Why should you be a nurse? That’s a good question; it’s something that those who are about to embark on their nursing studies (or, ideally, before they get this far) should certainly be asking themselves. Yet there is more to the question than just finding out what nursing is about and understanding what you’ll be doing in your day-to-day life – and knowing whether or not that’s something you would enjoy.
The real question should actually be, why will you enjoy being a nurse? What about nursing makes it a better career than anything else you might think about trying? What are the best parts of nursing?
These are all good questions, and once you have the answers, you’ll know whether or not you will enjoy being a nurse and whether or not you’ll be a good nurse. With all this in mind, read on to find out why nurses enjoy their work and very often couldn’t ever consider doing anything else.
You’re Always Learning
In some jobs, you start working, and that’s it. There is no progression. There is no chance to keep learning. This makes that job very boring, and it means that in more cases than not, people leave and go on to do other, more interesting things.
This is very unlikely to happen in nursing because there are always new things to learn. It all starts with your initial nursing degree, which is typically a bachelors in nursing. But, no matter what you opt for, whether it’s a traditional college straight out of high school or you decide to try fast online nursing programs after you gain your first degree, you’ll be learning from day one. The great thing is this never ends. Even once you graduate and you are working in a hospital, clinic, or another healthcare facility, you’ll find you have to keep learning.
This won’t be something that everyone is happy to do. Some people aren’t interested in education and don’t want to keep learning. However, if you do (and ideally, you should, as it’s good for you and makes life interesting), you can certainly rely on nursing to allow it to happen.
A Real Part of a Team
Teamwork is the backbone of all good nursing. No one can do this kind of job alone, even though sometimes there will be moments when you have to think on your feet and make important decisions. In general, however, nursing is all about teamwork.
Human beings like to feel as though they belong, and this likely stems from the time when we had tribes to live in for protection and socialization. So, it feels good to work in a team environment like nursing, and that good feeling means we are more motivated and want to do more. This makes nursing the kind of career in which you can achieve great things, but it also means that you will have support behind you at all times. If you need help, you’ll easily be able to find it, and you can give advice yourself to those who need it.
Potential For Growth in Your Career
Another reason you will enjoy being a nurse is the opportunity to move forward in your career. There is a lot of potential career growth in nursing, and many people are surprised to hear this. If you don’t know much about nursing and the types of careers and opportunities on offer, you might assume that you can’t progress and that there is only one type of nurse.
The reality is that there are lots of different kinds of nurses, and they all do different but vital things in the healthcare system. If you want a career in which you can develop and grow, nursing will certainly give you a chance to do that, and it will mean you can reach your own personal goals.
You Won’t Always Be Working
Work takes up a lot of our lives, and for a lot of people, work takes up the majority of the time we’re awake. This is one very good reason you should only choose a career you’re going to enjoy because you’re going to spend so much time doing it.
With nursing, the shifts are long (often at least 12 hours), and you have to work nights, weekends, and holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving. However, there is an upside to this: your time off. You won’t always be working. In fact, because you’re working in shifts, you’ll often find that you have plenty of time to do the things you want to do in life. You might not have a routine, so taking part in regular classes might be difficult, but apart from that, you will have more time than most to enjoy your time away from work.
You’ll Have a Sense of Purpose
Knowing why you are doing what you’re doing every day and knowing that what you are doing is helping people is something that you will be hard pushed to find anywhere but nursing. When you are a nurse, you have a true sense of purpose, and this will make even the hardest and most emotionally draining days bearable – and more than bearable, it will make them good.
Nursing is very hard work, and it’s certainly not for everyone. It takes a lot of dedication to get through nursing school and gain the experience needed to keep moving forward, but it’s worth it when you think about all the help you can offer and all the good you can do.
You Can Empower Others
As nurses, you can educate your patients and their families. You’ll feel fantastic when you see a patient understand their medical process and treatment plan, and the patient will be grateful because they’ll be able to take charge of their own health.
In other words, nurses empower others. When you do your job well, you’ll give people the tools they need to live a happy, healthy life and recover well. This is so important, and it could make a big difference in the rest of their lives.
