The real pain, however, did not begin until after Li graduated in 2001 and started his job as the first male nurse to ever work in the ICU at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, one of China's most renowned hospitals.

People were always surprised that there were men working as nurses and some female patients refused to allow him to perform any gynecological check ups, he said.

For almost a decade, Li, whose wife is also a former nurse, has regularly worked more than 13 hours a day giving injections and taking blood samples, fitting catheters, and helping patients to wash and use the toilet, among many other things.

No matter how hard a nurse works, though, they will never receive the same respect as a doctor, he said. "People despise nurses because they believe the work is of a low status. It's even more shameful (in their eyes) when a man does this job," he said.

During his first couple of years in the job, Li said he used to dodge the question when patients asked him if he was a doctor (male nurses do not wear caps like their female colleagues to distinguish them from the doctors). "Maybe I'm too sensitive but I could see the pity in their eyes when I told them I am not a doctor but a nurse."

Supporting stars

Nursing is far more complex than simply giving jabs and dispensing medicine, said Ying, who was a male nurse in the 1970s.

Not only do they need to report every detail of a patient's condition to the doctor so they can draw up a comprehensive treatment plan, they are also vital in the recovery process as they need to make sure a patient is developing both physically and mentally.

Li Zunzhu, 31, is one of three male nurses who work at Peking Union Medical College Hospital's intensive care unit. He has been a nurse for nine years.

All nurses require intensive professional training and some even have master's degrees from medical schools, added Ying.

After three years in school, Li got his nursing certificate by passing a strict exam. He had to intern in the ICU department for more than a year before he was allowed to work on his own. During that period, he learned to evaluate the patients' conditions through recognizing and analyzing data from various medical equipment and monitors, and to dispense medicine under the guidance of a senior nurse.

Now Li has his own interns to coach, and said he makes each one recite the name of the drug and dosage every time they provide an injection. "The smallest mistake is likely to be fatal," he said.

Women are generally regarded as more gentle and better at comforting people. However, Li feels that in the fast-paced, high-pressure world of ICUs, emergency rooms or operating rooms, male nurses have an advantage.

"In ICU, there are paralyzed patients that need to be moved or turned over quickly, which cannot usually be done by a female nurse on her own," he said, explaining why more men work in such departments.