Many Americans, arriving at middle or later life, change careers. I have known one man who went from being a butcher to becoming a sculptor. And another friend has jumped from being a financial investor to being a portrait painter.

Both of them accomplished the leap with notable success. The former butcher made statues that adorned cemeteries and churches. The second has seen his portraits grace the halls of a famous university.

Many people have pulled off similar feats of change. Doing so is one of the many marks of social dynamism that make our time in history remarkable.

But until I met Jim Duane I had never known of a man who went from being a Catholic priest to becoming a registered nurse.

Not that the two professions are completely different. As Jim says: “My job now is a little like being a priest. I wake up in the morning and think, ‘How will I do some good today?’”

Before his career change, Jim belonged to the Congregation of Holy Cross, the Catholic religious order that runs Stonehill College in North Easton. From that base he earlier served as director of a homeless shelter in Brockton.

A native of Fitchburg, Jim found the transition from the priesthood smooth. However, as he now confesses, “I missed being part of a career.”

That’s what led him to nursing school, specifically a two-year program at Labourè College. His age he may have been unusual but not his gender. The number of men in nursing has been increasing, he says.

After graduation, Jim brought his nursing skills to Boston Health Care for the Homeless, an altogether extraordinary nonprofit organization active that has operated in this area for over twenty-five years.

Until talking with Jim, I knew very little about the extensive medical care system that serves the homeless. I was familiar with homeless shelters, not with the wide range of medical professionals who serve the homeless people of Boston and its suburbs.

In his agency they include physicians, dentists, registered nurses, social workers, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, mental health and substance abuse counselors, psychologists, case managers and dental assistants.

This agency is the face of health care for over 11,000 homeless adults and children each year. Its reach extends even to the crawl space under the Longfellow “Salt and Pepper” Bridge, and to Suffolk Downs where many homeless people camp out.

Boston Health Care for the Homeless now owns the building on the corner of Massachusetts and Harrison Avenues in Boston. For a long time this site served as the city’s morgue; now it has become a well- equipped clinic where homeless people can receive medical and dental treatment.

The agency has also opened Barbara McInnis House, this country’s first respite facility for the homeless. People facing surgery or other medical procedures, such as a colonoscopy, can come there to prepare.

Jim Duane’s multifaceted roles as a nurse emerge forcefully in the following case history. This account, based on a real situation with details changed to protect confidentiality, comes from Jim himself.

“A 62 year old man with diabetes and hypertension complicated by tobacco use lives in a supported housing program run by a local shelter. The client was referred to me because he was having difficulty monitoring his own blood sugar level due to physical limitations and other difficulties managing his medication regimen. His random blood sugar and blood pressure readings were becoming dangerously outside of the normal limits.

“We met weekly to arrange his med box, check his blood sugar and vital signs. I would then report the weekly readings to his primary care physician. Eventually as our relationship developed I began to suggest a program of smoking cessation. He expressed absolutely no interest in smoking cessation but somewhat cautiously I would continue to suggest the possibility with each visit.

 “One day after a number of weeks of visiting I asked if he was tiring of my weekly suggestion to quit smoking. ‘No,’ he replied. ‘I know, Jim, that you care about me and my health. You are trying to help me and I’m grateful for that interest.’

‘Together we are trying to improve my health, but remember – talking to me can be like talking to that wall. I may not take your advice but I’m glad you’re here.’”

Employed by the agency since 2006, Jim sees his work as all-purpose. As the case shows, he helps patients to deal with habits that threaten their health.

Many patients are alcoholic; he tries to help them to become sober and stay sober. Like smoking, alcoholism makes it difficult for many homeless people to lead a healthy life. Jim recognizes that, for many, finding meaning in daily life is a sophisticated issue, and they need help with it.

For Jim Duane, by now highly experienced in his second career, the challenge is to build relationships that can prove therapeutic.