Why is being a nurse so great?
It’s been a tough couple of years for the nursing profession. Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, being a nurse can still be profoundly rewarding. If you’re on the fence about whether a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) could be right for you, consider these 11 reasons why nursing remains a deeply rewarding profession.
One of the great things about being a nurse is the opportunity to continue learning throughout your career. The field of medicine continues to evolve, and nursing skills evolve with it. You’ll have constant opportunities to learn new skills (both hard and soft). And, in most cases, you’ll have continuing education requirements which will keep you learning in formal settings, too.
One thing that many outside the profession don’t realize is that nursing isn’t a singular career path. Instead, nurses fill an astounding variety of roles across many segments of healthcare — and even in related industries.
Whether you hope to work in a hospital setting, a physician’s office, a school environment, or even as a nurse educator, there’s plenty of variety to be found in nursing. And whatever your career goals, a BSN is an ideal place to start.
For most professionals, job security is a serious consideration when planning a career path. Nursing is a fantastic profession by this metric. No matter the state of the economy, nurses are and always will be in high demand, and they can find work in communities of any size.
This makes sense intuitively, and information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics backs up the claims. There are more than three million registered nurse jobs in the USA, and the position has a 7% growth outlook over the coming decade (faster than the average for all jobs).
Pay in the field of nursing is competitive, with the median pay for all registered nurses in the US sitting at $75,330 annually in 2020 per the BLS. Pay varies widely depending on credentials and career path, of course. But in terms of stable careers you can attain with only a bachelor’s degree, nursing sits very high on the list by median pay.
In hospital settings, it’s often possible to pick up overtime shifts, dramatically increasing your take-home pay. And some specific nurse specializations (nurse anesthetists, for example) regularly earn six figures yearly.
Job security and solid pay are great, but they aren’t the main reasons most people go into the field of nursing. Most nurses are passionate about helping people (and they’re good at it, too).
Most of the common career paths for nurses involve some degree of direct patient care. You’ll assist doctors and other professionals in helping people with their medical needs, from routine care in an office to intense care in an emergency room or ICU setting.
Most nurses don’t work alone. Instead, they work with a team of other professionals, either on a hospital floor or in a medical office. Nurses often bond with their coworkers in a much stronger way than the average office job. Working together to solve complex problems and meet patient needs has a way of forging long-lasting friendships.
For many people, the pain or difficulty associated with their illness or condition isn’t half as scary as the fear of the unknown. It’s scary — deeply so — when you know something is deeply wrong, but you don’t know what it is or what it means.
Nurses are often the first ones to help a patient understand exactly what’s going on and what they can expect. For more complex diagnoses, a physician will typically handle the initial explanation. But it falls to nursing staff to explain what it all means and to comfort and reassure patients in a moment of shock.
There are plenty of jobs in this world where people don’t see much, if any, tangible impact from their work. There are even plenty of jobs where there is no long-term tangible impact. Work becomes nothing more than trading effort and time for money (at least without a proper theology of work).
But nursing is different. Nurses make a difference, and they see that difference played out daily. They see patients leave the hospital alive who would have otherwise died. They see people who can take control of their diagnoses thanks to superior education. They comfort people in times of loss and assist new moms as they welcome new life.
Making a difference is meaningful, and nurses get to do it and see it every day.
Nurses frequently see people at or near their worst, and that’s not exactly a perk of the job. But as people heal and recover, nurses get to see the best in people, too. And they can know that they had a part in that transformation, too.
There’s nothing quite like seeing a patient who you thought wouldn’t make it recover and, eventually, thrive.
Seeing patients who are genuinely thankful for the ways that you help is yet another deeply rewarding aspect of the profession. Not every patient will be kind or thankful, but those who are will energize you to continue serving.
Lastly, nursing is simply a rewarding career. For all these reasons, you see the difference you’re making in real people’s lives and health. You also gain the ability to provide a good living for your family. For all these reasons, you’ll have a career that’s both rewarding and fulfilling.
Your career as a nurse starts with the right education. Geneva’s BSN program is an innovative way to begin your career in nursing or to prepare for advanced nursing study. Ready to get started? Contact Admissions today.
Opinions expressed in the Geneva Blog are those of its contributors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official position of the College. The Geneva Blog is a place for faculty and contributing writers to express points of view, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.
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