Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

I am always happy to hear it when a nurse (male or female) says they became a nurse because of an interest in science, to satisfy the urge to do good, important work for others, and because of the pay and flexibility.

Nurses who do not care about money, only their "calling" often become martyrs. If you are going to work for a charity, this is fine, but if you are going to work for a for-profit facility, you may likely be willing to work for lower wages, skip breaks, and be accepting of impossible work loads. This does nothing to advance nursing as a profession, and hurts nurses in the long run.

On the other hand, people who enter the field strictly for money, are not doing us, or their pts any favors, either.

I think balanced motivations make for better nurses.

Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

Originally Posted by 50caliber

Living in the Bay Area (CA), nursing is highly respected and the pay is tremendous. Can't complain about job security as well.

I have a BS in science from the UC and figure it was a logical progresison to pursue nursing after studying a pre med curriculum. I can't find a more satisfying career choice. Plus nursing is so diverse that you can find your special niche and specialize in it with higher education.

So what type of nursing degree did you get and what type of nurse are you now?

Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

I sort of stumbled into healthcare. I was looking for a steady, reliable paycheck and thought with my background I might get a decent job in facilities engineering. But the job I got offered was transporting patients within the hospital. It sounded kinda interesting and seemed like a way to get a foot in the door to maybe get that facilities job down the road.
Turned out to be a great job. Got to be pretty good at getting people out of bed with minimum discomfort, and being thanked by patients for that was pretty satisfying. The pay wasn't great, but I got a check every two weeks, whether it rained or snowed and even during the holiday season--carpentry was always feast or famine. Eventually, I decided nursing looked like a way to make better pay doing mostly the stuff I liked, and I could get into the field with only two years (well, it turned out to be three) of college, which was fairly important since I would have to work my way through.
I didn't really feel called to be a nurse. I just thought I could be good at it and might enjoy it, and making decent, steady money was a big plus. Really liked the idea of being able to work just about anywhere, although I'll probably die right where I am. Knowing I could move to Arizona makes dreary winter days more tolerable.
My first semester of NS, I was surprised how easy it was. Second semester hit me like a truck. I was making straight A's and struggling to pass clinicals, but that's when I realized that the Lord had led me down a pretty convoluted path to get me where I was, so I didn't give up. In retrospect, that struggle did me a world of good, because it forced me to decide how serious I was about nursing, and prepared me for some of the ups and downs of my first year of practice.
I always like the idea of working three 12's, but I'm not a morning person, so I went for nights. I work every weekend, because it pays an extra $4/hr, and I can get just as drunk on Tues as I can on Fri. But my 4 days off feel more like three, since I spend the first one sleeping.`I've come to understand why many nurses' dream jobs are Mon-Fri, 8-4:30.
I have to say, working alongside a number of strong, intelligent, independant "chicks" has been a benefit I didn't fully foresee. Quite a difference from my carpentry days, and while I do like it when there are some other dudes on the floor, some of my best pals are gals.

But, mostly, I'm just looking to marry a doctor.

Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

Originally Posted by wlb06

So what type of nursing degree did you get and what type of nurse are you now?

In the process of finishing up nursing school. I already have a BS in Bio so i decided to pursue a ADN after factoring in cost and convenience.

I would love to pursue ER, ICU, or even NICU after graduation.

Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

Originally Posted by 50caliber

In the process of finishing up nursing school. I already have a BS in Bio so i decided to pursue a ADN after factoring in cost and convenience.

I would love to pursue ER, ICU, or even NICU after graduation.

I asked because I thought you might say that. I have a BS in science as well and am just getting started on my ADN. I chose it because of cost and time management as well.

Do you have any tips or comments about the ADN process or anything you would do differently that my help a brother out??

Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

Originally Posted by wlb06

I asked because I thought you might say that. I have a BS in science as well and am just getting started on my ADN. I chose it because of cost and time management as well.

Do you have any tips or comments about the ADN process or anything you would do differently that my help a brother out??

If i could have done anything differently, I might have considered an entry level masters program which would have taken 18mo to complete. Again, it is not exactly cheap.

In nursing, just get your feet in. Whether its a 2 or 4 year program. Your gonna be treated the same as a new grad. I actually turned down a BSN program over a ADN for convenience sake.

Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

Originally Posted by glamgalRN

Guys-
Just wondering why you decided to become a nurse? I just read a posting on the homepage by a male that said something along the lines of our hospital usually starts new grads off at $20/hour but since I am a male I was hoping on making $25.00/hour. And to be honest with you, it really made me angry. The nursing school I am in is very diverse, as a matter of fact I believe it's the most diverse associates nursing program in all of PA. I think they told us at orientation that 20% of our class are males (although that may be a little high!) A few of my classmates and I were having a dicussion about a few males in our class that act like "they're too good for the program" and "feel like this stuff if too easy for them" (they don't even do that well on the exams so I dont know where they get off acting the way they do!!) I'm not saying that all male nurses are like this, because there are some guys in my program that are going to be absolutely fantastic nurses and I realize that someone acting like "they're too good for a nursing program" isn't limited to males only, because some females are like that as well. I'm just finding it to occur more often in men (maybe it's just me, that's why I am curious to hear your opinion!) So after this long tangent I'm wondering.. What made you want to be a nurse??

And I didn't mean to offend anyone, I'm sorry if you take it the wrong way! Can't wait to hear your responses!

You're SORRY if WE take it the wrong way? LOL!

... Sounds like you need to embrace some of that diversity you pretend to be so proud of.

GlamgalRN?

Aren't you still in school?

It's really pretty disrespectful to the profession I have dedicated my life to for you to post such a juvenile thread and the fact that so many have answered you thinking you really care is pathetic.

I read your question as..."Why would a guy want to be in a profession where so many women just like me have made them feel so obviously unwelcome?..and, like...they keep coming... and stuff! Yuh!"

Oh, and BTW, thanks for being so blantantly obvious about how we female nurses really feel about our male counterparts...you know, man haters and all. Just when it was ok for me and all my GF's to go to work and take out all our frustrations on the menfolk!

I can't believe your college has allowed 20% of it's applicants to be male. Florence what's her name is rolling over in her grave!


I wanna know why YOU chose to be a nurse?


Like I totally don't mean any disrespect or offense or anything

Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

Not a nurse yet, but I am diligently working on it. My mom has been a nurse for about 30 years, so I have always been around it and have had a deep respect for what nurses do. I have always had an interest in becoming a nurse, but chose to become a firefighter instead. Being a firefighter, I run on quite a few medical related calls, so i really developed a love for this type of thing. However, I want to get into a more intimate level of caring, not just the emergency stuff. I am in the Air Force and have seeen the amazing things that AF nurses do, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, and i really want to be a part of that. Hopefully by this time next year I will be in nursing school.

-MH

Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

I have always wanted to...now is my opportunity @ 46 years old. I have been a carpenter/construction worker, factory worker, gas station etc...I am at my best when working directly with people, I really enjoy people. The employment, pay, and such are a definite draw, but not my only motivation!! I wish I would have pursued this LONG ago!!! and I don't plan on retiring...but who knows what tomorrow may bring?

Re: Guys- what made you want to become a nurse?

I helped put out a village fire, when I was about 8 years old.