[Marcos]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about embracing the nurse profession. I'm 46 years old, male, and have no experience in nursing, or any type of hospital work. Scarry humm. I wonder if there anyone out there with the same history. My background is in computers and art. I think I can get to like it and also be good at it. I like to work hard and can see the rewards of helping other people in need. I have lots of questions and also don't know what kind of specialities are out there...where to start. I'm in the California's Bay Area

Thanks

[afrigger01]

I am a 30year old male who is in the first year of a BSN program. I was in the military for 12 years and all I can say is after starting clinicals, This was the best choice I ever made in my LIFE. I love it!

[michigancna]

Perhaps you should try to get in to clinicals ASAP. Textbooks can't possibly tell you what you will react like with hands-on. I saw people quit when they learned through hands-on that its like like on televison! Either you have it or you don't. regardless of brains.

[nursinghumor]

An easy way to find out if it is for you is to work as a Nursing Assistant or Patient Technician in a hospital for three months.

It will put you in direct contact with patients, nurses and the rest of the healthcare team you'll be working with if you decide to go into nursing. If you don't change your mind after three months, most facilities have generous tuition reimbursement programs for employees that decide to go onto nursing.

It would be to your benefit to find out what other nurses are saying about the profession. You can find a few articles that will help here:

Nurses' Views of the Nursing Profession
http://www.nursefriendly.com/views

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com

[niu72]

I'm a 55 year old male nursing student, graduating in Dec 2005. Before starting nursing school two years ago, I spent about 30 years in business as a CPA. Began school with no experience of any type in healthcare.

Andrew's comment above about getting a job as a Nursing Assistant is excellent advice. In additin to helping you decide if this field is for you, it will also help you in school. Some of my nursing classmates began the program after years of work as Nursing Assistants, and were more comfortable in the clinical setting than I was. While they were working on physical assessment skills, I was trying to figure out how to make the bed go up and down.

Don't worry about the age thing, it's not a problem. In some ways it can be an advantage. You may not have the challenges and distractions that some of your younger classmates have.