Kasee Wiesen DNP, APRN, FNP-C
This article originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Vital Signs.
There are over 4.7 million registered nurses (RNs) in the United States, and just over 87 percent of them are women. Women in medicine pride themselves on being empathetic and strong communicators, improving overall health outcomes and well-being for everyone. Besides providing a holistic approach and focusing on patient-centered care, women are making significant impacts in developing healthcare policies and fostering medical research and are a vital part of the healthcare community.
The Women in Medicine Survey
Health eCareers surveyed 504 women in health professions, including physicians, advanced practice providers, registered nurses, and allied health professionals. The survey provides a comprehensive understanding of women’s experiences in healthcare, including the following:
Leadership and mentorship opportunities
Equality at work
Work-life balance
Discrimination experienced from patients
Sexual harassment from colleagues
Among these professionals, a hundred were RNs, and 47 percent had over twenty-five years of experience.
Leadership Opportunities
Nurses want opportunities in leadership, which is evident by 74 percent reporting they have pursued leadership roles in healthcare. However, they feel barriers are holding them back from applying for or accepting leadership positions. Some of those barriers are:
Concerns about work-life balance
Confidence issues
A lack of interest
So what can be done to increase nurses’ presence in leadership roles? Eighty-eight percent of nurses feel that implementation of mentorship programs are one way to advance women into leadership roles. Mentorship programs can increase confidence, and mentors can help nurses achieve their leadership goals.
In addition to mentorship programs, advanced education and professional development for current or up-and-coming leaders is important. That’s why it’s crucial to encourage nurse leaders to advance their knowledge by providing education and development programs and encouraging attendance at conferences with other nurses in executive or leadership roles.
Discrimination and Sexual Harassment
Discrimination and sexual harassment are present across many industries, including healthcare. The Women in Medicine data indicates that 40 percent of nurses have experienced discrimination from patients because of gender, and 36 percent have experienced sexual harassment from colleagues on the job.
It’s unacceptable that over a third of nurses surveyed have experienced sexual harassment from their colleagues, whether it be verbal, physical, or visual harassment. This can lead to a negative impact on their mental health, and no healthcare organization should tolerate it. Nurses need to form an alliance with each other and ensure their healthcare organizations have a zero-tolerance policy in place and a safe place to report sexual harassment if it occurs.
Sixty-seven percent reported that their organization has policies and practices supporting gender diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI). These policies include health and wellness programs, diversity training, employee resource groups, and DEI committees. Those surveyed reported that their organization could improve policies and practices around the following:
Work-life balance
Equitable pay
Childcare support
Regarding equitable pay, nurses are split on whether they believe their pay is fair, with 44 percent reporting that it is fair and 45 percent saying it’s not. So, what can nurses do to improve this? Pay transparency is a place to start, as it can enhance nurses’ views on fair pay. Organizations can facilitate pay equity by defining compensation strategies and developing a compensation philosophy, including the following:
Creating clear performance assessment metrics allows employees to understand how their job performance contributes to their pay
Establishing transparent policies for wage setting and reporting
Developing clear guidelines for promotions
Educating managers and human resource staff about discussing pay transparency with employees
Nurses can also advocate for themselves by discussing the importance of pay transparency and equity with their administrators. They can even advocate at the state level either as an individual or by joining their state board of nursing and using the support and resources they offer.
Nurses leave a lasting impact on their colleagues and those they care for. The data collected from this survey demonstrates the growth of nurses in the healthcare field but also highlights areas where more attention and focus are needed to continue to support nurses in medicine.
Author Bio
Kasee Wiesen, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, is a family nurse practitioner who owns her freelance writing business. She has a great passion for bedside and classroom education and has been a nurse educator for over ten years.
