Advice for a potential second career male nurse?

baskew64 · Oct 14, 2013

I'm in a similar situation. I'm changing careers (or hope to) from 25 years of IT to nursing. At the moment I'm taking my first Anatomy and Physiology class and loving it. Working my butt off, but loving it. Hopefully I will start nursing school in a little over a year.

Most nursing schools (at least in the Charlotte, NC area) require you to be on the state's Nurse Aide registry. After looking into what a Nurse Aide can and can't do, I decided to take this class before making any other plans towards nursing school. I figured if I liked what I did in the Nurse Aide class, chances are I will like nursing. That might be a good option for you, as well.

By the way, I liked it enough to keep going!

I'm also more of an introverted person, and at first it worried me that my personality might not work in nursing. But during clinicals for the Nurse Aide course I found that some patients need a more introverted person around them, just as some will need a more extroverted person. I think there is a place for all personality types here.

I'm glad someone else pointed out that the Affordable Care Act, which is not yet fully implemented, seems to be getting blamed for things that date back for years in that one comment. I detect a lot of bitterness from some of these comments. I think we can look into any career area and find bitterness. Don't let bitter comments, from people who may have been in the field for too long, affect your decision. After doing more research, you will know what to do.

dnsonthego · Nov 2, 2013

Please listen to what is being said because it is real. Nursing is being squeezed hard due to money concerns. Nursing is a hard career for the young and it is extra hard for the more seasoned adult. If nursing is your dream then go for it but if you are seeking security and stable income/benefits, please reconsider. Nursing education is difficult with clinical training and the cost of tuition, books etc adds up fast. You do not want to go through the hassle of getting a nursing license only to not find a job. There are many new grads including second career nurses in the NYC area who are unemployed but have to pay off major school debt. My advice is to investigate what your local nursing job market is doing. Talk with nurses currently working in the areas you wish to work. Time spent upfront may say you heartache later.

OfficerRNBSN · Nov 2, 2013

Hi,
Figured this was a pretty good place to get advice on nursing!
I'm thinking of going back to school and getting into nursing. I currently do technical writing for a financial software company, and while the company and my colleagues are *tremendous*, working hard so that other people can make lots of money hasn't been very fulfilling.
Nursing appeals because I've always been interested in sciences and was originally a genetics major before switching to liberal arts. I'm a big softie, particularly with kids, and am always happy to put someone else's needs first. Plus, it seems like the daily effort of helping people survive trauma or to simply alleviate their pain would do more to better the world than what I do now. My sister-in-law was a nursing student and I'm reading her textbooks now in the evenings. For fun!
With some experience, it would be cool to somehow tie this in with another passion: Homeland Security and bioterror defense. Maybe a focus on public health nursing or something.
My concern is that my INFP-ness is taking over and my perception of nursing is becoming kind of pie-in-the-sky. I'm fairly introverted, meaning I may freeze up when faced with the forceful personalities of the ER or its belligerent patients. I've got a great memory and recall when given a few minutes to think over an issue, but may be forced to act faster than I'd like, and can have a hard time brushing off unfair criticism or my own mistakes. Plus, I'm 34, a guy, and have two kids and a mortgage.
I'd really like to switch into something that helps people, and more and more the medical field seems like where it should be. The time and money will work themselves out for the right fit. A fast-paced environment that's team-oriented would be great, or a quieter, less stressful one. Does a position exist like that? Just fishing for ideas at this point.
Thanks for reading this far!

Well, it's not a bad job really. The pay is typically good, and with a little time in grade you can get a decent shift. You certainly get the opportunity to meet a lot of people and many of them are genuinely thankful for the work you do for them. The job can be much more physical in nature than you're probably realizing, and if I had known some of the things I know about it I'm not entirely sure I would have made a career change, lol! Having said that, I'm in a psychiatric nurse practitioner master's program, and although that's definitely psychosocial in nature it probably has less to do with anything else that most people envision nurses doing. I like the NP route far more than I did the hospital RN path.

The drawbacks, however, are that many nursing roles have little to do with what you're reading in the books, lol. True, yes. A lot of nurses are "fetchers," i.e. go and fetch this. Fetch that. Fetch something else. You run around a lot not really getting the chance to stop, think, and apply any -ologies that you may have learned about. Yeah, you get taught that, and you get the best chances of using it in a critical care setting. Remember nursing is predominantly a psychosocial discipline and aligns itself more with the fields of psychology and sociology than they do with biology and medicine. Other than that you're pretty much running all the time fetching stuff. I've never worked in a clinic and short of working for some type of surgeon there aren't a lot of RNs in clinics as most of what docs need done can be done by a cheaper LPN.

You do get to deal with trauma and alleviate pain, and a lot of people are grateful for that. It can be rewarding. Remember though you won't be doing all that. In a hospital, you'll be wiping some dooty, getting yelled at by a crackhead, and fetching coffee while trying to work. When I worked in the hospital, if I wasn't fetching I was on the computer doing data entry into the electronic health record.

Nola009 · Nov 4, 2013

I'm sorry, but I don't really know if you will find an actual nursing job fulfilling. You are right that there will always be patients to take care of (of course), but I bet you don't realize that nurses are now being expected to care for heavier 'patient loads' in terms of care and actual numbers? In short- employers will pay around $20-30/hr. for nursing staff, but they want them to do so much running around that in my opinion it's unsafe for the patients and YOU too. Not trying to discourage you here, but is there any other avenue you can explore to find more fulfillment in your life aside from forking over 1000s of dollars, putting much of your family and personal life on hold, and possibly even your putting your own (emotional) health in jeopardy?

I'm kind of like you... had another profession that I felt was boring and not paying me well enough (both accurate points) and married. I came up with the bright idea to go back to school once again and obtain my nursing degree. This is something that seemed like a win-win. I would get to feel personally fulfilled, like I was 'helping' others while getting a nice sized paycheck for my trouble.

Let me ask you, since you seem like an empathetic person: Does the energy of your coworkers have a great effect on your job performance and attitude toward your job? Are you strong minded and willing/able to maintain a positive outlook when those around you (patients and health care workers) are falling apart? Do you hold nurses and other health care workers on a pedastle? If so, you might be in for a real rude awakening. Unfair and unsafe working conditions, extreme stress, witnessing sad event after sad event, feeling powerless to actually 'help' like you would want to (nursing is a 'semi-profession' bc of the lack of autonomy a ADN or BSN RN actually has. A lot of our job is assessing and monitoring, giving meds, and when there is time, therapeutic communication. We dont get much say so, but have a lot of accountability if something goes awry.

I honestly really do encourage you as a man (there is supposed to be a higher demand for males in nursing and I welcome working w/ men bc working with all women can be a real drag). I would just consider if what you are going after is your "IDEA" of what nursing is like in this day and age vs. what the reality is.

Look up 'lateral violence' in nursing & nurses 'eating their young' just to begin to make yourself aware of what can be a harsh reality. If my post seems discouraging, I'm sorry. This is my opinion at this time. I graduated with my ADN 6 months ago (wow, I worked and fought hard for that degree), passed my NCLEX a month later, got my 1st job 2 wks after that (I do pretty good w/ interviews), had a pretty much bad experience at the facility (LTC is all that will hire new grads around here 90% of the time) in that they DID NOT want to train me or explain the darn nursing home protocols when I was used to the hospital setting. You can read my other posts for more info if you want to...

Ultimately, the choice is yours. Do your best to hear the positives and the negatives so that if you do go in (or not) you will have clear vision, and thus, a greater chance of success with nursing or acceptance that it's not what you want to/can do. Best of luck to you:)

Nola009 · Nov 4, 2013

Please listen to what is being said because it is real. Nursing is being squeezed hard due to money concerns. Nursing is a hard career for the young and it is extra hard for the more seasoned adult. If nursing is your dream then go for it but if you are seeking security and stable income/benefits, please reconsider. Nursing education is difficult with clinical training and the cost of tuition, books etc adds up fast. You do not want to go through the hassle of getting a nursing license only to not find a job. There are many new grads including second career nurses in the NYC area who are unemployed but have to pay off major school debt. My advice is to investigate what your local nursing job market is doing. Talk with nurses currently working in the areas you wish to work. Time spent upfront may say you heartache later.

You are right. People need to take this into consideration. When thinking about a career change this huge and this serious, I don't think you should just go with how you are feeling or what you think it will be like.

It's hard to know until you are into it, but just do as much research as you can before finding out for yourself. You're on the right track by asking Qs, OP!

TU RN, DNP, CRNA · Nov 6, 2013

Proceed with caution. You're not fulfilled by your current career, so some other profession (any other profession really) has more glimmer. Of course the grass is greener over here because it appears so dull over there. Well be careful with that mindset because it can very likely lead to disillusionment and disappointment. Previous poster was spot on with the definition of nursing as a semi-profession with little autonomy and huge accountability. You gotta put in some serious work and seek out graduate level education to gain autonomy in nursing. Sorry for being discouraging man, but any sound decision is made by reconciling pros AND cons.

TU RN

tigo · Nov 16, 2013

I am INFP as well. Working with patients actually has made me more extroverted.

cbstarkey · Nov 19, 2013

My advice is that if you aren't sure about your decision to take a Certified Nursing Assistant course. CNA certification was a program requirement for my ADN program. Some nursing programs use CNA certification to grant more application points for admission consideration. I actually say this because you would also be exposed to some patient care during the clinical portion of the course.

I went to an ADN program at age 50 and am in a RN-to-BSN program now while looking for a position the past 3 months.

If you feel passionate about the nursing field you won't regret your decision.

guest474423 · Nov 20, 2013

I skimmed some of these responses so I apologize if I am echoing sentiments.

I'm second career as well. Almost 30 now. I had a great job before but wanted more money and more mobility. Those are the only 2 factors I chose nursing for. I can take or leave caring about people...most of the time it is hard for me to hide my contempt. That's the Darwinist in me.

So, if you want to enjoy your career I would echo what I know has been said...you need to make sure your heart is in it. Mine is not and I pretty much hate my job. I am now saddled with so much debt that I can not afford to do anything else. That sucks. A lot.

Another piece of advice - don't overpay for second degree programs. They are spouting up everywhere because of all the people like you and I who want second careers. I paid 80k for mine. I know. They're like puppy mills, they don't care what they're churning out...just numbers, numbers, numbers. There are a number of state sponsored schools now offering these shortened programs which offer a better bang for your buck and if you decide to go third career later on you won't be so tied to nursing.

Statistics are that most men leave nursing within the first 10 years. So while you are seeing all these guys going to nursing school the overall percentage in the profession isn't rising very fast. I will be one of those men if I can craft an escape plan. Good luck man.

gcupid · Nov 21, 2013

If you REALLY have nursing as a passion, do it. You may make less, you may work more. It doesn't matter if it's your passion, because you won't be 'working'.
Now. For reality. If it is not 100% what you will absolutely love, even if it means less pay and more work, then you need to seriously consider this.
Obamacare has made it so that new grads are jobless or working mutiple part-time jobs.
Obamacare has made it so that at hospitals where you would have had 4 patients during the day and 5 at night, you now have 6+ during the day, 7+ at night.
Obamacare has made it that once you were guaranteed 40 hours a week. Now you go home when there is 'too much staff', and you use your vacation time to fill in your off hours.
Obamacare has made it so that hospitals nationally are overworked, understaffed.
Obamacare means that ultimately, the nurse pays for it all. More work. Less staff. Job uncertainty. Thus, if you come on over, be prepared, and if it is your life's passion, none of the above will matter.
I looked for an RN job for 2 years after graduating with a 4.0, top of my class, and a previous degree, also with a 4.0. I now volunteer as an RN and work at a large health system in IT. I hear on every floor the dissatisfied RNs who are getting sent home, who don't have CNAs, etc. Thus, I re-itereate, if it is your passion, none of the above will matter, but be prepared for reality.

Please do not pay attention to this foolishness. Obamacare is not even in full affect and the things you are mentioning probably were issues facing the profession since before I was an embryo.

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Nov 22, 2013

While you should ignore the ridiculous and completely unfounded comments about Obamacare causing problems with nursing employment, there are issues in finding a job in nursing.

As you will have seen elsewhere on AN, it is difficult to find a nursing job in many, probably most parts of the country. In my part of the world, this is caused by an oversupply of nurses, which in turn is due to: 1) experienced nurses staying in, or returning to, the workforce in far greater numbers than in the past and; 2) significant increases in new nurses due to the expansion of nursing programs. The poor economy, something that happened well before the passing, much less the implementation of Obamacare, is the primary contributor to Cause (1) and a secondary contributor to Cause (2). We can blame the media in large measure for Cause (2) for their constant overhyping of nursing as a growth industry.

I've taken a close look at the BLS data and the state BON numbers for my part of the world and can tell you that in the period 2007 through about 2009 there were about 200 new nursing positions created annually in my SMSA (the 4th largest in the US). At the same time, the 25 nursing programs in my area (ADN, BSN and diploma), were responsible for nearly 2,000 new nursing grads passing the NCLEX each year. While this doesn't necessarily mean that there were 10 new grads applying for each new nursing position (there normally would be more nursing openings due to retirements than for new nursing positions), it does demonstrate a significant oversupply of new nurses. You will note that none of this is due to Obamacare.

I'll also offer my opinion that it is much more difficult for older, second-career nurses to find nursing jobs. In my case, despite having several prior degrees, a stellar job history (25 years of employment with the same company and 10 years of military service) and being a summa cum laude BSN, I've had only three interviews for nursing jobs (two in-person, one telephone) in the three years since I passed the NCLEX. I've heard from recruiters that many institutions are reluctant to hire older employees - information that can easily be deduced from your resume - and I now believe that to be true.

So if nursing is really what you want to do, go for it but recognize that becoming an RN is probably the easy part and that Obamacare doesn't really figure into the equation.

ickc22 · Nov 27, 2013

Nursing is a lot of work. Both the schooling and the actual job. I'm 28 yr old male nurse working in the er. It's just so so. I'm hoping to become a flight nurse within the next couple of years. Other options in the medical field is X-ray tech and respiratory therapist. Both making almost equivalent to an RN.