Gerald “Skip” McLain

Gerald “Skip” McLain

In his previous life, Gerald “Skip” McLain was a bit like Michael Scott on The Office. With a geography degree from Binghamton University, he worked in the paper industry – first in sales and then as a division manager, the same career path as the show’s self-proclaimed Number 1 Boss. The emphasis on mapping and information graphics made his degree come in handy.

It certainly wasn’t the fictional Dunder Mifflin, and McLain enjoyed his work. But by the time his mid-40s rolled around, his career had become routine and he was ready to make a leap – into nursing. He graduated from SUNY Broome’s Nursing program in 2014 and now works as a psychiatric nurse at UHS Binghamton General Hospital, as well as teaches as an adjunct instructor in SUNY Broome’s Medical Assisting and Health Studies Department.

“It was a tough decision and career changes are scary, but I have no regrets,” McLain said.

Making the transition

McLain has always been interested in science and he loves working with people – two qualities that drew him to the nursing profession. He also appreciates the flexibility and the wide horizon of opportunities. Nurses, he points out, may start their career working at the patient’s bedside and then move up into case management or advanced practice, or head back to school to become nurse practitioners. Nurses can fill executive management roles, or become nurse informaticists or nurse epidemiologists – the sky is really the limit.

“I tell people that you can pick any job and put the word ‘nurse’ in front of it, and you will find that it exists,” he mused.

The prospect of going back to school for a career as rigorous as nursing proved daunting at first; McLain worried that he might have lost cognitive ability as the result of aging, or would feel out of place. Instead, he found himself welcomed by fellow students and the faculty – and much more focused than when he worked on his bachelor’s degree years before.

Small class sizes – much smaller than his original undergraduate work – also gave him excellent access to faculty, particularly in introductory courses that would have drawn massive class sizes in larger schools. Faculty also take genuine interest in student success, he said.

The first professor he connected with was Eliot Reitz, who delivered complex and challenging material in an understandable way – so much so that McLain remembers the subject matter today. Other professors that have impacted him greatly include Barbara Balaci, Elaine Howard, Linda Jowett, Judy Reitz, Jacqueline Rutherford and Denisa Talovic.

“Nursing is a very tough program and SUNY Broome in particular has a reputation for being extremely rigorous, which is why I chose to attend our school,” McLain reflected. “Our program is demanding and can seem overwhelming at times, and that is the nature of the nursing profession, but I felt supported by faculty and peers always.”

The 50th anniversary of nursing

The career switch also represented a change of another kind: In McLain’s previous field, most of his coworkers were male. In nursing, it’s the reverse: Only about 10 percent of practicing RNs are men, and many of his colleagues at Binghamton General are female. His colleagues, however, have been supportive and welcoming from the beginning, and the gender differential hasn’t impacted McLain or the course of his career.

“Now and then, I realize that I am the only guy in a room of 15 people, but nobody else seems to,” he said.

McLain has worked at Binghamton General for almost six years, starting as an emergency room technician before he entered the nursing program and joining the behavioral health team as a staff nurse after graduation. At SUNY Broome, he also teaches a number of courses, including the HST 100 Seminar in Health Sciences, Personal Success Strategies, First Aid and Pharmacology.

Coincidentally, this year marks both the 50th anniversary of SUNY Broome’s Nursing program and McLain’s own 50th birthday.

When he meets with prospective students considering a nursing career, he finds that they are often weighing the value of a two-year ADN program such as Broome’s with the four-year BSN program at universities. To McLain, the answer is an easy one: Students graduate from SUNY Broome’s program with the skills they need to work on a unit caring for patients after only two years. Employers themselves will then often pick up the tab for the bachelor’s degree, while these newly minted nurses continue to gain experience in their field – avoiding student debt.

“Our program has been graduating excellent nurses for 50 years and will continue to do so,” McLain said. “Admittedly, the BSN degree will eventually be a requirement for nurses; however, the SUNY Broome program will remain the most beneficial choice for the student nurse as well as the initial degree.”

Join SUNY Broome on Saturday, April 28, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of nursing! The celebration runs from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Decker Health Sciences lobby and Room 201.

At the anniversary event, enjoy a presentation, historical displays and the opportunity to mingle with SUNY Broome nursing faculty and alumni. All are welcome to attend. Hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served.

This event is occurring the same day as SUNY Broome’s Open House and Alumni Reunion. Feel free to visit either event earlier in the day to learn more about everything SUNY Broome has to offer!

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