Experiences of and satisfaction with care provided by male nurses: A convergent mixed-method study of patients in medical surgical units

Aim To understand, comprehensively, patients' experiences of and satisfaction with care provided by male nurses in medical surgical units. BackgroundDesignPatients' positive experiences of and satisfaction with care are plausible indicators of nurses' caring attitude. Female nurses are considered more caring than male nurses and knowledge about patient experiences and satisfaction with care by male nurses is minimal. A convergent mixed methods. MethodsResultsPatients (N=262) completed an Urdu language-translated version of the Newcastle Satisfaction with Nursing Scale and 15 participated in semi-structured interviews from August - December 2017. Descriptive statistics were used for quantitative analysis and thematic analysis for qualitative analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative data were merged and integrated for mixed-method analysis. High experience and moderate satisfaction scores were reported. Six themes emerged from care experiences: providing support and comfort, respecting privacy, providing information to patients and families, inability to manage workload and rushing too much, responding late and disturbing sleep. Three themes from satisfaction with nursing care: spending time with patients, capability of providing care and respecting autonomy. It was found that patients' actual experiences and satisfaction with the male nurses' care were considerably better than culturally accepted beliefs and perceptions about the role of men and women in the society. Conclusion??Male nurses were caring, but patients' views of nurses' caring attitude were influenced by socio-culture perceptions of the men. Male nurses supported and comforted patients and respected their privacy but did not respond to them on time and were perceived to be authoritarian.