[efiebke]

O.K., men, I've got a couple of questions to ask you!

First a little history. I was asked by the vice-president of nursing (a female, by the way), along with a few other male nurses who work at my small rural hospital, to produce a "Recruitment Video" for male nurses. To be honest with you, I haven't a clue why she is singling out the "male species" for nursing recruitment. Apparently this video will be geared towards male 8th graders and will be shown during "job fairs" that these 8th graders would be attending.

Today, actually, we are going to begin the process of discussing the content of this video. Here are some of the questions that we will be exploring:

1) Why do men enter the nursing profession?

2) Why do men remain in the nursing profession?

3) How could "we" (men) encourage other men to enter into the nursing profession?

I already have my own answers. I was wondering. . . curious. . . what your responses might be!

Go for it, fellas! Spill your guts! Why did you enter the nursing profession? Why do you remain in the nursing profession? And, finally, How can we encourage other men to enter into the nursing profession?

Dig deep into your psyches. . . as if you were digging deep into your crotch for a good scratch. . . and share like only men can share! (belch, burp, fart. . . .)

This is an interesting if not a wierd assignment. Looking forward to it's outcome, though. Hopefully the outcome will be a really neat video that just might get a few more people (male or female) into the nursing profession.

Cheers!

Ted

[hogan4736]

It's great for raising kids...3 days a week and a lot of time off.

Let's face it, all the overtime in the world makes you no less hungry and no better rested than you were before nursing.

Your buddies are running a backhoe or forklift...cracking chests, having virtually no free time, and shouldering every almost every ounce of liability...or grinding it 9-5 w/ 8 days a month off. Each one is running around doing errands, fighting all the crowds, AND keeping the family safe and happy.

12 days working, 18 days off and NO CALL!!!!!
Hmmmmmmm - you do the math.


$60,000/year as a nurse - 3 days a week (yes it can be done!)

$30,000/year (national average) 5 days a week and grinding it out, hardly having energy to spend w/ family.

I've done both and have seen the light.

Overtime is overrated.

Need I say more to a 12 year old?

[MattEMT]

Ok, this is coming from a guy who is going to be a nurse!

First, I've been doing rescue squad for 2 years now (I'm 19), and I LOVE IT. I love saving lives, and for those patients who aren't in life/death situations, I LOVE putting smiles on their faces, or just making them feel more comfortable with the sitation they are in, knowing they'll be helped.

So, why a nurse?

There aren't enough, first of all. Having been riding with rescue squad for 2 years and seeing how important nurses are, I see how more people need to be nurses!

It'll put me in a hospital setting, and help me decide for sure if I want to become a trauma surgeon one day.

It pays well for something I love to do. Where can I go wrong?

Now, why might I stay with it for my entire career? For all the reasons I stated above! Who knows?

Bottom line is this: helping someone in need is the best feeling in the universe, and where else can you get that feeling and get paid for it? Nevermind the stereotypes of males not being nurses. There are quite a few of them, and it's an excellent career for any gender. It's also an excellent stepping stone for people in my shoes, who might consider med school and becoming a trauma surgeon/surgeon of some sort.

Oh, and jokingly I *HAVE* to add this...since it is a field filled with mainly females, it's a great way for guys to get a date! Not sure if this is appropiate for the 8th graders, though.

[hogan4736]

great progression thru the "system" Matt! You'll have a more holistic view of the patient.

just a piece of advice though (pardon me!): The Regency (RN) program would be great for you...and don't listen to any Regency "naysayers" out there. It's the PERSON (w/ great past experiences) who makes a good nurse, not the education

Practice on!

[Tweety]

I don't think I became a nurse and stay a nurse for reasons different from female nurses: I like to help people, etc. Plus I enjoy the middle income and the variety.

For 8th graders, I would perhaps emphasize that nursing is also an "exciting career" full of action, that lives are saved, like on the TV show ER. (yeah right). (Don't tell them about the poop, they'll find that out later)

[efiebke]

Thanks for the replies! Keep them coming!

Oh. . . and any advice on how to direct the subject of recruiting 8 year olds to the nursing profession will be greatly appreciated! My wife and I have no children. . . except for a 135 pound dog. I do love kids. . . I'm just kid-dumb. . .

Keep. . . . burp. . . those replies coming, men! (Beeeeelch!) Reply like only men can do!

Cheers!

Ted

[Rohb]

Hi all I'am new to this BB site.I think it's great your doing a video.It's true there's not enough male nurses out there and hopefully you can encourage others to take up this profession.
How did I started,?Been awile since I thought about this.I guest for me it's just a job that I growned to love.I've been doing this for 7 years now and the last 3 years Iam in rehab.The thing that attracted me to it was Travelling and Job stability.I think it's still hard to break the stereotypes and ideas about male nurses but emphasize it's just any other job and it's a great profession.

[JohnnyGage]

One of the reasons I became a nurse was because I get to do things that doctors (for the most part) don't get to do -- like fly in helicopters and airplanes during transport, riding in ambulances, recovering a fresh open-heart patient figuring out the hemodynamic intricacies, being the first at the bedside defibrillating at a code ... sure, docs may give orders, but I get to get my hands dirty!

Plus, I get the satisfaction of knowing every bit about my patient and it's very rewarding when the physicians come to me for help and information.

[JohnnyGage]

Originally posted by efiebke
Thanks for the replies! Keep them coming!

Oh. . . and any advice on how to direct the subject of recruiting 8 year olds to the nursing profession will be greatly appreciated! My wife and I have no children. . . except for a 135 pound dog. I do love kids. . . I'm just kid-dumb. . .

Keep. . . . burp. . . those replies coming, men! (Beeeeelch!) Reply like only men can do!

Cheers!

Ted

I think the best way to do this for kids (boys or girls) would be to let them see some of what we do first hand. I know you're doing a video ... how about talking to admin (and patients, of course) for permission to videotape an assessment or someone admitted to ER with chest pain. See if you can contact some transport nurses to videotape the inside of a chopper. Actually ... TLC had an episode of "Paramedics" that dealt with flight nurses in Phoenix, maybe you could get permission to borrow some footage.

If you get the chance to go into a classroom, bring resuce-Annie to teach the Heimlich. Have kids listen to each other's hearts. Talk to a local butcher and bring in a cow's heart to explain how it works. The gross factor is a great teaching tool for that age group.

Let us know how it goes! If I have any other ideas, I'll be happy to share.

[NMAguiar]

In my opinion, a major focus of your video -- especially targeted to an eighth grade male -- will be to portray nursing as a MAN'S occupation. All the little testoserone sponge-heads will probably be giggling initially with the reactions "nursing is a GIRL'S job."

The LAST thing these guys will want to do is anything "girlish" or (in their opinion) "gay." In eighth grade, they will be beyond the "cootie" fear.

All else will follow. But if you do nothing more than shatter that misconception at the get-go, allowing the young tree-climbers to look at nursing in a new light, you've produced a winning video.