Learning a matter for life say graduates
"Men care differently," says nurse Barry Thornloe.
He is precisely where he wants to be, working in labour and delivery at the Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia. And Thornloe -- one of four males in a class of 71 to earn a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Nursing this year -- plans to move up in his chosen profession.
To those who scoff or ask, `Why not be a doctor?' his reply is unequivocal and emphatic.
"I want to be a nurse," he says.
Thornloe had previously ignored the call. He grew up in Langley as a people person with a love of science.
"I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do when I started studying biology at UBC in 1990," he says.
In his second year he picked up some nursing brochures but couldn't find much support for the idea of switching studies, he says. He graduated with a BSc in 1994, still unsure of the career he would pursue.
He took a year off to see the world including England, where his maternal grandfather began a career as a nurse.
"My mother's family told me stories about my grandfather's nursing experiences, including the Second World War," he recalls. "It was at the end of a personal journey and I was feeling independent, so I phoned my parents and announced, `I want to be a nurse. Please register me at UBC.'"
Thornloe says men should be encouraged to make a similar decision.
"We learn and care differently and have important contributions to make" he says. "It could be my mannerisms, or my approach, perhaps it's my gender, but when I'm nursing, men seem to come out of their shells.
"In any case, everyone knows there's a shortage of nurses," he adds.
Only two per cent of nurses in Canada are male. But at UBC's School of Nursing the ratio is higher.
"Between four and 12 per cent of UBC's beginning undergraduate nursing students are male," says Katharyn May, director of the School of Nursing. "Those who find us are career-oriented and are very aware that the baccalaureate program is the right way to enter the profession."
"We're beginning to attract more people from other disciplines, particularly people like Barry, who really want to make a difference in the world," she adds. "We've revamped the program to make it easier for them. Multiple entry level options are now available for qualified students to earn an undergraduate degree in Nursing in two-and a-half years instead of the traditional four years."
Thornloe met his girlfriend Trish at the school. She is also graduating in Nursing and working in the field which interests her most, geriatric care.
He aspires to becoming a nurse on Medijet and other areas involving patients at high risk. In the meantime he comes home from a shift tired, but rewarded.
"It's difficult to get down when you are working with mothers, newborns and new birth families," he says. "I simply think back and count the number of births in which I have helped."