When considering career paths, you might wonder: Is nursing right for me? After understanding the benefits of a nursing career, your career motivations, and typical nursing duties, you can make an informed decision about pursuing a career in nursing.
Is nursing right for me? Nursing can be a rewarding career if you feel called into the field. As a nurse, you can make a positive influence on many people. Because nursing is an in-demand field, you could also experience flexibility in where you work and live, as well as which practice area you work in. Before pursuing a career in nursing, consider key factors including the benefits of nursing, your career motivations and the typical duties of a nurse.
Transitioning into nursing as a second career is an achievable goal. Through an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program, you can earn your nursing degree within 12 to 18 months, depending on the program, if you have a previous non-nursing bachelor’s degree or enough college credits.
Is Nursing a Good Career? Key Factors to Consider
Even though nursing can be a great career choice, nursing roles also come with challenges. Be sure that you consider the full picture of what it would look like to be a nurse. Nurses make an impact on many patients’ lives with plenty of career opportunities.
Making a Difference
As a nurse, you will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the patients and loved ones that you interact with. You may encounter patients in some of the most difficult times of their lives, and that can be emotionally taxing. Through your care and medical expertise, you can change your patients’ lives for the better. If you find that you do not enjoy the realities of bedside patient care, there are many less-intensive roles in the field.
Financial Benefits
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurses earn a median salary of $93,600 per year. If you decide to pursue more education, earn certifications, or enter a leadership role, you may earn a salary increase.
Employment is projected to grow by 5% from 2024 to 2034, faster than the national average. Because of the nationwide nursing shortage, nursing is an in-demand career with high job prospects.
Learn more about the nursing shortage in the U.S. See how how you can make a difference as a career changer.
Career Opportunities
In your nursing career, there will be room for professional advancement. You could pursue specialties in fields like oncology or neonatal nursing. You may also be able to pursue diverse career paths like travel or school nursing. In a leadership position, you could make more of a difference for your patients, have more specific knowledge to benefit your career, and earn a more competitive salary.
Why Do I Want to Be a Nurse? Understanding Your Motivation
When you wonder if nursing is right for you, you should have a good understanding of why you want to become a nurse.
Because nursing school and nurse positions are demanding, financial benefits alone might not be enough motivation for you to become a nurse. You should have a deeper motivation rooted in a desire to help others with empathy and compassion.
You Desire to Help Others
As a nurse, you will help others every single day by providing needed care to patients, like assessing health, providing treatments and maintaining records. You will also help others by providing education about treatments and medications for your patients and their families. By advocating for your patients, you can help their rights and needs be heard. Through offering comfort and listening to concerns, you will also provide emotional support for your patients and families.
You Have Empathy and Compassion
Two essential character traits of a nurse are empathy and compassion. Because you will work with patients, families, and other health care professionals, you will have to practice empathy in all situations. You must be able to put yourself in another person’s situation and advocate for them with their best interests in mind. Many times, you will deal with patients and situations where emotions are high. Maintaining compassion and professionalism is the hallmark of a good nurse.
Why Nursing Appeals to So Many People
Nursing often appeals to so many people through the strong sense of purpose this career provides. Coming home at the end of the day knowing you did your best to leave a positive impact on every person you met is a powerful motivator.
You will also experience high job security with competitive salaries and advancement opportunities. Because nurses are needed throughout the country, nursing is a flexible career. You could work full-time, part-time, or only a few days a week, depending on your position. You also have the option to work in diverse locations through practice areas including travel nursing, educational settings, or telehealth fields.
Do you want to pursue a different nursing practice area? Learn more about different kinds of nurses.
What Nursing is Really Like Day to Day
In nursing, no two days are the same, but you will practice within a typical range of job duties. To fit patient needs, nurses may also have different schedules, including part-time or full-time roles.
What Is a Typical Shift Like?
When you first arrive at a typical shift, you will perform your beginning duties by starting off with receiving reports and patient handoffs from the previous shift. You will then visit and assess the health of all your assigned patients. After performing an initial assessment, you will administer any needed medications or treatments.
Throughout your shift, you may need to assist with daily needs, like eating or mobility and respond promptly to all call bells. At the end of your shift, you ensure all documentation is accurate while briefing the new incoming nurse.
What Is a Typical Schedule Like?
Many nurses work a typical 40 hour, five-day workweek. However, some positions allow for nurses to work longer 12 or 13 hour shifts only a few days a week. This schedule allows for more days of rest between shifts. If you are not looking for full-time roles, there are also part-time or temporary options available within the field.
Education and Training You’ll Need to Get Started
The first step in becoming a nurse is earning a BSN. Although you can pursue nursing positions with nursing certificates or an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), most employers prefer candidates to have at least a BSN level of education.
To earn a BSN, enroll in a nursing school to learn all the necessary foundational skills and knowledge needed in the nursing career. If you already have a significant amount of college credit or a previous bachelor’s degree, you may be eligible to enroll in an ABSN program to earn your nursing degree quickly. While earning your BSN, you will also experience labs to build your nursing skills and clinical rotations to achieve hands-on experience.
After getting your BSN, you must take and pass the NCLEX-RN, a comprehensive nursing exam. This exam ensures that you know all the necessary information and skills to be a successful nurse. After you pass and receive your license, you can find a job as a nurse and begin to make a difference.
Ready to Begin Your Nursing Career?
Is nursing right for me? That depends on whether you feel called to an in-demand job full of making a valuable difference in people’s lives and of empathy and compassion for all types of people. If you know that nursing is the right career for you, earn your BSN to take the next step in beginning your nursing career.
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