BEING a nurse may still be considered a female career path, but Constandinos Katheklakis is putting a man’s touch to his new profession.

Mr Katheklakis, 40, is one of 88 nurses that started Western Health’s 12-month graduate nurse program in the last fortnight.

Only 10 of the class are men.

“Even though it’s a female-dominated industry, everyone’s very supportive,” Mr Katheklakis said.

The program provides university graduates with a range of clinical experiences through three four-month rotations, including a specialty, surgical and medical placement.

“I enjoy the patient contact and the fact that it’s a challenging profession. Before that, I had finished an undergraduate (degree) in economics and I was getting a bit tired of peering into the computer all the time and doing forecastings,” Mr Katheklakis said.

“Nursing is more hands-on and you’ve got more interaction with people and I felt that I could contribute and do more with my skills.”

Mr Katheklakis, who lives in Footscray, is working the orthopaedic ward at Western Hospital in his first rotation, and hopes to specialise in neuro sciences.

He said his first week had been nerve-racking.

“You don’t know what to expect, but the team at Western Health have been very supportive and informative, so it’s been good.”