I'm a male turning 40 this year who has finally decided to come full circle with his desire to enter the nursing profession. Since childhood I've wanted to work in the medical field but a nasty 1st semester in college (D's in gen bio and chem) caused me to hastily change my major to psych and some years later I ended up in law school. After graduating, passing the bar exam and practicing for about 9 years (plus 3 years working in education), I now have the courage enough to dig deep and recognize that my real passion lies in health care. A couple of years ago I repeated gen chem I & II in the evening and got A's in both semesters. It was a boost to my ego, feeling vindicated that my 1st go-around in college was NOT due to incompetence. I've researched the nursing profession long and hard and kick myself for not having pursued it earlier. I also had once embraced the notion that nursing was a female profession and disregarded it as something I should be doing. Needless to say, I have thankfully matured from that mindset.
My continuing confusion lies in the nursing degree that I should immediately pursue (considering the fact that I would like to eventually achieve a MSN). Part of me wants to go for an LPN because it will get me working as a nurse faster and then I can earn an income while pursuing the RN (not sure if I would do ADN or BSN since I already have a BA - also thinking that my experience as an LPN will be an advantage when I graduate as an RN, thus avoiding the pitfalls I have been reading about new RN's not getting jobs due to lack of experience). After several years as an RN, I would look into MSN so that I can aim to instruct new nurses. An LPN appeals to me as well considering the fact that I have no patient experience, although I do volunteer at my local hospital but I only interact with patients socially (discharge, flower & mail delivery, information).
Although I posted this on the male nurse's forum, I welcome feedback from the ladies as well - thank you! :)
Since childhood I've wanted to work in the medical field but a nasty 1st semester in college (D's in gen bio and chem) caused me to hastily change my major to psych and some years later I ended up in law school. After graduating, passing the bar exam and practicing for about 9 years (plus 3 years working in education), I now have the courage enough to dig deep and recognize that my real passion lies in health care. A couple of years ago I repeated gen chem I & II in the evening and got A's in both semesters. It was a boost to my ego, feeling vindicated that my 1st go-around in college was NOT due to incompetence. I've researched the nursing profession long and hard and kick myself for not having pursued it earlier. I also had once embraced the notion that nursing was a female profession and disregarded it as something I should be doing. Needless to say, I have thankfully matured from that mindset.