Becoming a Nurse

Gee, you said a mouthful. In no particular order, last I heard about 5% of nurses are male. I'm male, have been a RN for over 23 years, and reading between the lines, being a nurse and being male doesn't cause me to be criticized, questioned, or singled out in any way positive or negative. I don't know about pay vs teachers but you should be able to find that info on line. To become a RN you can go to a community college for 2 years, of a university for 4 years, and both get you the same license. Schedules are extremely variable. The rest calls for decisions only you can make. Good luck

I am in high school right now and i have been placed in the medical academy at the trade school and i was wandering should i go ahead and go thru with it or drop it for another class? I have always wanted to go in the medical field and then i started thinking about teaching high school and i was wandering which is the best, and i am always thinking is there guy RN's and what all does it take to become a RN.? i would probably become an LPN then an RN what all does it take to do this, do you go to an actual university? Is nursing better paying than teaching? And are you always guaranteed 7 on and 7 off.

thanks!

There are male RN's. There is one in the ED I volunteer at. Mostly everyone loves him.

To become an RN you can get your ADN or BSN. Since the job market is flooded with new grad nurses that do not have jobs, I would suggest you go for your BSN to help you gain a little bit of an edge.

An ADN will take you roughly 3 years, but it really depends on how many pre-reqs you have to take, and if the program has a waitlist. A BSN will take you roughly 4-5 years, also depending on how many pre-reqs you take. This is all assuming you go full time.

If you don't want to be an LPN, I wouldn't suggest doing the LPN route.

Nursing pay is on average better than teaching pay.

I would suggest to you, in order to help you with your decision, that you find out why nursing or teaching interests you. You need to figure out what qualities you have that you think will go good in nursing. While salary should come into play, your ultimate decision needs to be based on what career you think you will enjoy the most.

For example:

I was deciding between Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Dental Hygiene, Radiation Therapy, and Nursing(RN). It took me many months to even narrow it down to those four.

I'm the type of person that does my best work under pressure and under stress. I have no desire to sit all day, or be in a quiet, calm environment. I get bored quite easily. I LOVE to learn, and wanted a career where there was always something I could learn. I truly enjoy helping people and making a difference in their lives. I wanted a flexible schedule. I'm also fascinated with the human body and pathogens. I also enjoy teaching and educating people. With nursing, I can educate patients on how to manage their health. I could also eventually teach nursing students when I get my Master's or Doctorate's, and after many, many years of experience.

For me, nursing is the best fit.

You have to find your best qualities and pick your best fit from there.

regardless of your choice, learn the difference between wandering and wondering. Little things like that make a difference in how people perceive your abilities. Hospital nursing probably pays more than most primary and secondary teaching positions, but you will have to research what is in your market. You do not HAVE to have a college degree (baccalaureate) to be a nurse in most states. Depending on where you practice the type degree you have may make a difference. Good luck with your decision.

As an LPN myself. There is nothing wrong with being an LPN if you want to work with the Geriatric Population, Home care, Psych (which is where I work.. very small portion of LPNs work in psych) and Hospice.

If I could do it all over again from day one. Which for me would have been way back in 2001. I would have gotten my BSN.

As you get older.. time runs out. You move out of your parents house and live on your own. Nursing school takes a lot of time and results take time. Its not one course and your done its a long road, including prereqs.

You pretty much take 2 years of general ed courses in a BSN program (English, Math, A&P, etc.) Then one year of core nursing courses then a year of "Professional" Nursing courses. In a nutshell.

Do you NEED a BSN to be a good nurse.. no experience gives you that. Do employers want BSNs.. yes!!

Even then the nursing job market isn't the best right now. Some areas are worse then others. Don't rely on EMPLOYED nurses to give you employment advice unless they were recently hired.

A nurse who has had the same job for 25 years has no idea what the current nursing job market is like right now unless they are looking themselves.

I am surprised more men aren't involved in nursing its pretty cool.

Nursing school to me was like this old house. Hard to explain..

Basically they teach you skills (how to do a dressing, or pass meds) and they also teach you how to make a care plan (or plan) to make all of this stuff work.

If you do go this route keep in mind that not all nurses end up working in the Trauma Bay right after school or as ICU nurses or flying around on Life Flight.

With any career you start off small and learn from the older nurses. Which sadly will be leaving in droves as retirements kick in over the next 5 or so years.

Another thing too is multitasking. I don't care if your at a nursing home or a psych hospital or an ICU. You MUST be able to think on your feet, walk and talk and assess and take action.

This skill will become automatic (kind of like driving a car) you will know what to look for.

Then there are specialties. Certain nurses work in certain areas.

Most RNs have a solid med-surg backing (Med-Surg is basically where you are admitted from the ER, a general hospital floor, they see nothing and everything as its transferred to the "EKG" or ICU floor).

Most LPNs have a solid backing in Long Term Care (AKA Nursing Home). Mine happens to be Psych.

Also there orientation has NOTHING to do with being a male nurse.

I am surprised more men aren't involved in it. Not until the Vietnam war were male's allowed to practice as nurses in the military as far as I know.

FYI, I think the term "multitasking" is on it's way out. At least it should be. There are numerous studies on the web showing that the human brain can deal with 2 things at a time, no more. Beyond that, and the more you try to multi task the quicker your work quality deteriorates. I only know because I got the "multitasking" question in some interviews and had no answer, so I researched it. Time management or prioritization seem more appropriate, IMHO. If you have any other info please tell me.

regardless of your choice, learn the difference between wandering and wondering

This is a common mistake. I also notice that people misspell the word, "weird," as "wierd".