The dual burden of visibility: A qualitative exploration of the experiences of male faculty in nursing education programs.

BACKGROUND

Men are persistently underrepresented in nursing academia, holding fewer than 8% of full-time faculty positions, yet their experiences remain under-studied and are often treated as uniform. Existing work relies largely on small single-institution samples and rarely examines how sexual orientation, race, gender modality, and age shape these experiences.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the lived experiences of male faculty teaching in accredited nursing programs, and to examine how intersecting identities shape their sense of belonging, professional treatment, and intent to remain in academia.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive study using an anonymous online survey with open-ended prompts.

SETTING AND

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty male nursing faculty members in the United States, spanning the ranks of instructor through full professor, recruited through professional listservs, social media, a professional association for men in nursing, and snowball sampling.

METHODS

Twelve open-ended prompts elicited narrative responses, which were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase reflexive thematic analysis. A reflexive journal and an explicit positionality stance supported analytic rigor.

RESULTS

Six interrelated themes were generated: (1) a "welcome imposter" experience of simultaneous inclusion and exclusion; (2) a paradox of privilege and penalty, in which gendered advantage coexisted with resentment and attribution bias; (3) behavioral vigilance and communication adaptation, including self-censorship and heightened caution around physical boundaries; (4) role modeling experienced as both purpose and burden; (5) intersecting identities that compounded or buffered experience, including a notable pattern among gay faculty; and (6) structural barriers to retention, chiefly inadequate compensation and absent mentorship.

CONCLUSIONS

Male nursing faculty occupy a paradoxical insider/outsider position in which privilege and penalty coexist and vary sharply across intersecting identities. Improving recruitment and retention requires more than increasing headcount; it requires structured mentorship, competitive compensation, recognition of invisible service, and intersectionally informed, inclusive department cultures.