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Is nursing really a good option for guys? Logan Jones, senior
nursing student at Carroll County High School, says, "Absolutely." He's
the only male student in his class, and while that might be an issue for
some guys, it doesn't bother Logan because he knows this is the pathway to a solid career.
There's not a whole lot of being bullied or anything like that. I'll get the occasional joke, but I just brush it off like it's nothing. I think a lot of people understand now that if you're going into this kind of work, it's great money and you have great job security. It's a lot better than a lot of other jobs out there, and I just ignore any comments about it.
Although
there are still relatively few male students in CTE practical nursing
programs, the number of male nurses in college programs is steadily
growing. More and more men are beginning to see the potential in
high-paying, secure jobs in health care and are taking up nursing. In
fact, the number of men graduating from Virginia's RN programs has
gone up by 400% since 1981. In the 1981-82 school year, only 67
men in the entire state of Virginia earned degrees to become registered
nurses. Last year we had almost 300 male graduates.
Debbie Johnson, RN, who runs the Carroll County
program, agrees that the "female-only" tradition in nursing is changing.
"I think it's going to change as we see more men enter the field." She
has been working on some subtle changes of her own to recruit more guys
into her program.
Although Logan's mother is a nurse, he didn't always plan a career in health care. He started out aiming for a career in engineering, but in the end that didn't seem rewarding enough.
After completing the first year of practical nursing at Carroll County High School, students can continue straight into the articulated program at Wytheville Community College and complete their LPN in one more year. After becoming LPNs, students can go to work, continue on at WCC to become an RN, transfer to a university for a Bachelor's of Science in nursing, or perhaps move into another allied health program. Overall, the nursing program at Carroll County is an excellent option for students hoping to get a head start in careers in health and medical science.
As the program continues to grow and acquires more students, Debbie Johnson is hopeful that she will have more motivated students like Logan. We asked Logan what advice he would give sophomore males who were thinking about getting into practical nursing:
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| Practical Nursing Classroom |
One thing that we started doing to recruit more guys was a simple thing. I surveyed my class and asked what one thing I can do to make them feel more comfortable in the class and they said to let them wear something other than whites scrubs. So we went to school colors, navy. Now they can wear solid navy scrubs and black tennis shoes, and that made the guys more comfortable.It's a simple fix that allows guys to feel like they blend in more easily and don't stick out in the rest of their classes.
Although Logan's mother is a nurse, he didn't always plan a career in health care. He started out aiming for a career in engineering, but in the end that didn't seem rewarding enough.
I've always been the kind of person who was really good with my hands, building things, designing things, ever since I was young, playing with Legos, you know. But it wasn't something that I knew I could dedicate all of my time towards; it wasn't something that I was that passionate about after I got older. Seeing doctors and nurses and people who help people motivated me to want to do this.Logan saw plenty of doctors and nurses last year when he was diagnosed with an aneurism.
I was shuffled around for about a month to several different hospitals. This was actually right before I decided what CTE program I wanted to do. I saw the kind of care that was given. I had some care that was sub-par, but I had some care that was professional, and many people who were great, and it definitely helped me. That experience played a big part in my decision to study nursing.The Carroll County practical nursing program begins in the junior year of high school when students take a course on becoming a nursing aid. Then in their senior year, students are able to start the practical nursing course. Because Carroll County is a comprehensive high school, they can be more flexible about arranging schedules so that students can fit demanding CTE classes, like this one, into their academic schedules. As Logan says, "Over the last two years the school has gotten a lot better at moving the schedules around. Last year I wasn't able to fit my classes the way I wanted them, but this year they worked with me. And this class is great in the sense that you get two blocks, and we really do need two blocks."
After completing the first year of practical nursing at Carroll County High School, students can continue straight into the articulated program at Wytheville Community College and complete their LPN in one more year. After becoming LPNs, students can go to work, continue on at WCC to become an RN, transfer to a university for a Bachelor's of Science in nursing, or perhaps move into another allied health program. Overall, the nursing program at Carroll County is an excellent option for students hoping to get a head start in careers in health and medical science.
As the program continues to grow and acquires more students, Debbie Johnson is hopeful that she will have more motivated students like Logan. We asked Logan what advice he would give sophomore males who were thinking about getting into practical nursing:
Don't be scared of the idea that 'I'm the only guy in nursing' because you really shouldn't. It's a lot of fun. I know that the people I've been here with; we've grown together as a family. We're all really close, and no one really gives you too much grief about it. You hear the occasional joke, but I don't really get too many problems with it. As long as you're serious about it and you're going into it with the right reasons, I think you'll be fine.
