Quoted: I finish nursing school on November 10th (my last final) for my RN,  assuming I pass everything. The school really really sucks, it's very difficult, but as others have said, there will always be jobs, and good paying ones at that.

Just curious, what do you find so difficult about nursing school and where are you attending?

Nursing is hard work. But, male nurses due to there being so few, are very appreciated in the work place. I have worked in a few nursing homes, and male nurses are always called in to deal with violent patients, and male patients that are not fond of a woman nurse seeing them at their more vulnerable times. Good luck.

PS- You will never have trouble finding a job as a nurse either. There is always a need for them, and the turn over rate can be a bit high. From what I have seen this is due to a lot of young nurses that move on (it is harder than it looks sorta thing).

I work at a hospital and must echo the advice to volunteer at one first before you commit to school.

My hospital is offering a 4K signing bonus for experienced nurses, and 2K for new grads. There is a huge shortage and you will always be able to find work.

Make sure you can deal with arrogant asshole doctors who will treat you like shit. Make sure you can deal with patients who aren't going to be all that nice to you, mainly due to their condition. You will have a lot of work depending on your shift/floor.

Most of the male nurses at my hospital are pretty cool, but the females are generally older and very bitter. I'd say the more pleasant ones are in the L&D/Nursery/Post Partum unit and the ER. Interestingly, most of the nurses don't seem to know their asses from a hole in the wall either, but this may be an isolated thing or just my observation.

Nursing is one of the most under appreciated and over stressed professions around, but it is a noble undertaking.


On a side note, it seems that most of the hot chick nurses who get hired here disappear shortly after starting. Either they're quitting and going to a better hospital or being recruited by doctors to work in their offices and probably acting out the "naughty nurse" fantasy.  

Quoted: Keep in mind that 50k is probably the top salary for the nursing career. No benefits once you retire.... Plenty of job everywhere and no it's not weird for a guy.

Baloney.  I know ER RNs pulling nice pensions from two hospitals and working part time for fun!

Quoted: Quoted: I finish nursing school on November 10th (my last final) for my RN,  assuming I pass everything. The school really really sucks, it's very difficult, but as others have said, there will always be jobs, and good paying ones at that. Just curious, what do you find so difficult about nursing school and where are you attending?

Glendale Comm College;
You'll find that the tests, although they are multiple choice, tend to have multiple right answers, and you have to figure out which answer the teacher thinks is "more" right. If you're lucky and explain your position well enough, you might get the point back if you miss it, but very rarely. I tend to think differently than my teachers unfortunately; it might be the male/female thing, I don't know. But anyways, the human body is an INCREDIBLY complicated machine, and you have to know a lot about it to get through the school. Even then, you gotta pick the answer your teacher likes best. You also go through multiple teachers in a semester, so just when you're figuring out how a particular teacher likes to test, you end up with a different one.
One thing's for sure, you have to accept that you're not going to have much of a social life while you do this, and try to work as little as possible (save up ahead of time if you can). They keep you working on stupid busy work while trying to squeeze in study time. And of course I gotta squeeze in Arfcom when I can  

I'm so sick of school. It's only four semesters and I can barely drag myself to class to finish this last one. I have no idea how people go through 8 years or whatever of med school. Screw that.

Go for the RN, nothing less.
Do the 'intense' course, it will only take a year.

Im gonna do the LPN first. I know its not the greatest in terms of degree's, but its a step in the right direction for me. If I like it, I can always go back and get my ADN or BSN (hopefully on someone else's dime).I'm not worried about the challenge of the schooling. I was always a good student in school and got good grades. I'm also not really worried about the stress or the hospital environment. I work well under pressure and never lose my head. Thanks for all the advice. I think this is something that will change my life for the better, and give me more money for really cool stuff like beta-c's and 50BMG rifles.

It's a great idea.  Health care is unfortunatly one of the major growth industries.  My sister is an RN, and has made a good living since day 1.

Want to get the training for free?

Go tell the Army recruiter you want MOS 91W ASI M6, LPN.

Gte paid for going to school and getting your first few years experience.

Six of my friends did this years ago, one is still in the Army.  Two became gas passers, too (nurse anesthetists).

The military always needs male nurses.

Anything biomedical or health care related will have a secure future.  

/biomedical engineer.

Best nurse I have ever had, was a guy.  I was in an ICU for a couple weeks.

He was able to understand my situation alot better, I think.