The challenges of male nurses in the care of female patients in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Nurses professional duty mean that nurses must care for patients without gender discrimination. Meanwhile, the intrinsic differences between men and women and the need for personal contact with the patients during care procedures can create challenges for male nurses in the process of caring for a female patient. AIMS: The present study aims to understand the challenges of male nurses in the care of female patients in Iran. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted with 20 male nurses selected by purposive sampling. Data were collected through unstructured and semi-structured interviews as well as observations and were analysed using conventional content analysis, based on the Graneheim and Lundman model. FINDINGS: The findings revealed two main themes, including 'religious-cultural restrictions' and 'inappropriate organizational context'. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Male nurses are faced with a combination of religious-cultural and organizational challenges in providing patient care without discrimination in clinical settings. In addition to negatively affecting the quality of nursing care and satisfaction for female patients, these problems also create a stressful work environment for male nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH PRACTICE AND POLICY: These problems can be alleviated in clinical settings by trying to ensure same-gender nurses and patients, especially when performing personal care. In addition to the efforts made by nurses to present a positive and real image of themselves in caring for female patients, health policy-makers should also attempt to improve society's attitude towards male nurses caring for female patients through the media.

Conceptualizing and determining core clinical competencies in nursing students: a qualitative study.

AIM: This study aimed to conceptualize and explain the core clinical competencies of nursing students in Iran. BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION: Despite the national and international efforts to modify nursing curricula such that the students' clinical competencies are improved, there is still a widespread concern about this issue, perhaps due to the impact of factors other than the curriculum itself, such as the lack of a clear definition for the concept of clinical competency and its main components in nursing students. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis. The participants were selected through purposive sampling and included 14 senior students of bachelor of nursing, four nurses working in teaching hospitals and six clinical instructors. Individual semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. After recording and transcribing the interviews, content analysis was used to extract the concepts. FINDINGS: The main theme of the study was 'multidimensionality of the concept of clinical competency,' which had six main categories, namely 'adoption of and adaptation with the nursing practice,' 'nursing knowledge,' 'self-direction in clinical learning,' 'patient care skills,' 'professional ethics' and 'the development of professional behaviours.' DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Clinical competency and its dimensions among students comprise a multidimensional concept. Having a clear and comprehensive understanding of this concept and focusing on its core axes may be the most important step in improving students' clinical competency. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING, HEALTH AND EDUCATION POLICY: Policymakers and nursing education authorities can identify the problems existing in the students' clinical competency and provide them with practical solutions for a standard professional education through a clear understanding of the concept of clinical competency and its dimensions.