After two tries on “American Idol” — the first in 2019 and the second in April — Jacob Moran said he is ready to move to Los Angeles and focus on his music. That means leaving his career as a registered nurse at an infusion clinic.
Moran recently sat down with Nurse.org to reflect on his life as a health care provider.
The 28-year-old Michigan native has been a nurse for about four years, most recently at a rheumatology infusion clinic.
“After graduating, I worked night shift at a medical-oncology floor at Sparrow Hospital,” he said. “Then I tried OR nursing — which I hated! So, I moved to a sub-acute rehab center, which I absolutely loved. Long-term care and geriatric nursing is probably my favorite specialty.”
Moran said his favorite part of nursing is being able to give patients and their families the information and comfort they need. Being an anxious person himself, the RN said can relate.
“When my patients are anxious or nervous about something, I love being able to swoop in and tell them exactly what is going on and what is going to happen next,” he told Nurse.org. “I’m an anxious person myself, especially when I don’t know how things are panning out. Because of that, I like to be the one to alleviate that feeling for my patients and their families.”
Unlike his nursing career, Moran was born into his musical life.
“My whole family is musical; between instruments and voice, we do it all,” he said. “Growing up, my dad formed a few different bands and I would sing with them sometimes. Most of the time I sang with my church group on Sunday, in talent shows, and for fun in karaoke.”
He would also post videos to his social media accounts, which is how “American Idol” found him.
“American Idol reached out to me!” Moran said. “The first time they contacted me was through Instagram, and I saved all of their contact information. We kept in touch while I went through an entire weight loss journey over the last couple of years. Then, they invited me to audition one last time a because the age cap is 28.”
His first appearance on the singing competition was disappointing; he went home in the first round of Hollywood Week. But in his second attempt, in April, he made it to the top 20 before being sent home.
His ultimate goal, he said, is to sell out stadiums.
“I feel like I’ve been given this gift and I want to use it to the fullest,” he said. “I love nursing, but music is what I need to be doing.”
For more content like this, sign up for the Pulse newsletter here.
About the Author
