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Mary Ann Hellinghausen It’s not the norm, but it happens: Nurses enter the profession later in life, sometimes after many years in another, sometimes totally unrelated, field. Coming from fields as varied as computer science, finance, geophysics, business, law, education—even hairdressing, where a knack for working with people is often honed—second-career nurses offer experiences and perceptions that can enrich the profession. “People who are making nursing a second career bring a certain degree of professionalism, job commitment, and refined interpersonal and communication skills,” said Edward Russell, PhD, RN, head of the nursing department and an associate professor at Angelo State University in San Angelo. “They often are strongly driven. They understand client needs—the need to take care of their patients. They know nursing is a very client-focused profession.” Nurses with varied backgrounds bring talents that Sally Shen, RN, director of critical care and staffing at Park Plaza Hospital in Houston, finds enhance their nursing abilities. Second-career nurses tend to be more proficient at decision-making and people skills, Shen said, adding she has noticed that a former restaurant manager and an accountant tend to handle multiples tasks well. A former geophysicist is particularly talented in technical areas, while a former teacher “is excellent with patients and does a lot of teaching herself.” The reasons people leave other careers vary widely, but second-career nurses tend to bring up the same reasons for going into nursing. “Nursing is a very marketable career,” Russell said. “When you get out of nursing school, you pretty much have a job anywhere you want to go.” Looking for meaning Many also turn to nursing out of a desire to help others and to get greater job satisfaction. For Carl Reeves, RN, administrative director of the bone marrow transplant program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, the decision to become a nurse at the age of 45 after 18 years in the banking industry was dramatic. In 1992, Reeves decided to leave his job as a senior vice president. He sold his expensive cars and home in Plano and moved his family, with their support, into an apartment while he enrolled in nursing school. The seed that started his nursing career was planted by a close family friend, who while dying of cancer, asked Reeves to find a meaningful way to express appreciation to those who had treated her. After her death, Reeves began volunteering at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and enjoyed the patient contact so much that he would leave his banking job early to get to the hospital. “The big joke on the hospital floor was that I had a talent for working with patients—if I could only find a way to make the same salary I did as a banker,” he said. That didn’t materialize; Reeves said he’s taken a 90 percent cut in pay to become a nurse. But he believes nursing is his calling and doesn’t miss his former lifestyle. Relating to people Reeves said he is sometimes asked why he did not become a physician instead of a nurse. “Doctors practice medicine and their goal is to cure diseases. Nurses take care of people ... There are very few professions with this level of ability to relate to people—to be there for them in a crisis situation,” he said. “In nursing, the things you hold near and dear to your heart are put into use every day.” Reeves’ business background has proved invaluable to his nursing career. “I bring something to the table that not many people can. If patients have financial questions, questions about insurance, I can probably help,” he said. The ability to walk into a patient’s room with ease and deal with the patient on a personal level also comes from life experience, he said. “When I was 21 years old, that would have been a lot more difficult.” Flexibility and control Mary Jo Casey, RN, a pool nurse at Christus St. John Hospital in Nassau Bay near Houston, decided to become a nurse after 10 years of traveling for a paper manufacturing business out of desire for job fulfillment and a schedule that allowed more time with her children. As a part-time pool nurse, Casey said she has more control over her schedule and a heftier paycheck than she would working part time in the business world. And although it is physically and emotionally draining work, “nursing is really unique—it’s a privilege to be with a person who’s that vulnerable,” she said. “I really enjoy the patient interaction.” Trend watch It’s difficult to gauge whether the number of second-career nurses is increasing nationally since no one keeps a strict accounting. According to the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, the number of new RNs (nurses who received their basic education within the four years previous to the survey) under the age of 29 declined from 1992 to 1996, the number of new RNs in their 30s stayed about the same, and the number of new RNs over 40 increased (as much as 5 percent in the 40-44 age group). The survey, however, did not distinguish between those who were new to nursing and those moving from LVN to RN. Some nursing school deans say they saw more older nursing students several years ago, when the U.S. economy was flatter and other industries were laying off employees. Others say they have seen a steady, but not dramatic, increase in older students over the last decade. “We’re continuing to see more older students—we’ve even had them in their 50s,” said Carey Ann Smith, MS, RN, assistant dean at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing at Baylor University in Dallas. About 20 of the 200 students in Baylor’s nursing baccalaureate program (juniors and seniors) have degrees in other fields, she said. “They have an experienced background that’s so rich, it enhances the overall curriculum with their exchange of ideas and maturity level,” she said. “We really encourage those types of students to come into the program.” Wrong end of the age range? But while many nursing schools have made their programs more flexible to accommodate older students who have jobs or family constraints that prohibit them from tackling 17-hour semesters, schools must focus on attracting younger students who will stay in nursing a lifetime to help offset the nursing shortage, said Arlene Sargent, PhD, RN, associate dean for program development and undergraduate studies at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, Calif. “An area that needs greater emphasis is getting people [into nursing] early on instead of reaching them when they’re 40, when they may just work another 20 years,” she said. Some nurses who started their nursing careers at a young age but left the profession to raise children or pursue other careers are now returning. Diane Thompson, RN, of Plano is looking into a nursing career again at the age of 52. She left nursing to help her husband in his computer business, but now is considering becoming a school nurse at an inner-city school, which she likens to missionary work. “Now it’s my turn to do something where I really feel fulfilled,” she said. |