Patients' experiences and satisfaction about care provided by male nurses in medical surgical units in Islamabad, Pakistan: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Nursing is predominantly a female profession and caring has been considered an attribute of female nurses, which could imply a noncaring image of male nurses.

AIM: To determine patients' experiences and satisfaction from care provided by male nurses in a private hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study included a purposive sample of 50 patients admitted to medical surgical units for at least 2 days and who had at least three professional interactions with a male nurse. The Newcastle Satisfaction with Nursing Scale was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.

RESULTS: The total score for experience and satisfaction was 81 and 51, respectively. A statistically significant difference existed between experience and satisfaction scores of male and female participants, indicating that males were more pleased and satisfied with their experience of receiving care from male nurses compared to the female participants.

CONCLUSION: The male nurses were concerned for their patients, they were knowledgeable about the patients' condition and care, and provided them with clear explanations of the medical and nursing procedures. However, they seem to lack interpersonal relationship with patients and did not take initiative in understanding their patients.