is Watts School a male-friendly place?

Annointed_RNStudent · Sep 1, 2005

Hi, I'm male here (minority) and I was going to Watts, until I didn't get any Scholarship Money from there opposed to the ADN program I am in now... They were all nice, and I thought that the hats and the traditional uniforms defined nurses better, Nowadays you can't tell a RN from LPN, from CNA, Doctor, X-ray Tech, Pharmacy Tech etc!!!! Hard as you work in Nursing school there should be something unique about you!

Watts seems to be an excellent program, however be careful on their admission test, it seems easy but it will fail ya~

NCINDASUN · Sep 1, 2005

I am a 4th semester Watts student (female) but I have 3 males in my class. We originally had 5, but 1 left because of illness, the other dropped out because of personal problems. There are now 29 in our class.

I LOVE having the guys in class. They add a totally different perspective. My class is very diverse. The youngest member will be 21 next month and I believe the oldest is 57 (and a male to boot). Close to 1/2 of us are 35+ and this is a second career for us (I'm a former HR manager, the guy that sits next to me is a retired chemical engineer). About 50% are married, and we have racial and sexual orientation diversity too.

Yes, Watts is VERY traditional. It can be very tough - I cried every night the first few days of 1st semester thinking I could never handle it. But I have. The majority of the staff is excellent (even the sole male :rotfl: ) and very supportive. The best thing about Watts is that you start your clinical experience right out of the gate. By the time I graduate I will have spent time in Geriatrics, Med-Surg, Pediatrics, L&D, Psych, ICU, ED, Burns, Rehab and Oncology.

Like your friend said - "the nurses that came out of Watts had so much more skill and they were very sought-after." It's nice to have Duke & UNC recruiters come to you before you've even finished, never mind taken the NCLEX.

BTW, the men don't wear the caps (no fair) and you don't wear a uniform to all your rotations. I think I wore it for one clinical rotation last semester.

For me, the decision to go to Watts was simple - I got great clinical training, a great foundation, and I was able to do it in just two years & graduate before my kids started college.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'd be happy to put you in touch with one of them-there male nursing types.

jean-claude · Sep 1, 2005

Thanks so much for your replies! I think I am going to move forward on this new plan. I'm really eager to start the "real school"! I'm so sick of pre-requisites, and before I thought I should just go for the BSN right away so I didn't have to go back to school for a long time, but honestly, I didn't ever think I would go back to school again and I did...so it will most likely happen again.

Again, thanks! It's encouraging to hear that there is diversity within a small student body - especially from a student, because all administrators try to paint a certain picture and you can never really be sure until you experience it or meet someone who has.

nursetim, NP · Nov 18, 2005

I graduated from Watts awhile back. My first semester I was the only male student of 100 students. The education you get is top notch. It is intense, we played the game of "what's your dose?" for anti-depressants but our senior year. It's tough and they seem to make things more difficult than they need to be. But there really is a method to thier maddness. Look on the walls at the pictures of the classes and count the males, 5%? PM with any more questions or just for support.