International Men's Day is celebrated worldwide on 19 November every year and it is a great opportunity to:

• Highlight some serious issues affecting men and boys and their wellbeing
• Make a difference to men and boys’ lives
• Raise money for charities supporting men and boys
• Celebrate men and boys in all their diversity
• Have some serious fun!

To mark International Men's Day 2021, the Athena SWAN Team in the School of Nursing and Midwifery (SoNM) are pleased to share the following projects and initiatives which have been undertaken by colleagues within the School to encourage more males to join the nursing profession. We are also delighted to highlight the publication of a children's book by our colleague, Debbie Duncan.

'NURSING: A CAREER FOR ALL'

SWAN Champions in the School of Nursing and Midwifery (SoNM) at QUB, in collaboration with Schools of Nursing in Ulster University and the Open University, created the above video to promote EDI and gender equality. This recruitment video seeks to address the shortfall of men applying to nursing programmes in Northern Ireland and features current students talking about why Nursing is a profession for all.

'MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH NURSING'

'VICTOR AND THE VIRUS'

Written by Debbie Duncan and illustrated by Jennifer Davison 

'Victor and the Virus’ is a children’s book authored by Debbie Duncan, Nurse Lecturer in the SoNM, which features a young boy (Victor) who is taken to hospital for treatment. Victor encounters a male nurse who takes care of him. Through this experience, Victor realises that anyone can be a nurse.

Click here to find out more

Purchase the book on Amazon