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UVA School of Nursing earned the American Association for Men in Nursing's "Best School for Men in Nursing" award, one of 17 U.S. nursing programs chosen for the honor.

But while Men Advancing Nursing (MAN) Club leaders Harrison Walker (BSN ’27), Jack Dennis (BSN ’26), and Ariel Till (BSN ’26) appreciate the accolade, they insist the School is “great for men because it’s so great for everybody.”

“We’ve found great success here, and of course are very happy about the award,” explained Walker, who grew up in Richmond, Va., “but it’s not because the School caters to men so well but because it caters to everybody.”

The 17-year-old AAMN award recognizes nursing programs that have made “significant efforts in recruiting and retaining men in nursing, providing men a supportive educational environment, and in educating faculty, students, and the community about the contributions men have made and do make to the nursing profession."  

“Like a lot of professions with gendered pasts, there has been a sea change as nursing grows and evolves,” said Melissa Gomes, associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, who, with IDEA director Ivy Hinton, applied for the award. “Our students’ attitudes about men in nursing show just how far we’ve come. We’re extremely proud of this accolade, which affirms our work will continue.”

According to data from August 2024, the School's 795-member student body includes 104 men across undergraduate and graduate programs, a little over 13 percent. About one in five full-time faculty members is male.

The School was one of 13 nursing programs that earned the distinction in 2023; the 2024 award marks the second consecutive year it has been recognized. Hinton and faculty member and simulation educator James R. Nisley received the AAMN award at the group’s annual conference in St. Louis, MO, in October. 

The students’ support of MAN Club reflects the School’s commitment to inclusivity and belonging, and its determined focus on building spaces and communities for people from under-represented, marginalized, and diverse backgrounds. The student body entering in fall 2024 is “majority minority,” with 54 percent hailing from a diversity of racial, ethnic, gender, socio-economic, and educational backgrounds.

Gomes says it’s less a numbers game and more about creating community, and, beyond the School, encouraging student leaders to both show and speak up.

“This award affirms not only our commitment to remaining a destination for a broad range of students,” she said, “but also our determination to always support them through activities that promote belonging, advocacy, and voice.”

Walker, Till, and Dennis are organizing a MAN Club speakers series, community-building events such as study halls, and plan outreach events at area schools where they will share their stories, teach skills, and sweep away any lingering doubts about male nurses like the old stereotypes they are.

“There’s an imagined stigma about men in nursing,” Dennis said, “an image that we aren’t supported, or normal, but I’ve learned through being here that it’s not true. I’ve never gone into a room and had someone, a patient or a family member, have an issue with who I am.”

Added Till, who grew up near San Francisco, Ca., and whose mom is a nurse, “It’s about the experience you have and your professionalism: it’s not about what you look like.”

They don’t even like the term male nurses. Noted Walker, “We’re nurses.”