Nursing as second career growing

Holly James RN tends to patient Norma Gomez on the Medical Renal Floor at Metropolitan Methodist Hospital. James worked as a policewoman with the Hondo Police Department before she went back to school to become a nurse. Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. less Holly James RN tends to patient Norma Gomez on the Medical Renal Floor at Metropolitan Methodist Hospital. James worked as a policewoman with the Hondo Police Department before she went back to school to ... more Photo: BOB OWEN, San Antonio Express-News Photo: BOB OWEN, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Nursing as second career growing 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

William Dewease stood in front of the house he'd lived in for more than a year, preparing to leave. The U-Haul was packed, and he and his girlfriend, Violet, would soon be on their way to Dallas, where a nursing job in the medical surgical intensive care unit at UT Southwestern Medical Center was waiting for him.

“I always wanted to get into nursing,” says Dewease, 26, who was raised in Jewett. “But I played football in college and couldn't do both, so I chose football.”

That led to a short-lived career as a personal trainer in a local gym, which he says was more of a “sales job” than anything else, as well as substitute teaching gigs he found more enjoyable. Still, the siren song of nursing continued to call.

“I just wanted to work with patients,” he says. “It fits me better.”

So in May 2010, Dewease entered the School of Nursing at the University of Texas Health Science Center, becoming part of a growing trend of what are called “adult” or “mature” learners. These older students who come to nursing from another career bring with them life experiences younger students don't possess and are forcing nursing schools to change the way they train students.

“We've been seeing many more mature learners in recent years; students who had another career as a teacher, with USAA, in the computer business,” says Hilda Mejia Abreu, associate dean for admissions and student services at the UTHSC School of Nursing. “A lot of them tell us they're at a point in their lives where they say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do what I want to do.'”

These “second career” nurses are changing the face of the profession. According to the last National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, conducted in 2008 and released in 2010, the average age of graduating nursing students from all types of entry-level RN programs increased from 26 in 1984 to 33 in 2008. The average age for students graduating from baccalaureate programs increased from 24 to 28.

They come to the field at a particularly important time. The stagnating economy has kept many baby boom-era nurses on the job longer than expected, helping to alleviate recent shortages. But that's not going to last, said Jane Kirschling, president of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and dean of the nursing school at the University of Kentucky.

“When the economy picks up, those boomers will be going out the door,” she says. “Health care reform will also mean more patients entering the system, increasing demand for services.”

People return to nursing for any number of reasons. The Great Recession pushed many to rethink their career choices.

Monica Markel was a journalist for 20 years, most recently at the Express-News, when she left the field in 2010 to attend nursing school. While it was demanding both physically and mentally, she says, her midlife career change was “a great move.”

“It's never dull, and there's never a day I go home without knowing I made a difference,” says Markel, who works as a behavioral nurse at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital.

Other second-career nurses were simply ready for a change.

Rhoda Micale recently graduated from nursing school after owning a women's fitness center and working as a pharmaceutical company field sales associate and an in-home care assistant.

As her children grew — they're now 20, 17 and 16 years old — she started looking for a new career.

“I didn't want just any job,” says Micale, who is studying to take the test that will earn her the registered nurse designation. “I wanted something fulfilling.”

Holly James switched from being a police officer in Hondo to nursing because, she says, “I hardly ever got to be nice to anybody (as a cop).”

Today she works at Metropolitan Methodist Hospital downtown. She says her police training comes in handy.

“If we get a patient who is angry or distraught, the other nurses will come to me and say, ‘Holly, there's a fire you need to put out.'”

To meet the needs of these second-career students, nursing schools have in recent years launched accelerated nursing programs designed to get students into and out of school as quickly as possible. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the number of accelerated baccalaureate programs in nursing has ballooned in the 10 years between 2001 and 2011 from 84 to 233. Enrollment has increased from 8,493 in 2006 to 14,124 in 2011.

The UTHSC nursing school launched its accelerated program in 2010. Students can go from first-day-of-school jitters to bachelor of science in only 15 months, compared to two years for those on the traditional track.

Robert Joe Gonzalez took the accelerated track after talking it over with nursing school administrator Abreu, and he has no regrets.

“I recommend it to people all the time, especially (licensed vocational nurses) who want to get their RN,” says Gonzalez, who is now a charge nurse at Laurel Ridge Treatment Center. “They can do it almost a year faster.”

Nursing school graduates — accelerated or not — can expect to earn fairly substantial salaries. In Texas, nurses earn an average of $31.05 an hour, or $66,372 annually, according to a survey of 5,700 nurses conducted from March to July by Advance for Nurses, which provides information about job openings, career strategies and other opportunities for nurses.

Adult students say that while the academics aren't any easier, they do seem better able now to focus on what needs to be done.

“I always enjoyed school and was a good student, but I think my life lessons helped me, my business experience, raising kids, delegating, critical thinking, confidence,” says Micale, who is studying to take the boards to earn her registered nurse license. “Being 53 is a huge advantage when you're coming into a new career, compared to 23. I know that this is what I want to do.”

Those hiring nurses seem to agree.

“Many recruiters and nurse directors have told me that even without nursing experience, they liked hiring people like me with life experience,” says former journalist Markel.

ramarini@express-news.net