Curious female here! :)

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I was just wondering how many gentlemen out there chose nursing as their first profession? I just graduated in May and in my nursing program of 85 people, there were eight men. All of them, but one chose nursing as a second career. I was just always wondering why not more wanting to be nurses as their first career? What changed your mind? Have you always wanted to be a nurse, if so why not your first career chose? Thanks, I have just always wondered-Laura :)

I started out for firefighting in college. Most departments around her you have to be a paramedic as well so I went to paramedic school (loved paramedic work but horrible pay) found out I liked the medical aspect of everything better than firefighting. So I stuck with nursing going to get into emergency medicine and maybe go into med school not sure on that yet.

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I am a recent grad and I am almost off orientation (I got strung along at this one hospital then the manager left so I was told I had no job. Oh well) But I thought about it as I was writing my notes and thinking about the day when it occurred to me that I couldn't see my self at a desk or doing anything else but nursing. Its almost second nature to me.

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My mother told me in 1980, when I was a kid, that Men should be nurses. She was a nurse too. She said that people are getting older, meaner and she said they needed more men to help lift bigger people.

She said all this in 1980. Well, since that time, I wanted to be a nurse. No other option for me. I do have a psyche degree on the side, but thats because I love psychology, I feel the best as a nurse.

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Specializes in ER, Med/Surg.

I'm seeing an interesting trend here....I too was in engineering as my first career. I also was a FF/EMT and found that nurses made more money. So now I'm in my third semester of an ASN program.

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Specializes in Paediatrics - Neuroscience/Cardiac.

why did i pick nursing!? well.. i finished school on 02' did one year of civil engineering in 03' then decided to transfer to nursing because i was always going to work in somehting that helps people. in engineering i wanted to make like a charity foundation in africa or something that puts in to place engineering interventions to make infrastructure, drains and plumbing, safe. anyway turns out that would be a round about way to help people, so i decided to help people when they are sick. then i decided when i finished my general degree to help kids because i enjoy working with them better than old people. sometimes they say the nicest things, they also let you know when they dont like you! but more often then not.. the kids and parents make it worthwhile!

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho, Tele, ICU, Hospice.

I had no idea what I wanted to do, going into college. So I tried music education. I'm still very musical, but music was not fit to be the day job (and any music teacher will tell you, you hardly get time to play if you're busy teaching!)

So I dropped out, and frankly nursing was next on the list. But the list was arbitrary - after nursing went mechanic, then infantry. Looking back now, I don't think I could be a career soldier (but I do change my own oil....)

Got a CNA job, liked it so much I started applying to schools again. I just finished my first semester.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

I earned my first degree in engineering. I immediately considered getting a credential and becoming a math teacher. Instead I pursued my engineering career.

After being laid off a few years later, I went for a chemistry degree with a minor in biology. I was debating between pursing medical school or a PhD in chemistry. I decided against the PhD in chemistry and selectively applied to 2 regional medical schools; I was not accepted. I was newly engaged to a woman who did not want to live the life of a med student and resident so I did not apply again to a broader set of schools.

I resumed my engineering career and again considered becoming a teacher.

Economic troubles befell every employer I had and I continued to job-hop one step ahead of the pink slip (and earning substantially more nearly every time). Eventually, the pink slip caught up with me and I said "enough with this."

Nursing first came onto the radar for me during several interactions with hospitals and hospice for our family. When i was finally out of work, I considered my options and one of those was nursing. I came across a DEMSN program at my chemistry/biology alma mater which was ideally suited for me. I applied and was accepted.

Why did I never consider nursing as a young man? I'm not really sure but it was some combination of:

  • Pride
  • Lack of a servant's heart
  • Concern about insufficient intellectual challenge and stimulation
  • Lower earning potential (part of what steered me away from teaching, too)
  • The allure of high-tech and advanced science

What's drawing me to nursing now is:

  • Desire to use my own experiences as a patient (personally, as a parent, and as an adult child) to make things easier for others going through the trials of illness and injury.
  • Desire to work at a job that's tough to outsource to cheaper, overseas locations (hence my frustration with importation of workers from those same areas)
  • There seems to be less age discrimination in nursing than in high-tech
  • The relatively high probability of a payoff (stable job with decent income) for my mid-life investment of time and money going to graduate school.
  • The desire to enter a field that can be broad and diverse.

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Specializes in Medical-Oncology.

I was a beach lifeguard for 14 years, startikng when I was 16. It was the only job I ever wanted to do, I was darn good at it and I was a supervisor for 4 years. Then I tore some knee ligaments and my lifeguard chief would not hold my supervisor spot for me during my rehab, so I quit. My mother-in-law, a school nurse, had been trying to get me into nursing for a few years so I chose to take the pre-requisites during my rehab. I graduated in June 2006, passed the boards in June 2007 and have been practicing for almost 7 months now.

When I was finishing high school & starting college, males were not encouraged to pursue nursing. Times have certainly changed now. I fully expect more males to enter nursing as their first career in the years to come.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I was a medic in the Air Force twenty years ago, when I got out I bounced around from job to job mostly different areas of construction. Then things changed when a large heavy wall fell on my head, everyone on the job thought I was dead. After a long ride in the ambulance and a head CT I realized that I could be giving the kind of care I had received, so I started taking prereqs tow months later. I just got my first nursing job and I couldn't be happier.

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I chose nursing as first carrer and since 8 year I am working as RN

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My first career was in hospital administration. Politics as they were, I changed careers. I know how hospitals function and how they make money, so it was an easy career change for me.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Psychiatric.

Nursing was not my first career choice. I was in Law Enforcement for seven years, then decided to go to school for computer science, but found out the computer industry was too competitive and didn't want to fight for a job, changed my major to teaching, ran out of money and then went overseas on a peace mission for NATO to save money for college. While I was over there I got some "bug" and had to go to a third world hospital, man did it suck! It was then that I decided to go into healthcare, to try and give better healthcare to people than what they are used to getting. I had planned on traveling abroad and doing missionary work (which I still might do), but for now I'm in the good ole U.S. of A.

Chris

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