Comments on: More male nurses needed

By: Bradford

Bradford — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:37:34 +0000

Stay with your six figure income. I have been in the health field for 20 years, am a BSN, and BSRT, and most all the nurses I know want out of nursing. The pay sucks, hours are long, and administration will not help you. There is no nursing shortage, there is a shortage of practicing nurses, who left the field for various reasons, not the least of which is low pay. The gold ring of nursing is CRNA or NP. I would choose to become a physicians assistant, have more autonomy, not be under the tripolar board of nursing, and make a decent living. Training is intense, but in the end rewarding. You will always be able to get a job in nursing, the aging baby boomers will need care, but if you also need to make a living, better keep your job. Lots of nurses I know work multiple jobs to make ends meet. In the end, no matter how benevolent or self sacrificing you are, economics will win. It is good that there are those who do go to nursing to help others and this is noble. But being male, I am the primary bread winner. I would love to trade nursing for the six figure income, and have a life after work without the worry to make ends meet. I am now 50 years old. There is no retirement in nursing, have made mine in real estate rental property. Think hard about leaving the income you have. I find satisfaction volunteering at the local animal shelter, helping to care for all the
“Babies” there, who need lots of love too. Also volunteer at nursing homes, as there are many seniors who have no one to love them. You can do this, keep your income, and help others.
If you really want to do nursing, all the better, and go for it. Just understand that the income isn’t there, and like your present job, you could very well end up despising also, just with less income. Administration is full of back stabbing and politics, better think about a mba for that area in addition to BSN.

By: nursewendy

nursewendy — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:49:30 +0000

Dan, this is a difficult decision…I personally chose to go through an ADN program first and then I went back for my BSN. I did this because I had 4 small children and needed to get through school as quickly as I could. If money is a big issue, I might say go ahead and do the ADN first…but if you can make it a little longer the BSN program would be more beneficial in the end I believe. Most hospitals today are looking for BSN prepared nurses, and I would imagine they would get hired over an ADN if the hospital had a choice. I am not saying an ADN does not make a good nurse….just that there is more education with a BSN and a little more understanding of the WHYS of nursing…whereas ADN focuses more on the HOWS…

Ultimately it is your decision….hope this helps some Thanks for reading!

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 22:26:26 +0000

I have found the posts on this website extremely helpful. I am a 26 year old male and am strongly considering going back to school to become an RN. I currently hold a Master’s degree in Spanish and taught high school for three years…Needless to say nursing would be a total change, but one that I am excited about. My dilemma is whether to enter an Associates program or an accelerated BSN program. I am leaning towards the accelerated program, but am concerned about the cost…the associates program is significantly less expensive. Do you have any advice regarding the two paths? Thanks in advance!

By: nursewendy

nursewendy — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:52:33 +0000

Aww nerves are definitely not unusual! I am still in school, getting my Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner license, and I promise I still get nervous!

By: nursewendy

nursewendy — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:49:49 +0000

Thank you Brandon for your response. There are so many areas in nursing. If you are not sure what area you might like you could try a float position where you can try out several areas until you find the one that fits you. Most hospitals have a nursing resource float pool.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:39:24 +0000

Hi, I have spent the past year beating around idea’s in my head, of what I want to do with my life. I earned an associates degree in business year’s ago and have never seen any real benefit from it. I recently got married to a wonderful and extremely sharp nurse. She is an RN in the ER, and is always full of interesting stories, day in and day out. I have met many of her co-workers both male and female, and have to say that the medical field seems really fun to work within. I have recently decided that I am going to take some classes to see if Nursing is right for me. I love the idea of helping people of all ages, as well as the ever changing environment. I think I handle myself well in highly stressfull situations, but am not sure the ER is someplace I’d want to start, can anyone give me some other good nursing field’s of work?? I am brand new to the idea and any advice for getting off on the right foot would be appreciated. Thanks so much, this is really an interesting page that has reinforced my thinking that Nursing is something I should do, thanks for creating this awesome information.

By: David

David — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:21:31 +0000

I’ve been reading many articles on this website, and I have to say they’re quite helpful. I’ve just recently made the decision to become an RN. I’m having a kind of anxiety, if you will, towards the matter and articles such as this along with many of your other ones reinforce my decision. My mom is a M.A. for a Cardiologist at the University of Tennessee. I had the privilege of shadowing said Cardiologist for a while, that’s when I came to my conclusion. I’ll be going back to spectate an operation very soon.

I just thought I’d share this. I already have a degree in CIS, but I can’t visualize myself behind a 10×10 cubicle for the rest of my life. Not to mention the economy hasn’t been very kind either, however, it’s not a matter of money. I can say, that I’m already nervous. Is that normal?

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:51:23 +0000

I think one thing about getting more men into nursing (will we EVER get rid of the moniker “male nurse”-my license and diploma make no mention of gender) is that it will create more FULL TIME people in the profession.

It’s pretty rare to find a man who is a nurse who works less than .8 or .9-at least that has been my experience. I think for a lot of reform to take place in healthcare and in nursing, we need more men in the nursing profession.

By: Jerry Lucas

Jerry Lucas — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 05:06:29 +0000

Nursewendy

I want to thank you for your posting and the fact that you have seen my web site. I started it to try to show that there is many different areas of nursing and the past of nursing was just full of females but many different men. I thank you for helping others to understand there is a need and men need not think of nursing as just women work, the truth is far from that.

By: nursewendy

nursewendy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:00:07 +0000

Dave, sounds like you have given a lot of thought to this. I am sorry you are dissatisfied with your current job. Nursing is a very interesting and continually changing field to get into. I think you would love the change and the excitement you would find there. Don’t worry about your age! It is never too late to go back to school. When I was in nursing school there were more than a few students around your age or older. I am glad you realize you would be giving up your six figure income…at least initially. There are some career paths you can take as a nurse (granted with much more education) where you can make a living around the six figure mark, such as nurse practitioner or in administration.

I think the idea of taking a CNA class would be good for you to find out if nursing is something you really want to do.

Good luck to you and your wife in your studies!
nursewendy