Adirondack Community College ad in reference to Men in Nursing History

Nursing - "It's Not Just for Women"

Until the mid-19th century, nursing was an occupation that was male dominated. The earliest uses of the term"nurse" refer to only male health-care givers. Only around the time of the Civil War did women begin to be active in nursing, as a result of the shortage of available males. In 1888, Mills College of Nursing in New York City was established as the first nursing college for men. Until 1901 all military nurses were males. While nursing in the twentieth century was often considered a woman's occupation, this attitude is rapidly changing. With the current critical shortage of nursing professionals in the U.S., we can not afford to recruit nurses from only half the population. Nursing can be a great career choice for anyone whose interests, values and skills are in areas related to helping others and using science and technology on a daily basis. If you think nursing might not be very adventurous or challenging consider the nurses who fly in (and jump out of) helicopters to disaster sites, work in sports medicine, serve in the military and work in highly sophisticated operating rooms and emergency centers using the latest high tech equipment to save lives every day.

Nursing offers more opportunities for advancement and career diversification than many other occupations. Nurses are in great demand with good salaries throughout the U.S. and RNs can choose to relocate and find employment virtually anywhere they wish. Nurses work in a wide variety of settings including outpatient clinics, hospitals, long-term care, home care, schools and in industry. Nurses who choose to work for traveling nursing agencies can earn substantial salaries, while providing short-term nursing services at sites around the country. Nurses can choose to specialize in work with children, adults, and the elderly. They can also specialize in areas including critical care, trauma, mental health, and oncology to name just a few. With a Bachelor's or Master's in Nursing even more opportunities become available including nursing administration, nurse anesthetist and nurse practitioner. The possibilities are almost endless.

At Adirondack Community College, men in our nursing program have come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including students with work experience in construction, manufacturing and sales, as well as those with Bachelor's degrees in a wide variety of majors. While nursing course work is very challenging, our goal is to have our students succeed. Academic assistance and personal support is available to all our students from a dedicated faculty and an excellent student services support team.