Male nurses clean themselves before going into the operation room at Handan No 2 Hospital in Hebei province. [Photo by Hao Qunying / For China Daily]

Men are entering the nursing profession in greater numbers and gaining acceptance among patients. Liu Zhihua reports.

Ten years ago, if someone would have told Liu Bao that he would become a male nurse, he would have felt insulted.

But today, the 30-year-old from Baoding, Hebei province, has a different attitude and is proud of his chosen career. "I had never heard of male nurses before college," says Liu, who is now a nurse at China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing.

"But now I believe being a male nurse is no more surprising than being a male teacher. If a woman can do the job, why can't a man?"

China has nearly 2.5 million registered nurses, and although male nurses represent about 1 percent of the total, their numbers are growing rapidly, especially in large cities, according to the Chinese Nursing Association.

Xue Lei, a 31-year-old male nurse in Beijing, chose the career at the urging of his father, who said it would be easy for him to find a good job after graduating from college. His father was right, and Xue was hired by Peking University Third Hospital in 2007. He is now the head nurse in the intensive care unit.

"My father works in a hospital, and has seen the demand for male nurses," Xue says. "While women are usually considered gentle and careful, men can also be gentle and careful. Besides, men often are much calmer in emergencies and are physically stronger than most women. That gives us advantages working in fast-paced and high-pressure hospital departments."

Male nurses mostly work in intensive care units, emergency departments, operation rooms and mental hospitals. They are also preferred in examinations involving men's genitals, Xue adds.