On a flight from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis a few months ago, I struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to me. Always curious as to where someone is from and what they do for work, I discovered that Gary has been a registered nurse for a number of years. It turns out that after high school, he enrolled in a pre-dentistry program. Thinking it would be a crap shoot getting into dental school; he shifted gears and graduated with a degree in business administration. After trying his hand at a variety of careers, including seasonal park ranger in the Porcupine Mountains of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and machine operator/machinist, Gary decided to pursue his long-held dream of working in the medical field. A lay-off allowed him to re-train for a different career which facilitated his move into nursing.

Gary felt that nursing seemed natural for him and knew he would be good at it. Nursing allows him to live in a small community in a somewhat remote area that he loves while helping his neighbors and friends recover from an illness, injury, or surgery and take care of the family and survivors of dying loved ones. Gary says, “I’m able to let them know that I care and allow them to feel more at ease with a familiar person helping them through difficult times. I know that makes a difference to them.”

According to Gary, “Whether it’s me as a male nurse, or it’s a female nurse, I think we all know our limits, our strengths, and our weak points, and are able to do our jobs, based on them. It all pulls together for the best possible outcome for the patients.” 

“Nursing is not for everyone, but there are a multitude of options or areas in which to work,” says Gary. He goes on to say, “I would encourage any male to consider nursing if they are at all interested in the medical field. They can always continue on and expand their interests with the options that are available, whether it is as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant.”

I recently read that the need for registered nurses will grow by 580,000 over the coming decade due to the 80 million baby boomers reaching retirement. Nursing will continue to be a high-demand career for years to come.