The Iowa Nurses Association has ranked the top 100 nurses in the state of Iowa, and 12 of those nurses are from Genesis Health System. Two of those 12 nurses are male; Adam Haut and Brandon Nickerson both have been named tow of Iowa's top 100 nurses.
According to the Journal of American Medical Association, female nurses outnumber men 10 to 1. Nickerson, a Registered Nurse at Genesis West, says there is no difference between winning the award as a male or a female though.
"We all share the same goals and the same mission," Nickerson said. "It's all understood. We do the best that we can give to all our patients. You know, men, women, we all have the same goals."
Haut says he was able to win the award by putting his patients' thoughts ahead of his own.
"Patients come and see us on the potentially worst day of their lives," Haut said. "I always try to look at it as, I have a brief moment in time to interact with them and to make my mark, and to make their life better."
One of Nickerson's patients is Davenport resident Ray Voss, who says it's nice to have a male nurse because it's easier for the two to bond. Nickerson would like to have more male nurses take up the profession in the future.
Nickerson and Haut will both be recognized in Des Moines on Sunday, May 3, 2015.