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Show The only male, nursing student at Sevier Valley Tech, Craig johnson, 23, of Elslnore, gets Instructions on glv- Calling the roll is easy in Sevier Valley Tech's licensed practical nurse classes the instructors just look for 12 women and one Criag Johnson. The tough 11-month course, which normally has a high dropout rate, was just what Johnson needed, he said, "to turn my life around." A lackluster youth, riddled with scrapes with the law, and an abortive military career led him to the decision. "I've had to break alot of old habits and learn self-discipline," he said. "To get through this course, you have to live, eat, and breathe nursing." Johnson credits friends who had taken nursing, his ability to get along well with people and his mother's work at the Care Center with influencing his decision to go into nursing. "It was all my own decision," he explained. "There's a lot of responsibility involved. You have to be able to follow instructions and take initiative, too." According to Carol Jeppson, nursing director at the Tech, Johnsons sense of humor helps them all get through some situations that otherwise might be embarrassing or uncomfortable. "Part of nursing is dealing with the human body and its functions in a direct, honest way," she said, "and having a man in the class helps the women see the male point of view." Johnson, the middle son in a family of five boys, says the women in his class are "like mothers and sisters to me ing liquids to bedridden patients from Sandy Cox, left, and Tech nursing director Carol Jeppson. Male Nurse Student Finds Niche In 'World of Women' Profession now." Even giving bed baths during their first semester didn't turn out to be as awkward as they thought it might be. Although he volunteered to be given a bed bath by the other students, Craig did his practicing on the perennial patient, Mrs. Chase, the class mannequin. Employment for a male nurse is not hard to find, Craig says, because they are in such demand in veteran's hospitals, psychiatric wards, pediatric wards, and geriatric centers. Since men are usually larger and stronger than their female counterparts, they do a lot of lifting and moving. Many go into supervisory and administrative work. "Men can probably go farther than women in nursing, and get there faster," he pointed out, although there are still some prejudices in some institutions against male nurses. "It's about like a women being in contruction." As a high school dropout with some experience in construction, roofing, and various odd jobs, Johnson has had to go farther than most nursing students to qualify for the course. There were about 40 applicants for the current class, of which only 15 were accepted. "We judge on academics mostly, through transcripts and adult achievement tests," Miss Jeppson said. All class members work together to help one another study. Already, before the end of the first term, two students have had to drop out because of personal or academic problems. Johnson, 23, is the son of Ronald and Myrna Johnson of Elsinore. "I don't see myself as a great hero just because I'm in nursing," he said. "I just want to be an employed LPN." During the coming semester, Craig and the other nursing students will begin their practical theory, getting some experience in the Richfield Care Center, Sevier Valley Hospital, and local doctors' offices. |
