2nd Degree BSN for a guy?

scarecow · May 7, 2012

It is a combination of all that you mentioned.

In my opinion, currently the market is flooded with nurses (CNA, LVN, ADN, BSN, MSN,...). Before the economic downfall there was a huge demand for nurses and this was a demand that could not be filled fast enough.

The economic downfall happened and hospitals were unable to keep operating at 110% and many stopped hiring the vast number of nurses that were necessary to operate at that level. The demand of nurses stagnated and we are feeling it now. The older, near retirement, nurses are not retiring because they can not retire and are holding onto their jobs tightly. This saves hospitals money and hours from having to teach brand new nurses but stops the hospital from being able to hire new students because there are no new openings. The economy is the real deal.

I would bet that once the economy bounces back that this problem will be alleviated. On a side note and an example, currently in my state, there is a brand new multi-floor massive (famous expensive) school hospital that is empty and will be empty for a long time because the medical school lost operation funding once the economy tanked. As a result, the building decays in the hot 110 weather here, year after year. In time of economic prosperity...this travesty would have been avoided just like the nursing stagnation.

mas28 · May 22, 2012

Go for it. Don't worry about the negativity or the burnt out syndrome. Yes it exists, but everyone and every situation is different. I am also a second degree nursing student who recently was accepted to an accelerated nursing program. I currently am a first assistant in the Operating room. There is always openings for OR nurses or most other specialties. Just go to any hospital website and I guarantee you will see at least 3 or more RN positions. They may not be the best, but it's a job and there is a market. Do what makes you feel happy and worry less about other people's negative comments. You'll get half a dozen people who love nursing and the other half will hate it. Pick a side. Again, I say go for it bro!!!

Mas28

nurse2033, MSN, RN · May 24, 2012

Let me first say that the only place "male nurse" is a job title is in Meet The Parents. We are nurses, some of us are men. I agree with the previous poster that burnout is a personal issue that can occur in fighter pilots, lumberjacks, or meter maids. Nursing has been a great career for me so far and I've had no trouble finding and getting jobs. Another great health care job is respiratory therapist. They work with critical patients but have a much narrower set of job skills (a nurses opinion). They do require a lot of education but have good pay and good opportunities for travel (in critical care transport). But nursing has such a wide variety of work settings I can't imagine a more diverse field. Once you gut through that first med-surg job you can go where your ambition takes you. Good luck.

overtonis · Jun 9, 2012

I also went second career BSN route - completed in 2006. Last week I went out to lunch with bunch of male nurses from that program (we all have about 5 years experience now in all different areas). Most want out ! There is no doubt about it - nursing is built and run for female nurses. That is not to say you can't be male nurse and not have a very satisfying career ...its just unusual.

What I would say is if someone doesn't have alot of work experience (just coming out of high school) then nursing for a male will seem seamless. But, if you have previously worked in another field you will find that transition to nursing can be challenge. Most expressed they felt somewhere between being a house wife and waitress (between chasing down charts for MDs who can't seem to find anything on their own, to cleaning up patients with bowel movements to getting meal trays and setting them up in room).

This might save you ton of time in direction of your future. Here are direction most of the guys are headed (informatics if your more of computer techky, nurse anesthetist (this is where the dough is), flight nursing (for those who like to fly). Most of the male nurses want to run their own business of some sort.

Fumanchuesday · Jun 10, 2012

I did the 2nd degree accelerated route. My last day of school is the 22nd. I have a similar background to you, as I had prior healthcare/hospital experience and a degree in Health Sciences (Healthcare Management). I worked a year as a CNA in order to get my foot in the door at the biggest hospital in the area. A few months before graduating, I applied for an office/desk within the hospital (coordinator for a surgical fellowship). Worked that job for a year getting fat and bored and only making $11 an hour, before I decided to go back to school for nursing... I was accepted to a 10 month 2nd degree ADN program, which has FLOWN by! I graduate on the 22nd! I believe having healthcare related experience was definitely beneficial as I applied at the same hospital that I had previously worked at and was able to pick whatever RN staff position I wanted. I start next month in the ICU! Set the bar high and everything will work out. I dont regret my decision at all. Especially since I will be making almost 3x as much as I was making back when I was getting fat in my small office.

jillhunter98 · Jun 12, 2012

Fumanchuesday.....where is the 10 month second degree program at? I am looking for one...

I did the 2nd degree accelerated route. My last day of school is the 22nd. I have a similar background to you, as I had prior healthcare/hospital experience and a degree in Health Sciences (Healthcare Management). I worked a year as a CNA in order to get my foot in the door at the biggest hospital in the area. A few months before graduating, I applied for an office/desk within the hospital (coordinator for a surgical fellowship). Worked that job for a year getting fat and bored and only making $11 an hour, before I decided to go back to school for nursing... I was accepted to a 10 month 2nd degree ADN program, which has FLOWN by! I graduate on the 22nd! I believe having healthcare related experience was definitely beneficial as I applied at the same hospital that I had previously worked at and was able to pick whatever RN staff position I wanted. I start next month in the ICU! Set the bar high and everything will work out. I dont regret my decision at all. Especially since I will be making almost 3x as much as I was making back when I was getting fat in my small office.

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jun 12, 2012

First. let me say that if you really want to be a nurse, you should go ahead and do it. While you may find it challenging to find a nursing job after graduating, the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor that you will find something, though it may be in one of the less desirable areas such as LTC. That said, I would second almost everything scarecow says about the employment situation in nursing but would add that I do not agree that the nursing employment problems will be alleviated "when the economy bounces back."

At this point, I think it's generally accepted that, with some relatively small exceptions, most parts of the country have a surplus of RN's. I frankly believe that the reason for the nursing workforce oversupply situation is a structural one, or put another way, nursing schools and the economy are disconnected and the normal economic feedback loop is no longer working. There are more nursing programs now than ever, generating record numbers of graduates and essentially continuing to flood an already oversaturated market with new nurses. Normally, with slack demand, the supply would shrink (i. e., enrollment in nursing programs would decline) but this is not happening and in fact, it looks like demand for seats in nursing programs is continuing to grow. As long as the student demand is there, colleges will respond and continue to expand the numbers of new nursing graduates, even as demand for nurses stagnates or declines. Supply will continue to outstrip demand unless either the supply slackens or the demand grows.

Regarding demand, I believe that we are in for a long low-growth economy in which demand for health care will remain significantly depressed. Demand is already down as more and more folks lose their health insurance (or have their policy benefits degraded) and are postponing all but essential care. In past recessions, the economy rebounds strongly after the recession and pent-up demand spikes the market. This recovery is shaping up to be quite different however and again in my view, the typical rebound either is far in the future or possibly may never happen (more than a few economists believe that 8 - 9% unemployment is the new norm). So in addition to dampening demand for health care services, more RN's are delaying their retirement, either because their spouse is out of work, their retirement savings have been decimated, their employer has changed the pension benefits (for the lucky 1/5^th of the workforce with pensions) or a combinations of all three. The result of all of this is not only difficulty finding nursing jobs, particularly for new grads, but also significant downward pressure on nursing wages and benefits. We've already seen nursing wages plateau, and combined with the anti-union sentiment manifesting itself across the country, I would expect both significant deterioration of benefits and wage reductions to accelerate through the nursing workforce.

OK, so much for the doom and gloom. I think that what Fumanchuesday says about working as a CNA or tech to get your foot in the door is very sound advice. Every one of my classmates from my evening/weekend nursing program who were already working as techs/CNA's was hired on as a nurse once they passed the boards.

Good luck with your decision.

Fumanchuesday · Jun 12, 2012

Fumanchuesday.....where is the 10 month second degree program at? I am looking for one...

im at our lady of the lake college ololcollege.edu ... they are in the process of switching to an accelerated BSN program (i think its gonna 16 months)... i think they may have already made the switch. Find the nursing portion of the website and call for details.

caliotter3 · Jun 12, 2012

In one sentence, I think you would have greater opportunity for career satisfaction in nursing than as a pharm tech. There are so many avenues to explore, you would be very likely to find an area that suits your talents and interests. I say, go for it.

mspeegle · Jun 14, 2012

At this point, I think it’s generally accepted that, with some relatively small exceptions, most parts of the country have a surplus of RN’s. I frankly believe that the reason for the nursing workforce oversupply situation is a structural one, or put another way, nursing schools and the economy are disconnected and the normal economic feedback loop is no longer working. There are more nursing programs now than ever, generating record numbers of graduates and essentially continuing to flood an already oversaturated market with new nurses. Normally, with slack demand, the supply would shrink (i. e., enrollment in nursing programs would decline) but this is not happening and in fact, it looks like demand for seats in nursing programs is continuing to grow. As long as the student demand is there, colleges will respond and continue to expand the numbers of new nursing graduates, even as demand for nurses stagnates or declines. Supply will continue to outstrip demand unless either the supply slackens or the demand grows.
Regarding demand, I believe that we are in for a long low-growth economy in which demand for health care will remain significantly depressed.
Good luck with your decision.

I do not claim to be an expert on the subject, but I have read multiple highly regarded sources that vouch an opposing situation. These conclusions are not based on opinions, but rather facts.

From the BLS:

On March 9, 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that job growth in the healthcare sector was outpacing the growth realized in 2011, accounting for one out of every 5 new jobs created this year. Hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other ambulatory care settings added 49,000 new jobs in February 2012, up from 43,300 new jobs created in January. As the largest segment of the healthcare workforce, RNs likely will be recruited to fill many of these new positions. The BLS confirmed that 296,900 jobs were added to the healthcare sector in 2011. www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections 2010-2020 released in February 2012, the Registered Nursing workforce is the top occupation in terms of job growth through 2020. It is expected that the number of employed nurses will grow from 2.74 million in 2010 to 3.45 million in 2020, an increase of 712,000 or 26%. The projections further explain the need for 495,500 replacements in the nursing workforce bringing the total number of job opening for nurses due to growth and replacements to 1.2 million by 2020. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.t06.htm

Source from: American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Nursing Shortage

From the ANA:

Nursing Shortage

mspeegle · Jun 14, 2012

At this point, I think it's generally accepted that, with some relatively small exceptions, most parts of the country have a surplus of RN's. I frankly believe that the reason for the nursing workforce oversupply situation is a structural one, or put another way, nursing schools and the economy are disconnected and the normal economic feedback loop is no longer working. There are more nursing programs now than ever, generating record numbers of graduates and essentially continuing to flood an already oversaturated market with new nurses. Normally, with slack demand, the supply would shrink (i. e., enrollment in nursing programs would decline) but this is not happening and in fact, it looks like demand for seats in nursing programs is continuing to grow. As long as the student demand is there, colleges will respond and continue to expand the numbers of new nursing graduates, even as demand for nurses stagnates or declines. Supply will continue to outstrip demand unless either the supply slackens or the demand grows.
Regarding demand, I believe that we are in for a long low-growth economy in which demand for health care will remain significantly depressed.
Good luck with your decision.

I do not claim to be an expert on the subject, but I have read multiple highly regarded sources that vouch an opposing situation. These conclusions are not based on opinions, but rather facts.

From the BLS:

On March 9, 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that job growth in the healthcare sector was outpacing the growth realized in 2011, accounting for one out of every 5 new jobs created this year. Hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other ambulatory care settings added 49,000 new jobs in February 2012, up from 43,300 new jobs created in January. As the largest segment of the healthcare workforce, RNs likely will be recruited to fill many of these new positions. The BLS confirmed that 296,900 jobs were added to the healthcare sector in 2011. www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Projections 2010-2020 released in February 2012, the Registered Nursing workforce is the top occupation in terms of job growth through 2020. It is expected that the number of employed nurses will grow from 2.74 million in 2010 to 3.45 million in 2020, an increase of 712,000 or 26%. The projections further explain the need for 495,500 replacements in the nursing workforce bringing the total number of job opening for nurses due to growth and replacements to 1.2 million by 2020. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.t06.htm

Source from: American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Nursing Shortage

From the ANA:

Nursing Shortage