I am an RN in Indiana, and I can tell you that if you want a career with many options, then nursing is for you, but how far you can go in it really depends on how far you take your education. I have an associates degree and that will let me be a nurse on the floor in a hospital or a charge nurse in a hospital, but little else. In the nursing home situation you may be able to go a little farther, nursing supervisor or get an educational position.
But to really further a career in nursing, you should at least start with a bachloriette degree. Having at least your BSN is the only way to be able to go further in nursing than just the front lines of health care. Getting your masters is the best bet, but that can be done while working full time as a nurse which is how many of us do it.
While I do agree that the nursing field needs more men in it, I also believe that men don't stay in nursing for very long. Many go to school for administration while they are working as a nurse and while they still hold a nurses license, don't practice as nurses, they work in administration.
I hope you decide that nursing is for you and find a spot in nursing that works well for you.
Pam
Post by dhopsonHere's my questions, with a more complete explanation below.
1. Will I be able to transfer my coursework from one college or
University to another?
Yes
Post by dhopson2. What are the accreditations for nursing schools?
NLN is the most neccessary one in my opinion.
Post by dhopson3. Are there rankings for better colleges and universities?
Sure, but NLN is the ranking you must make sure they have.
Post by dhopson4. I see only a few male nurses. What are the professional benefits
and what are the pitfalls of being a male in a mostly female populated
carrer?
Male Nurses tend to gravitate to the more specialized areas (ICU, ER, OR) and they tend more to rise to management I have found.
Post by dhopsonI am living in a small town in Arkansas. luckily, we have a good
nursing school at Arkansas Tech, just a few miles from home.
First thing, plan on moving when finished so you can earn the money you deserve, remember you can go ANYWHERE as a nurse.
Post by dhopsonThe problem is, I just can't quit my current field and go to school. I
have commitments and salary requirements, so I must continue to work
in Engineering for now. Those jobs require that i travel to a site and
live/work there for 6mos to a year.
If you are unemployed, due to harder to find jobs, then apply for state programs to help you out. They will pay for the program. Also you can look at local hospitals for free tuition. As far as traveling goes, if you need prereqs, then do Clep testing or sign up with you local college for internet courses. (Sp?) For that matter you can sign up with any college for a internet coarse, as long as you do not have an in person section of the class.
Nursing for guys is not bad, once you get past the hassle of patients wanting to know why you are not a doctor, and make sure that you set firm limit with the ladies you work with, letting them know you are not there for their personal workhorse. Like for every lift. I would seriously recommend that you go the route of R.N., I am a L.P.N. and it has limited my rise to power, although I have held management positions. If you have any other questions, feel free to post them, and I will try to help ya where I can.
On a different note, you might be interested to know that Men were the first nurses in civilization, and that up to the early 1900 hundreds, we were the dominate gender in US nursing core. Then the U.S. government made the Army nurses core, and degreed that only women could be in it. So, when a male nurse was drafted, he did not stay a nurse, he was anything but. So, men decide not to do nursing, what was the point. Go into the Army as an enlisted person, when you should have been an officer? No nursing for 2 - 4 years? Many men just chose other professions in order to save time in their careers. I am not blaming women or anyone else for this, but merely point this out so that people will start to realized that women are late to this profession, and were artificially allowed to become the dominate force. It is time to even the playing field. We all should be leading the charge.