From Factories to Hospitals: More Men From Blue-Collar Jobs Join Nursing Ranks

Men from blue-collar jobs are increasingly joining the ranks of nurses due to significant layoffs in factories, warehouses and auto companies, according to a New York Times report.

For example, Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., has a program designed specifically to retrain autoworkers in nursing, according to the report.

The demand for nurses in Michigan is one factor that attracts men formerly employed at blue-collar jobs to the profession. The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth estimated there would be a shortage of 18,000 nurses in the state by 2015, according to the report.

The percent of people certified in nursing — whether RNs, LPNs, CNAs or others — who are men has increased from 6.2 percent before 2000 to 9.6 percent since 2000, according to a 2008 HHS survey cited in the report. Only 7 percent of employed registered nurses are men.

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