AAMN Announces Best Schools for Men in Nursing 2020

Eight schools were honored for their efforts to recruit and retain male students at the virtual gathering for this year’s 45^th annual American Assembly of Men in Nursing (AAMN) conference.

The number of men entering the profession is definitely on the upswing. Lewis University College, one of the schools honored, noted, “the percentage of men working as registered nurses has continued to rise. In 1970, only 2.7 percent of registered nurses were men while in 2017, it is estimated that 11 percent of registered nurses were men (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017).”

During the October 14-16 meeting, the AAMN placed the following schools at the top of the list, based on increases in male applicants, admissions, retentions, and/or improved program evaluations from male graduates:

Duke University School of Nursing

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

Lewis University College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Nebraska Methodist College

Rutgers University School of Nursing

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh School of Nursing

University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Nursing

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing

AAMN President Blake Smith, MSN, RN announced 2020's Best Schools for Men in Nursing — AAMN President Blake Smith, MSN, RN

At Johns Hopkins, JHSON Dean Patricia Davidson, PhD, MEd, RN, FAAN responded, “We are proud of our efforts to build a diverse pipeline of nurses, particularly for our support of men who bring needed perspective and experience to our profession. Especially now, our world needs competent and credentialed nurses across all genders, backgrounds, and experiences in order to provide the best health outcomes for the populations we serve.”

Duke also celebrated their 2020 AAMN honor. “Our organization thrives on the presence, engagement, and contributions of individuals from diverse backgrounds. Men who are nurses enrich our profession, bringing a wealth of experiences to the collective excellence our school strives for,” said Marion E. Broome, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean and Ruby Wilson Professor of Nursing at Duke. In a recorded acceptance speech, student Nikolas Silva said: “On behalf of the Duke Chapter of the American Association for Men in Nursing, thank you. Thank you to the Association for handing us this award, and thank you to our amazing faculty supervisors for all the hard work and guidance they’ve given us over the past year. But most importantly, thank you to our members. It is because of them that our organization is able to promote diversity and inclusivity in both our immediate community at the Duke School of Nursing and the surrounding community as well.”