To Nurse or Not to Nurse?

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Dec 28, 2015

There is no way to learn all you can learn in nursing, unless you choose not to learn anymore. The good thing about nursing is that if you no longer like a certain specialty, move to a different one. The "social stigma" of a male nurse is a non-issue in my experience. I am the only male staff nurse out of 300 RNs in the NICU. I have yet to have a derogatory comment about being a male nurse by a family member, doctors, co-workers, or public.

Gogol · Dec 28, 2015

Thanks for the input, I'll try to broaden my scope on the options nurses have. So far I've been contained to volunteering at one hospital and have seen ICU, PCU, Geriatrics and ER.

loriangel14, RN · Dec 29, 2015

Be aware that there isn't job security and in many places new grads are struggling to find work. There is no nursing shortage. Being a guy is no issue.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Dec 29, 2015

Nursing is not "secure" Make a mistake you can be fired and sued. You will be on your feet 12 hours or more nursing...night shifts. Nursing is highly stressful and intense. All those points you say you do not like are amplified by 100 in nursing.

And may I ask what "stigma" there is for a nurse who happens to be male?

My advice. Get a job in a library.

Gogol · Dec 30, 2015

The stigma is largely associated with up until recently nursing being traditionally a women's profession. Also, familial expectation of being a dr. have something to do with it.

chiromed0 · Dec 30, 2015

Well, let's see I did 10 years in "highly technical" retail when cellular was still cellular and it is NOTHING like being in healthcare except for customer service and sales have no boundaries. I can tell you first hand pre-med doesn't mean much when compared to a professional program other than Org Chem II or Biochem b/c that's the level you start from. Professional school (MD/DO/DC/DDS/DOP/DPT, etc.) is about endurance and memorization, the understanding comes in actual clinical care. Nursing first and foremost is a selfless act and if you possess that kind of empathy then you can do it, the details (education) comes with effort/time. But no education prepares you for what you can see in healthcare believe me. So if you like to help people then that's where you start. Getting a nursing education is next and it is NOT the same as pre-med, and medical education. Your reasoning and protocols are different so it may be similar but it is not the same. As far as being wore out-it will wear you out mentally more than physically. It's hard to stay alert 12 or more hours at a time and depending on where you work-that's what's needed. The good side is you don't work (typically) 5 days straight although I'm on day 5 working of the last 6! That's not the usual so it has it's perks once it's you're in the groove and know your job well. That takes time. As far as the "male" nurse thing...ehh, who gives a crap. The female nurses love me b/c they want me to lift the heavy patients, the guys would rather have the female nurses put in the Foley's (have at it) and the women would rather have female nurses give them the bed baths (have at it) so it's a win-win for me except for lifting which I am all about leverage and not brute force anymore. So nobody really cares about stigma in my opinion. The economy sucks and people understand that "grown ups" are having to change careers and doing everything possible to make a living now days. I'm a doctor/nurse/nurse practitioner (almost) and I've got no problem with calling myself a nurse although I think the word could use replacing but that's not my mountain to die on. My job is to help people whether I'm a salesman, customer service, manager, doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner, or all around 'good guy' and that's what I do---if ya pay me enough. :)

MrNurse(x2), ADN · Jan 6, 2016

The best part of nursing is it is a broad career. When you understand this is a career, that puts the parts you may not like in perspective. All new nurses must have med/surg experience, because the acute setting is the hub off of all other specialties. You can then move on to informatics, if you feel challenged by IT, tele-triage or case management. Pharm rep if you have the pretty boy image, there are seriously limitless options that your nursing degree can take you. I don't think you will stagnate for lack of variety, only if you decide to. There is no social stigma anymore, in decades of nursing, I have only had one misguided soul infer homosexuality because I am a nurse (not that there's anything wrong with that, thank you Seinfeld). A quick search for nursing positions will show you that nursing positions are not as plentiful as the news says. I know experienced nurses who are having protracted periods of unemployment, the jobs just aren't there. Job security is never a given in this economy.

db2xs · Jan 7, 2016

You can always become a nurse researcher, if you don't like working with people. Working in insurance is also an option.

I will guarantee that anyone could get bored with anything if they stopped trying to learn about it, but for myself, I find there is always something new to learn in nursing. I changed my career to nursing in my mid-30s and I am challenged on a daily basis, and although sometimes annoying, I like that.

Regarding security, the only thing we can be secure about in life is that we are born, get old, and die. I don't say that pessimistically, I say that realistically.

I was unaware of there being a social stigma wrapped around male nurses. Who is spreading that stigma? Other men? Trust me--that is nonsense and you needn't listen to that. I know a lot of great male nurses. Those out there who are putting down male nurses need to try nursing for a day and then I think they'd change their tune.

You have to seriously sit down and ask yourself "Why do I want to be a nurse?" Floor nursing is exhausting and stressful, and I personally think one needs to care about people to some extent if they want to be a nurse, as well as be willing to work with them directly. Write down a list of pros and cons.

If you are worried about finances, the money will come no matter what. Life is short; go for what your heart really wants to do, whether that's a dog trainer, a circus acrobat, a lawyer, a hairstylist, a nurse. It's no use to anyone to take a crappy job, only to wake up 20 years later thinking, "I have been miserable all my life at this crappy job." That's my two cents :laugh:

ProgressiveActivist, BSN, RN · Jan 7, 2016

A career in biomedical engineering or nursing informatics would be a better option for an introverted person than bedside nursing.

Mike65 · Jan 9, 2016

Seems like you've set yourself up with a lot of issues, and perhaps a few preconceived notions, and not just a little bit of baggage. If you believe nursing isn't as demanding as anything you've ever done, well, I'm afraid you're in for a bit of disappointment. Expect long hours, missed meals, heavy lifting (as in, 'My 600 lb Life' heavy,) complaints about your best work, sore feet, sore shoulders, sore back, etc, getting yelled at, cursed at, threatened, and (rarely) assaulted, and having to listen to EVERYONE'S life story. Expect an endless littany of complaints, demands and abuse from patients, their families, colleagues, other employees, other departments, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and most of all, management. Expect to engage in mortal combat with the Angel of Death in one room, and then calmly walk into the next and help her as she gently releases Life's grasp. Expect to see sputum, vomit, blood, urine, and pus. Expect to hear blood-curdling screams, and heart-breaking sobs. Expect to work in an environment teeming with pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Expect to see nice people suffer and die. Expect people whom you KNOW will die to rally and survive. Expect everyone you meet to want you to diagnose their every itch as though you're a free physician's service.

A few things you should not expect. Don't expect you'll be the object of everyone's deepest respect and admiration. Don't expect to be a millionaire. Don't expect to eventually know everything. Don't expect you'll get off for Thanksgiving this year. Or Christmas. Or for that Toby Keith concert. Don't expect job security. No one has that, and anybody can get fired. Healthcare can be a ruthless, unforgiving game, and just because nursing is dominated by women doesn't mean everyone's nice to you. And you can forget that "male nurse" stigma. It's ancient history. The only thing that matters is whether you can hack it.

All that having been said, there are few professions with as much flexibility as nursing. Wherever there are people, there will be a need for healthcare, as people always get sick. And there are speciaties within nursing, quite literally from the cradle to the grave, that can make one's career far more enjoyable and fulfilling. And honestly, in our current economy, a nursing degreee does pay relatively well, but expect to drive a Dodge, not a Porsche.

nurse2033, MSN, RN · Jan 9, 2016

There's a social stigma to being a male nurse? S***! Oh wait, only if YOU think so. I have unapologetically told hundreds of people I work as a nurse, not a single one has given me as much as a sideway glance.