Many of us will have met a nurse during our lives. It may be that you’ve been cared for by one when you’ve fallen ill at school, you’ve been tended to in hospital by a nurse when you’ve been injured, or you may even have a family member who works within this particular profession. So you will have some knowledge about how a nurse carries out his or her tasks and might have found out about what nursing certifications they needed to qualify for specific roles.
If you’re coming to the end of your formal education, or you want to find out more about what options are available if you’re looking to change careers, then you may be considering nursing. Is it the correct choice for you to go for? You may think this is a role where you will need to have a certain amount of knowledge before you can begin your nursing certifications, and that you have to work hard when you get a position at a hospital or other healthcare setting, but it can also be an immensely rewarding experience. If you think nursing is the career path to follow, here are 16 reasons why it might just be the perfect route for you:
You serve your community
You can pursue a career in nursing, no matter what your background may be. You may become a nurse whether you’ve already had a career previously, and you can do it no matter how old you are. Becoming a nurse during your working days – even as a second career – will make your life fulfilling if you decide to do this.
It’s a career that’s in demand
There is a huge requirement for nurses wherever you may be in our world. Our healthcare centers and hospitals need those people with nursing certifications more than ever before because demographics are changing and there is also an increase in chronic diseases. So as a nurse, you can have a stable career as well as an enriching experience, and you will be needed by other people.
You’re offered a level of flexibility
If you decide to become a nurse, then you can often choose those shifts that are convenient to you and to your family. That’s because patients who are in a medical facility will need to have 24-hour care – so nursing shifts will be available around the clock. This type of flexibility will let you have the work-life balance that you may wish for if you have your own care-giving responsibilities. So depending on where you work, you could be on a shift rotation. Or, if you have a position where 24-hour care is not required (for example in a school or office environment), then you may find that you end up working regular working hours instead.
Your skills mean you can work in any setting
Once you’ve acquired your nursing certifications, your widely-applicable skills will enable you to choose which environment you wish to work in. That can be anywhere from a doctor’s office to a hospital, or a community center to a home care facility. You can also look into advancing in one of the speciality areas available to you (there are more than 100), such as critical care or genetics.
You could become an autonomous provider
If this is something that interests you, then you might want to consider becoming a nurse practitioner, you could then have the chance to be an autonomous provider in healthcare delivery. This can include areas such as primary care, cardiology, pediatrics or women’s health, for example. In some states, nurse practitioners can have a collaborative agreement with a physician so they can run their own practice. An NP may still be supervised by a doctor but, depending on the setting, practice and relationship with the MD, you could end up being in a near-autonomous situation.
You could get financial aid for training
You may find that you get some percentage of your graduate degree tuition reimbursed through your work setting. If you are a nursing practitioner graduate, there are also loan forgiveness programs you can have through the federal government if you work in a federally-run community health clinic for two years once you qualify.
When you decide what to do, then you can look into getting the necessary nursing certifications for your chosen route. Your specialized knowledge in post master’s qualifications, for instance, will affect the future of healthcare with either clinical or educational routes from which to select. Not only will this give you the chance to expand your career, but you’ll also meet the increasing requirement to have greatly skilled leaders within nursing.
You can have a varied career path
While many nurses may have general practice roles, others may decide to concentrate on a specialty. By getting nursing certifications and degrees, this can give nurses the chance to get the qualifications for roles that need certain experiences and skills.
You won’t be restricting your opportunities by qualifying as a nurse. If anything, you’ll be expanding them. Once you’ve acquired those necessary skills, then you can look into working in other countries if this is something that will be of interest to you.
You can help other people and make a difference
Having the opportunity to help other people around us is still one of the most popular reasons why individuals decide to start a career in nursing. It can be a rewarding feeling if you care for and give assistance to those most vulnerable within our society.
Many nurses also want to make a difference to the community, as well as to people who are in need. Not only is nursing a vocation where you can help patients, you can also help colleagues as you may be able to offer development, training, jobs and general advice.
You can also care for friends and family
Your nursing skills don’t have to be limited for use within your place of work, as you can apply these to helping to care for those friends and family members with an ailment. If they have had an incident that requires them to have emergency care, for example, then you can provide them with assistance before they are taken to hospital.
Nursing is a respectable career
There have been Gallup research polls that suggest nursing is the most respected of professions. People will look up to you as a nurse, making you proud of your chosen line of work, and you’ll find satisfaction in being able to make a difference to an individual’s life. You can also have the chance to experience personal growth by helping and saving people.
Becoming a nurse is also the career of choice for many of those who register for such degree programs and nursing certifications. As well as finding fulfillment and satisfaction in your work as a registered nurse, it can also be a popular second-career choice for plenty of people. Nursing can be a great choice if you’re looking for an alternative income source.
You’ll get day-to-day excitement and job variety
When you spend a lot of your time interacting with your patients, then your healthcare career will never be a boring one to have. Even if you end up in an area where you don’t have a lot of contact with your patients, then you’ll find that the healthcare technology of today is getting more exciting – with new advancements and legislation requiring hospitals to use items such as certain software and electronic health records.
If you do like interacting with patients, then becoming a registered nurse could be a great choice. If you prefer analytical work, then you could consider working in a lab. However, you will find something that interests you within this field.
Traveling and relocation is an option
The knowledge and skills you’ll gain in healthcare means you will be able to work within a variety of settings. There are some bodies, such as the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, that can make it easier for those with nursing certifications to transfer to another US state that is part of a multistate licensure compact. There are also programs, such as Doctors Without Borders, where nurses can be provided with overseas jobs should they wish to travel and provide assistance to others.
There’s great career advancement
Many roles within healthcare give you the opportunity to advance in your chosen career. Your performance and experience may mean you could be considered for a management job, or you could take a short course for nursing certifications so that you’re better qualified for more senior positions.
There will also be continuous challenges that you will have to find a solution for within healthcare. You will end up learning something new each and every day, because healthcare is not an exact science but an art.
You’ll be helping patients to cope
People say that nurses make a difficult experience more bearable to those in a hospital. Not only can they be there to support those who are ill and are recovering, but they can also help patients with the stress and boredom of having to be in a hospital setting. A nurse will always do what they can to have a chat with those they’re looking after if they need someone to talk to.
You might have what’s needed to be a nurse if you are someone who likes to care for and attend to people. This profession is different to how it was in earlier times, but it’s still all about looking after others. You may find it more fulfilling than working in an office, for instance.
You have a passion for care
Nursing incorporates “autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings,” according to the International Council of Nurses. Caring for patients is often one of the aspects of the role that motivates nurses in their job. What care a nurse can provide can have a positive effect on those they are looking after, as well as their family. Nurses also come across different patient conditions in their careers; they find fulfilment daily and find the other parts of patient care highly rewarding.
There are endless learning opportunities
Nurses will get the chance to interact not only with patients, but also doctors, other medical staff and administrators whenever they are at work. They can add to their level of knowledge as they have the chance to learn from people within other roles. In addition to this, nursing will also enable you to sharpen your interpersonal skills. Being able to be a nurse in other settings allows that person to have exposure to unique workplace environments too.
While these are just 16 of the reasons to consider a career in nursing, there are plenty of others to demonstrate why getting those nursing certifications may be a great idea if you’re thinking about what you should do next. You don’t need to be at the start of your working life either – you could be looking for a whole new career, or even a second one where you have an additional source of income.
You don’t have to work within just a hospital. You can be within a school, a community center or even your own clinic. You may also have the chance to transfer easily to another state, or even get to help people in other countries. Depending on what qualifications you achieve, you can specialize in particular areas of healthcare as well.
Being a nurse is also about caring. Whether it’s helping someone who needs support when staying in hospital, or giving assistance to someone before they can get emergency care: you can help your community. To get to where you want to be in your career, you may also receive help in getting training or qualifications. So look at what nursing certifications you will need for the role you eventually want to have and see what’s required – and it won’t be long before you’re starting out as the nurse you want to be.
