Identidad de género y cuidados intensivos: influencia de la masculinidad y la feminidad en la percepción de los cuidados enfermeros

Introduction: Nursing has essentially been the work of women. The increase in men incorporating into nursing makes us think about whether there are different ways of expressing and practicing a profession in relationship to gender.Objective: To describe if there are different ways of perceiving and assessing ICU work from a gender perspective.Methodology: A qualitative phenomenological study. Sample: 6 male nurses and 6 female nurses from the ICU of the Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge (HUB). Data collection: Indepth semi-constructed interview. Content analysis.Results: Male nurses describe ICU work in terms of autonomy in making decisions and professional competence. They claim responsibility for their identity as nurses and stress the low social recognition of the profession. Theyprioritize the responsibility of decision making over the final outcome and evaluate family satisfaction in terms of prestige and competence. They are more practical. Female nurses describe the work in terms of control and follow-up of the patient's evolution. They emphasize the final care outcome and evaluate satisfaction in terms of a relationship of confidence and warm patient care. They are more meticulous.Conclusions: There are differences in how they classify their ICU work, in the self evaluation of professional identity, behavior in the development of the nursing care and in perception of family satisfaction. No differences are observed regarding problem solving with the technology. (C) 2009 Elsevier Espana, S.L. and SEEIUC. All rights reserved.