Male going into nursing (hopefully)

[edwindelahiggins]

I won't bore you with a long narrative. I'm 24, graduated from UConn 2 years ago w/ a BA in history. Was in the school of nursing my freshman year but stupidly transferred out. Since then, I've been taking the pre-reqs for the MEIN program at UConn (applying in June) and the Second Bachelor's Program at UMass (just applied fingers crossed). Basically, I want to know if you guys think this is the right route to go in terms of education. I've been working as a CNA for the past year at a long term care facility and I love it. My undergrad GPA was 3.3 and I've been getting exclusively A's (and a couple A-'s) in genetics, nutrition, A&P I &II, microbiology and lifespan development. Last question is, will my gender help my chances at admittance? the only reason I ask is because I know that admissions people love diversity, and the field of nursing is predominately female. Thanks for any help you can provide.

[happypedsRN]

It is sad but a friend of my mom was accepted into a ns program a year early bc of being male. He didn't have any medical exp or a good gpa. Being male might help at some schools.

[happypedsRN]

I also think being male is an advantage getting a job from what I have seen of new grads in my area.

[manusko]

I think you will do well in nursing. Nursing needs men, but the thing is, gender will not be a factor in admission. They go by grades, entrance tests and if you have the scores above their cut-off.

Also be prepared and dont be surprised if your A's turn into C's once u get into the program. I have seen so many of my peers who were str8 A students in pre-reqs (including myself), get into med surg and struggle to maintain a C. The tests in nursing are a different animal than the pre-req tests. BUT, u can do it and a C isnt bad. You just have to prepare yourself to get over the "I HAVE to get an A in everything" thing. My Med surg instructor told us first thing, don't expect to get a lot of As in here, be happy with passing and you will do fine. If you pass great, if you get an A even better, just make sure you pass the test and dont stress the small stuff.

Do you know that gender is not considered? Was this just your school? Collleges absolutely have quotas to fill, so why would there not be a catergory for men in a predominately female filled profession?

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

Males make great nurses! They are less inclined to get involved in all the bitchiness that goes on with femals in my experience at least.

If this is what you REALLY want to do, I say go for it - if it is your passion. But so many RNs now are out of work - here in Australia too - and people with high GPAs are getting very downhearted. You may be stuck in the same situation as well after you graduate.

I always say to younger people get a bachelor in something else first, such as pyhsio, get experience then think about nursing.

But if you truly feel this is your calling, check out the job situation first and then decide from there. Ensure you have much support from family and friends and learn good study habits - cos ur gonna need them!

[happypedsRN]

I also think being male is an advantage getting a job from what I have seen of new grads in my area.

[manusko]

Quotas suck and most people would agree that positions should be merit based, but they are not always that way. If it were truely fair, then each application would be given a number and their stats, essays and resumes would be visible but their names, race and gender would be hidden. Then the admissions committee would rank these applications and they would be selected by best overall package.

I also believe that there should be short telephone interviews for each applicant because there were multiple people in my class that would not have made it based on personality.

Even with all this being said, my attitude for nursing school was that if being a male gave me any kind of advantage, then I would not mind because it would probably be the first and last time that it would be for me.