Father-son duo share calling to become nurses

ORANGE PARK —| William Frisbee and his son, Evan, acknowledge they’re a wee bit competitive about test scores in the classroom. But there’s no rivalry between them when it comes to caring for patients. Both are devoted to doing their best.

Frisbee, 43, and his 19-year-old son, are nursing students together at St. Johns River State College in Orange Park. Both are pursuing careers as registered nurses. Frisbee, who previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps, is in his second semester and plans to graduate next year. A recent Orange Park High School graduate, Evan Frisbee, is in his first semester of nursing school.

The elder Frisbee comes to nursing after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, and working a variety of jobs ranging from digging ditches to wiring satellites, aircraft and other things.

“I don’t think there is a better way in this world to give back to the community than being a nurse. If you truly want to give of yourself,and you want to help others or a community. You know as a nurse you make an impact, plain and simple,” Frisbee said of his passion to become a nurse.

Nursing truly is a calling, Evan Frisbee said.

“I think you really know if this is what you want to do or not. It’s very much a calling .It becomes your life,” he said of the profession demanding dedication and personal sacrifice from those in its ranks. “It’s very much a personal thing. Because it’s difficult and it’s really taxing to yourself . You’ll even give up our own personal wellbeing to completely care for people. People you might not even like but you have to do it, and you just kind of smile and enjoy it.”

The Frisbees are the first father and son enrolled in the college’s nursing program at the same time, said Patricia McAnnally, a 40-year veteran Registered Nurse, who is their instructor at the college.

They illustrate a side of the historic profession that remains predominantly female. Nationwide, most practicing nurses as well as nursing students are female, said McAnnally, who’s also curriculum committee chairwoman for the college’s nursing program.