Cincinnati Children’s is best workplace for men in nursing
Cincinnati Children’s was recently named a recipient of the American Association for Men in Nursing (AAMN) Best Workplace for Men in Nursing for the third time. The medical center previously received the honor in 2007 and 2009.
The award recognizes employers that have made significant efforts to recruit and retain men in a workplace culture supportive of men in nursing at all levels of practice. Candidates are evaluated on 19 quality metrics, which they must meet or exceed.
Cincinnati Children’s has consistently:
- Developed gender-neutral language for units
- Increased the number of men in nursing by threefold (228 percent)
- Supported pioneering research regarding men in pediatric nursing
- Sponsored AAMN and its activities
In the US, men make up 10 percent of the nursing workforce. Pediatric nursing employs far fewer men – only 3 percent in Ohio. Cincinnati Children’s has increased the percentage of men in nursing here from 2.7 percent in 2006 to 6 percent – twice the state average.
Cincinnati Children’s has continued to focus on recruiting men for nursing careers by exhibiting at eight of the last 10 annual AAMN conferences. The medical center hosted five regional conferences and the national conference in 2010.
Crucial to our efforts, though, is planting the seed of nursing as a career option in the minds of young men at the high school level. Toward that end, the medical center has hosted and attended numerous high school career fairs where our men in nursing inspire and encourage thousands of male students to consider making nursing their life’s work.
At an event celebrating the medical center’s achievement, Cheryl Hoying, PhD, RN, senior vice president, Patient Services, acknowledged staff for their hard work, saying, “I want to thank all of you who have opened up our hospital as a gender-diverse and inclusive environment for men in pediatric nursing. I especially want to thank our men in nursing who add value to our patient and family outcomes and experience who are the role models for others to follow.”
