October 26, 2011 | British Columbia

Things are changing at many Alberta nursing schools, as a growing number of men have begun pursuing careers in this field, opening doors for men who may have previously been reluctant to become a nurse.

According to Yahoo News, one college based in Calgary is reporting that a full 13 per cent of the incoming freshman class of their nursing training program is male, a substantial growth over the 6.2 per cent that makes up the national average for the profession. After factoring in transfer students, men pursuing a career in nursing comprise 21 per cent of the program.

Yet the trend is not unique to Alberta, as TheStar.com reports that the percentage of men accepting nursing positions has increased across the country, with a recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information indicating a growing male presence among nurses in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and other regions.

"If you see a female chef or a female doctor or a female lawyer, you don’t call them by that - you say chef, doctor, lawyer," Tyler Hume, a nursing student, told TheStar.com. "It doesn't matter what your gender is, it’s the person that you are that defines whether you can be a nurse or not."

With perspectives changing across the country, the practical nursing field is one that can provide job satisfaction to men and women alike. Get started in practical nursing today at CDI College!