Daniel Doolan is a UCSF Betty Irene Moore Fellow. Currently pursuing a PhD at the University of California, San Francisco, Doolan has been in nursing for 6 years. He says that the nursing profession offers him more opportunities than most people encounter in the span of their careers.
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Since becoming a nurse, Doolan says he's never regretted his decision. That sentiment crystallized for him at his 10-year high school reunion.
"Over and over again, I'd see old friends at the reunion and they'd ask me where I was working," he says. "When I told them I was working as a registered nurse, their faces would light up. They'd say, 'My mom's a nurse,' or, 'My best friend's a nurse.' Just by my introducing myself as a nurse, I could see they felt a warm connection to me. It was flattering and reminded me of how lucky I am to be a part of such a wonderful profession."
"For those who value flexible scheduling, no career is better," he says. "I was never much of a morning person, so I worked for years on the p.m. shift and never had to wake up earlier than 2 p.m."
The profession's perks have also had an impact on his personal life.
"For my honeymoon, the vacation time I had accumulated was enough for me to take a month off," he says. "I had co-workers cover a few additional shifts and spent 6 weeks in Europe with my wife, Sheryl. There aren't many jobs where you can just take off for that amount of time."
Doolan recently answered Men in Nursing's Fast Five.
One skill that served me well prior to becoming a nurse was the ability to completely disregard disparaging remarks made by nurses who believed I shouldn't seek a career in nursing. Those nurses had survived the last nursing surplus and were discouraged by the working conditions they'd endured.
Highly valuing education is also a benefit. I credit my parents for instilling these values in my siblings and me. I attained my Associate Degree in Nursing from Santa Rosa Jr. College in 1999, before obtaining my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Nursing from Sonoma State University in 2001 and 2003. I later entered the University of California San Francisco's PhD in Nursing Program. I always anticipated continuing my education, so the many hours I dedicated to school never felt like a burden.
In addition to having a wonderfully supportive wife, I have had the benefit of many great mentors. During my ADN program, Instructor Terry Kremesec and Professor Rae Jayne were fantastic. At Sonoma State University, Nursing Chair Liz Close and Professors Tom Nolan, Greg Crow, and Deb Kindy continued to encourage me to maximize my potential. My master's degree internship took me to Pacific Union College, where I had the joy of working with Nursing Chair Nancy Tucker and Professor Rita Van Horn. At UCSF's PhD program, I'm thrilled to have Professor Erika Froelicher as my advisor. Professors Steve Paul, Nancy Stotts, Dorrie Fontaine, and my fellow students are but a partial list of those who have been wonderful resources and a joy to work with.
The enjoyment I get from my nursing work has also been a great motivator, and I'm lucky to have worked in wonderful places. Pat Pointer was the first person to hire me as an RN. Since she hired me as a nurse at Santa Rosa Memorial's Neurology Unit, I have also worked as a clinical instructor at Santa Rosa Jr. College and as a family camp nurse at Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp.
To me, working in nursing education is the ultimate accomplishment. I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to teach nursing students, and I'm eagerly looking forward to resuming a career as a nurse educator upon completion of my PhD. Nursing students are motivated, hard working, ambitious, humble, and gracious. These are qualities for which I have great respect, and having the opportunity to mentor such students is a powerful experience.
Gender issues in the United States are very complicated. Consequently, our perceptions about being a man in a predominately female profession will greatly affect our experience. A man I went to nursing school with complained to me that nursing was a profession of mostly women, and that as a result nurses would be hesitant to welcome him. With that chip on his shoulder, he always read into interactions with the expectation that he was unwelcome. On the other hand, while I'm well aware that most nurses are women, I never presumed that my gender would negatively affect my experiences in nursing.
Furthermore, I felt lucky to be a part of what I consider a wonderful and exciting profession. That being the case, I always felt welcomed. It's possible, if not likely, that men in nursing are observed somewhat more closely because of their gender. People don't see as many men in nursing, so when they interact with a male, this experience may stand out to them. If you're able to conceive of this notion as an opportunity and exceed the expectations of others, the advantages of this increased scrutiny will always far outweigh the disadvantages.
At the time nurses discouraged me from entering the field, I'd read that a great nursing shortage was anticipated. The shortage materialized, and upon graduation, hospitals wanted to hire me. I knew education couldn't hurt, and it was during my subsequent studies that I realized my passion for nurse education.
Sonoma State Nursing Chair Liz Close told me, "Dan, there's a shortage of qualified faculty members in nursing also, and it's projected to become more severe." As we know from the literature, this has come true. Upon acceptance to UCSF's PhD in Nursing program, the Betty Irene Moore Foundation agreed to furnish me with a doctoral fellowship for 3 years, which would allow me to go to school full time for 3 years. The only catch was that I had to agree to teach nursing in the bay area upon completion of the program. To me, that was no catch at all, but a dream come true.
Was I just special? Was I a workaholic? Did family connections get me all these great deals? The answers are no, no, and no; I just tried my best to look into the future and anticipate what opportunities might be available and what I needed to do to qualify for them.
Absolutely!! Being one of relatively few men in nursing creates opportunities. Female colleagues have told me that they appreciate having a male perspective on various scenarios or dilemmas. Certain situations arise frequently as a result of being a man in nursing, such as being asked, "Is your wife a nurse?" or "Do you want to become a physician some day?" In my case, the answer to both of these questions is no. When I meet patients, no matter how many times I identify myself as a nurse, some will inevitably be convinced that I am a physician.
Although unfortunate for others, gender at times plays a role if a patient is having a really bad day. He or she tends to be less likely to snap at me than to snap at others, which might also have something to do with my being 6'4" tall and weighing over 200 pounds.
Overwhelmingly, I've found being a man in nursing to be a positive experience.
