[adamwade]

I can tell you from personal experience that it does not give you priority or an edge.

I am a 34 year old male sophomore nursing student. I maintained a 3.94 GPA while completing my prerequisites. I applied to the 4 colleges in my area that have a Baccalaureate Degree programs as well as the two Community Colleges that have Associate Degree programs.

Out of the 6 colleges that I applied for I only got accepted into one of them. I know a few women in my prerequisite classes that had a far lower GPAs than I did and got accepted into a couple of colleges. One of them got accepted in 3 of them.

The college that I was attending completing my prerequisites where I maintained my 3.94 GPA did not accept me, which was odd.

The best advice I have for you is to not keep all of your eggs in one basket. Some colleges are more expensive than others but if this is something that you want to do, go for it.

[nursemike]

Originally Posted by karenG

I would suggest that no-one is 'eating their young', merely expressing dismay that a potential nurse would think that he should get preference because he is male and unlikely to have children. I personally think a nurse should be chosen on ability, not colour/sex etc. if he gets the grades, then i hope he gets a place.

and one day someone must explain this grade system to me.. havent a clue what any of it means!

Karen

A= Excellent= 4 pts.
B= Good= 3 pts.
C= Average= 2 pts.
D= Poor= 1 pt.
F (or E) = Failing= 0 pts.

Then, in college, you weight each grade by the number of credits. At my school, classes were weighted by semester-hours, and the results were called quality points. So if you made A's in two 3hr courses and a C in a 4hr course, your GPA would be (4x3)+(4x3)+(2x4)= 32 quality points/10 semester-hours= 3.2.

I give the OP a gentleman's C in Women's Studies. While I agree there is no need to flame him excessively, I believe this thread illustrates the necessity for at least an awareness of feminist sensibilities as one enters the nursing profession. I happen to agree with many ideas that could be broadly described as feminist. I like the fact that I work around a lot of strong, intelligent, independent women (some of whom do not particularly describe themselves as feminists and may disagree with some of my liberal views) but when I say something in report like "Pt MAE equal and strong, for a girl..." I know in advance to be ready to duck.

[nurselizk]

Originally Posted by nursemike

C= Average= 2 pts.


I give the OP a gentleman's C in Women's Studies.

I sincerely hope that believing a guy should get hiring preference because he can't have children, is not considered average.

[nursemike]

Originally Posted by nurselizk

I sincerely hope that believing a guy should get hiring preference because he can't have children, is not considered average.

I've always heard the term "gentleman's C" as a grade that isn't really earned, but the instructor doesn't want to impede the student's progress in a (usually unrelated) major, like giving a business major a C in chemistry.
I applied it to the OP because I don't think one regrettable comment makes a guy a sexist pig (if I'm wrong, I'm in deep do-do, because I've made a lot of regrettable comments).

That said, the underlying view used to be average, and is probably still more widespread than it ought to be. Women do get passed over because "they're going to leave to have babies in a couple of years..." Obviously, that view would make recruiting new nurses pretty difficult, since I'm sure most new nurses are still women of childbearing age. But another poster alluded to a manager preferring "older" women, and some might apply the same rationale toward males.

It seems to me that dealing with young women would be one of the challenges for nursing administrators. In American society (and many others) it is more typical for the mother to take time off for child rearing.
Then, too, if I, a nurse, had a wife who could make 90K a year as a software engineer in California, or flip burgers in WV, I could probably find a good nursing job in California. But, more often, it appears to be the female nurse following her husband. I'm not suggesting these are valid reasons to prefer males, but the mommy track and changing jobs may be part of the reason there appears to be some inequity in pay for male nurses and female nurses. In a lot of marriages, it's assumed (by both parties) that the mother will be the one to sacrifice her career to raise kids, etc.

The good news, and why I recommend nursing to young women, is that a lot of the administrators have been working mothers, themselves. And, again, those who don't understand and accept the needs and goals of young women--some young women--are doomed to unhappiness and frustration, because there will never be enough men or post-menopausal women to staff all of the beds.

[nurselizk]

I was the one who mentioned a nurse manager who thought she preferred older nurses. Until she found that many of them needed to take time off to care for elderly parents. It was a relative of mine, and I hope she learned from that. You can't pre-judge what an employee's family demands will be. Which is why it's illegal to use it as a basis for hiring decisions. I know there's discrimination--I was in a male-dominated field in a very very conservative society before I became a nurse. I was asked why my husband let me work, and why I wasn't home with my children, then lectured that they would never let their wives work. I'm disappointed to find those attitudes anywhere. I fought long and hard to be considered an equal in my previous profession and finally left that state, which made a significant difference.

[rbs105]

As someone else stated, I will also resist the temptation to say how pig-headed your last statement sounded, but I accept your apology...

You do have some sort of a point in your other statements, however. My husband and I applied to nursing school at the same time. While I was brushed aside and had to fight to get appts w/entrance counselors, my husband was receiving phone calls galore asking him when he was going to get this or that done and if he needed help with his application materials. He was even accepted before he had some of his pre-reqs done (of course on the contingency that he passed) while I was flat out told no, we will not consider your application until your courses are done and grades are in.

I know there is an incentive to try and get more men in the field, so it is possible. They will still look at your grades though. And watch yourself when you get in...chances are you're going to be in clinical surrounded by those pregnant, family-having women that you so kindly speak of

Ruth

[adamsapple123]

the only preference I ever got was no line in the toilet at break time!
get real-- nursings is a profession- expect only less than you deserve from others- the true glory is when the pts family shakes your hand, or the dr leaves and says " I'll leave you in the care of your nurse for now."

[Frank Sims]

Originally Posted by playbanjogood

Hi, my name is Jason and I am a prenursing student attending ASU. I have fulfilled a majority of my prerequisites and have scored generally well. I applied to the nursing program in December 2007 but am almost sure that I did not get accepted. My GPA was a 3.5 and my overall net score was a 75%. My question is, do I still have a chance of being accepted? Since I am male do I have priority to students who are bound to get pregnant, start a family and quit the profession?

Not at my school. I had to get in on grades alone. It is done purely on merit. I would suggest speaking with an advisor at your school who may be able to help more with school specific requirements. Best of luck!

Edit: Not looking for female friends I see. :-o

[K98]

Originally Posted by playbanjogood

Hi, my name is Jason and I am a prenursing student attending ASU. I have fulfilled a majority of my prerequisites and have scored generally well. I applied to the nursing program in December 2007 but am almost sure that I did not get accepted. My GPA was a 3.5 and my overall net score was a 75%. My question is, do I still have a chance of being accepted? Since I am male do I have priority to students who are bound to get pregnant, start a family and quit the profession?

Jason, welcome aboard. Always room for one more caveman.

[Trauma1RN]

Originally Posted by playbanjogood

Hi, my name is Jason and I am a prenursing student attending ASU. I have fulfilled a majority of my prerequisites and have scored generally well. I applied to the nursing program in December 2007 but am almost sure that I did not get accepted. My GPA was a 3.5 and my overall net score was a 75%. My question is, do I still have a chance of being accepted? Since I am male do I have priority to students who are bound to get pregnant, start a family and quit the profession?

You have a lot to learn. It would be interesting watching your first few months on a unit.