomenological inquiry was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 male educators in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Ricoeur's interpretation theory was used for data analysis. The themes included “searching for respect and autonomy: from discrimination to recognition”, “keeping up the pace: proving worth as nurse educators”, “building relationship with the opposite gender: overcoming cultural constraints”, “withstanding unfair female nursing and non-nursing management”, “appreciating support from democratic management” and “envisioning a non-gendered nursing profession”. Male educators surmounted various challenges while searching for respect and recognition and felt content with their professional growth. The greatest challenge was discriminative institutional and the government policies. The educators recognized that female dominance in nursing can be a hurdle, but they indicated that gender discrimination can be ended with collaborative efforts at personal, institutional, and governmental levels. Nursing regulatory bodies and institutions should develop policies that are conducive to recruitment of male and female educators. Separate sub-divisions could be established to provide support to and advocate for the rights of male nurses in clinical, educational, and leadership positions. •Male nurse educators transit from clinical to educational settings to gain respect and autonomy.•Male educators strive to prove their worth because prejudices against male nurses are engrained in nursing culture.•Nursing regulatory bodies should develop policies conducive to career progression of male and female educators.•Regulatory bodies should support and advocate for the rights of male nurses in educational and leadership positions.