Ok I am a 24 yr old male thinking about nursing. I work in the IT field and hate it. The nite shift is the main turn off . I cant tolerate a night shift position whatsoever.
Im thinking about going for an RN either ADN or BSN. I want to get into education and teach eventually
Well as a male could any of you guys tell me the good and bad of nursing as a male. I woudl like the 'raw' honest opinions.
Nursing would pay more money than I make now. IT Jobs are soooo scarce and I want something thats more people oriented.
Wow, this thread is great. Thanks all for the the input.
BTW, would you then not advise a single man to enter nursing? Just wondering, but I've been in many of those situations before.
not sure if your asking me. i will give my input anyway. IMO being single makes it easier, just for the fact that if you ever do get into a place you just cannt take anymore its easy to leave and go somewhere else. no worries about kids cloths for school or food for the family, its just you. as long as your bills are covered you can move on with out hitch. also gives you more time after work to hang out with your co-workers, i believe if you spend time outside of work with everyone, everyone sees eachother as a person not just another nurse. if you go out with a co-worker, even women, to a club or something, those that are willing to go out are usually the cool ones and will not talk behide your back but instead cover your ass if needed. "going out with co-workers on a planned unit or hospital thing like x-mas party is not the same as just hanging out for no other reason than hanging out" work parties like x-mas, what you do there will surely get around and those who went will not cover you on anything. its the ones that you go out with when someone says lets go to happy hour after work, nothing planned. as a single person you just have more oppertunities to meet and get to know the "cool" ones, outside of the work place.
Sorry to tread on the "male" thread but I have never found the above remarks about animosity towards males to be true.
In fact, I'm amazed at it.
steph
Not unlike we "white" folks not seeing discrimination that "black" folks see. (I put the colors in quotes because my skin is not really white, and I have never met a person who was black. I know hundreds of people who have darker skin than I do but none are black.) Now for the original question. I am a RN, I've been one since 1975. I've been male since 1946, so I guess I can address any questions about either. I have found in my career that if a guy wants to be in less of a minority, he has to specialize in an area such as Psych, join the military, or become an APNP. I retired from the US Army Reserve in 2001 and currently work on a forensic psych unit. In fact, we have only one female nurse (out of 6) on the unit I work on. Good luck with whatever you want to do.
To the guy wanting raw input about nursing....nurse because you want to do nursing and forget doing it for any other reason. If you go into nursing for the money, shift or employment, you will eventually grow dissatisfied.
This is a difficult and challenging profession but it can also be a wonderful life changing experience with great non material rewards.
The skills you learn in nursing are transferable to life in general and you will experience life in a unique and rewarding way.
The hours can suck pondwater, the workload can kill you and the politics make you crazy. But let one family member who has just lost a loved one thank you genuinely for your help and it does not matter.
I think shadowing a nurse or volunteering to get some contact is a great idea.
Good luck and hope you decide you want to join nursing....I'll need someone to take care of me when I retire.
Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.
just a little reminder...ehem...please post respectfully to each other.
i see that "the time of the month" has been brought up. please everyone take no offense. it is a male nursing board. all opinions and observations are welcome...if tastefully and respectfully done. i took no offense to the reference for it is widely acknowledged even on my floor by our own female colleagues that "things are just not right". i even have several pre-menapausal colleagues who are experiencing tremendous hot flashes which stops them dead in their tracks at times. this is a valid observation of occurrence. some folks deal with these symptoms (who have them) better than others, some do not. some have mild symptoms, where others have much severe symptoms...it is just body chemistry and one's response to them.
this does not, however, negate how they may impact their male colleagues at work. for men, they are a mysterious thing to many, frustrating at best.
many women do become moody...some very. it is a valid point.
last reminder...post friendly.
wish all the best here and let's continue the discussion.
Is it thatoneguy's "time of the month"? I think he went into nursing with more than nursing on his mind. Intimidation comes to mind. Right, Nurses!!!! :nurse:
intimidated please, you got to be kidding. your the one looking for back up girly. i believe i had mentioned something about that too.
The skills you learn in nursing are transferable to life in general and you will experience life in a unique and rewarding way.
o yeah most definitely. i end up teaching alot of my female family members and friends about careing for their kids. that always feels kinda funny. how to feed, what to feed, when to potty train, when should they be doing this or that. and i am a CCU nurse not a peds nurse. plus when things happen you notice the reasons for certain behaviors and how to deal with it. you will find how insecure most people really are. not to mention all the physical stuff.
o by the way welcome :beer: , nice to have another dude on the site:D .
Is it thatoneguy's "time of the month"? I think he went into nursing with more than nursing on his mind. Intimidation comes to mind. Right, Nurses!!!! :nurse:
Teamwork makes a goal more attainable.
Intimidation? What does that mean, exactly? Yes, thatoneguy has been very blunt & upfront with his post. Yet, he has always maintained his satisfaction towards helping others [patients]. Plus, this Thread is posted in the Male Nursing Forum. So, sounds like to me thatoneguy is chatting to his audience appropriately... other Male RNs.
BTW, I take offense to your smilie. That icon is very gender biased and prejudicial towards Male RNs. I asked awhile back that icon be removed, or another icon be added more appropriate towards Male RNs. In fact, I submitted an icon that represented Male RNs more appropriately, and I was told consideration would be given. Yet, the icon I submitted was never added to the allnurses.com smilies inventory.
BTW, no its not "my time of the month", either. Frankly, I found that phrase out of line. Yet, I'm not a Mod here, nor am I telling the Mods what to do. IMHO, the Mods do a great job here on allnurses.com, and I'd hate to see this Thread closed.
Yes, team work is great... us guys are just having a little chat amongst ourselves.
Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.
corvette guy,
pm me your male nurse icon...let me see what i can do to help.
and yes, in this forum, i totally agree with you:
this thread is posted in the male nursing forum. so, sounds like to me thatoneguy is chatting to his audience appropriately... other male rns.
yes, team work is great... us guys are just having a little chat amongst ourselves.
in fact, i am the mod/staff member that suggested and sold the idea of having this forum in the first place...a forum where us men could come together and dialog.
we needed our own little place on the board.
if you see an inappropriate post, report it or pm me to be dealt with.
do not give an inappropriate post any energy by responding to it...let a staff member handle it. respectful debate is welcome, but hit and run posts that lend nothing to the thread and/or are not respectful to our male chat is not.
thanks guys, i had a much longer reply to that but thought its best to blow it off. besides she demonstrated some of the tactics i had brought up trying to get others involved, instead of stating her issues/thoughts and coming to me. she just wanted to stir the pot like so many do. point made.
Corvette Guy, i did talk to the guys at the dojo and they told me they did not know of any they could suggest in texas, for you to go to. they did say you might want to buy a couple of their instructional videos and join any Ju-Jitsu dojo and practice what you learn on the video there. i have seen one of the video and it was real good. they show actual fighting and point out whats going on. i never seen any of the beginning videos but based on the one i did see they should be real good.
:nurse: 
thatoneguy
225 Posts