Male Nurses, Do You Know What the Best Nursing School For You Is?

There's no denying the fact for many people, the term "nurse" conjures images of a lady in white uniform. And that's not surprising, because according to a 2004 survey by the Department of Health and Human Services, only a little over 5 percent of Registered Nurses in America are male.

But this does not imply that that number is not getting higher. Records in the Department of Health and Human Services reveal that way back in 1980, only 2.7 percent of Registered Nurses in America were male.

Interestingly enough, centuries ago, almost all caretakers were male. Women in those days, of course, did not exactly get out of the house to pursue outside careers much. Many of the earliest caretakers were monks and religious men who considered caring for the sick to be a holy calling. St. Benedict in the 1800s founded the Benedictine order to look after the sick.

However, in modern times nursing has for some reason been considered to be feminine, and a traditionally female job, to the point that even to this day many men don't enter this high-demand, high-paying field.

One of the top nursing schools today for men in nursing, according to the American Assembly For Men in Nursing, is Excelsior College. While the school is still a long way off from having an equal number of men and women in the nursing program, 21 percent of the pre-licensure nursing students are male.

Excelsior is an online college, which offers several nursing degrees through their online program, including an LPN to Associate's Degree in Nursing program and an LPN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program.

Of course, male student nurses are also welcome in any nursing school across the country and Excelsior College is but one of the nursing schools that would-be male nurses can enroll to.