Comrades X & Y RN, BSN

The Comrades-at-arms of SMC '08 ABSN were distinguishable at their pinning ceremony, not because of their physical height and distinguished good looks, but by the sheer tenacity of their perseverance and accomplishments. Both are entering final careers later in life as male nurses. Both had extraordinary journeys in the 12 month program overcoming obstacles that took them away from their support systems (primarily their wives and families) and they were completely humble and unassuming about what they had accomplished. Within three days of each other, they both passed their licensing boards and are now officially registered nurses with the Board of Registered Nursing. I have learned a lot about what it means to mentor others by watching how X has mentored me into this process. He is the jewel swimming in a sea of sharks. I wouldn't have taken the step to do something this intense, had he not tread the path before me. We were always told the truth about what the program entailed, the demands of it and how it would effect us. We are more patient about the setbacks of being in an accelerated program because we were prepared by those who had suffered through it.

To say they have nursed us through this process is an understatement. Both have willingly given of their time, talents and treasure to help us transition from part-time students to full-time accelerated nursing students. It is easy for me to write about these two guys because they are patently real with people, truly genuine and humble, and will be such an asset to the profession of nursing.

I was thinking about how much my own husband impresses me with his abilities to nurture his students for the last 23 years and what it means to be a male elementary school teacher in a profession primarily dominated by females; and it occurred to me that there are so many men impacting the nursing profession in much the same way. What a refreshing new dynamic. My son, who is fascinated by science and how the human body functions may live in a world of medicine in 20 years where half of the profession is occupied by men. It wouldn't surprise me if this would be a fulfillment of Florence Nightingale's vision for healthcare when she wrote of the men who supported her by sitting side by side on her sofa rendering her support in writing regulations and shaping the social policy of her day. " You say women are more sympathetic than men...I would say they have none!" Obviously she had strong disagreements with the females in her life who saw her work as inconsequential. No doctrine she embraced was embraced by women; they were embraced by men of power who saw her work on the dying fields during the Crimean War as changing the way society viewed efficiency within the military, not to mention her impact on health within the family unit. She shaped society from the smallest unit to the largest. Her views simple, but carved within her soul was the conviction that empathy and excellence is born out unselfishness, humility and hard work

In our class, we have (6) men from various backgrounds. Two of those men have wives who are already nurses. Everything is about balance...and it delights me to think that men are re-shaping the face of the nursing profession for the better.

When the boards were looming over their heads, the Comrades hunkered down, took the Kaplan prep course for the NCLEX and went into attack mode. This journey into the nursing profession is one of the most difficult things any of us have ever done. It requires an enormous amount of sacrifice from our families and takes an emotional toll on the student who wants to enter nursing.

Having good mentors along the way makes all the difference.

The Roadies have successsfully completed month 1, Term 1 and we will be taking final exams next Thursday and Friday. We are all working toward collaborating to help everyone else in the class who is taking this journey with us because as John Donne once penned "no man is an island..." But if I needed a nurse on a desert island, I would hope that Comrades X & Y are on shift ~ I think Flo would be proud of you both.

Congratulations to Robert W. Nutter, RN BSN & Ryan Kapty, RN BSN
You are official.