Saying that you work in a STEM profession, or that you have a STEM degree, is sure to raise the eyebrows of anyone you are trying to impress. However, STEM covers a huge umbrella of jobs and careers – but is nursing one of them?
Here, we are going to be discussing nursing and taking a look at whether or not it is classified as a STEM career. This way, you can have a better understanding of what it takes to be a nurse and nurses can receive the recognition that they deserve.
So, let’s dive in!
What Is STEM?
STEM is an abbreviation that is often thrown around but not always truly understood. So, first, let’s cover what STEM actually means so we can work out if nursing counts as a STEM profession or not.
So – what is STEM?
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
These are the four main disciplines (or subjects) that someone who undertakes a STEM education will learn to better equip them for their future careers. STEM degrees also put a lot of emphasis on real-world application of these disciplines rather than just theoretical learning.
As a result, undertaking a STEM education opens up many doors to a wide range of industries.
So, STEM fields are subjects and areas that are linked closely to the four disciplines above. Some examples include:
- Biomedical Scientist
- Pharmacist
- IT Consulting
- Application Development
- Mechanical Engineer
- Civil Engineer
- Data Analyst
- Accountant
STEM careers require a lot of logical thinking, hands-on work, and experience whether it is with robotics or in a laboratory. These fields are also traditionally male-dominated and a lot of women feel ‘locked out’ of such careers due to gender expectations and prejudices held by STEM employers.
However, in recent years, there has been a push for businesses to hire more diverse employees but there is still a long way to go.
Is Nursing STEM?
Unfortunately, nursing is not officially classified as a STEM profession. This also means that any degrees or learning certificates related to nursing is also not considered a STEM qualification.
The reason why nursing is not classified as a STEM profession is because it does not use enough ‘hard’ science. Instead, a lot of nursing centers around patient care.
Nurses have to spend a lot of time caring for patients whereas other STEM professions, such as engineers or analysts, all are solely focused on using science for theories and practical work. They do not have to concern themselves with caring for other people.
Because the role of a nurse involves caring for patients and meeting their needs, a lot of bodies and organizations fail to recognize nursing as a STEM profession.
However, there are a lot of arguments against this reasoning.
Some people even argue that the reason why nursing is not considered a STEM profession is again due to sexism. According to the 2019 American Community Survey, there are over 2.1 million female nurses in the United States – but only 337,000 male nurses.
This means that nursing is a female dominated profession and traditionally is seen as a caring profession. As a result, this could have influenced many people’s decisions when it comes to deciding if nursing is a STEM profession.
But what arguments are there that nursing is a STEM profession?
Should Nursing Be Considered A STEM Profession?
Although nursing is not classed as a STEM profession or major, there are many who believe that this qualification is wrong. Over the years, more and more people have spoken up about this – but what reasons do they have that nursing should be considered a STEM profession?
The first argument is that nurses still use a lot of science and logical thinking in their day to day work. Although they do care for patients, they will have to assess them and apply hard sciences to their work in order to ensure that patients receive the right medication and in the right amounts.
Nurses also work with a lot of advanced technological tools to help diagnose patients.
This argument also goes beyond the day to day tasks of a nurse.
If you want to qualify for a nursing degree in the first place, then you need qualifications in a number of hard sciences and other STEM subjects – biology, anatomy, physiology, chemistry, algebra, and so much more.
Nurses study all of these STEM subjects while learning to become a nurse. So, if you need to learn STEM subjects for a profession, why is the profession itself not classed as STEM?
It also doesn’t help that there are a range of medical professions which are classed as STEM and yet work in the same hospital as many nurses. From surgeons to doctors to even pharmacists – all of these professions are considered STEM but nurses are not.
Another reason why many think nursing should be classed as a STEM profession is because of how it would help with the gender imbalance of the role.
Some people think more women take up nursing because they are not accepted for other STEM degrees, while men avoid starting a nursing career because of the care and ‘feminine’ traits stereotypically linked to the role.
By classing nursing as a STEM profession, more men would feel comfortable to take up nursing and this can help break down the stereotype of nursing being a ‘female’ career.
Final Thoughts
Despite all of these arguments, nursing is still not considered to be a STEM profession.
Some people believe that this is because of day to day sexism and because nursing is traditionally seen as a ‘female’ career, while others argue that nursing just doesn’t use science in the same way as other STEM professions.
While STEM professions rely on science for a majority of their jobs, STEM is only part of what a nurse does.
There are other important requirements nurses need to meet in order to do their jobs justice, such as critical thought, psychology, cultural awareness, and communication.
Other STEM professions do not need to meet these requirements – they just have to work with their science – while nurses juggle one patient’s needs with a range of other concerns.
But, ultimately, nursing is officially not STEM.