There are several compelling reasons for becoming a nurse—here’s the short and sweet summary:
A nursing shortage is driving demand
You help people for a living
Nurses have solid earning potential
Technology is opening new opportunities in nursing
Nursing-related careers can expand beyond the hospital or clinic
Nursing is a vibrant community
Nurses have support for educational growth
Nurses have schedule and location flexibility
There are a variety of educational pathways to nursing
It’s a respected role
Of course, that’s just a high-level view of the reasons why nursing could be a great fit for you. Read on for a more detailed explanation of each.
1. A nursing shortage is driving demand
“The lingering impact of COVID-19 placing strain on staffing, paired with the already baked in demographic challenges facing the nursing profession has placed a massive strain on staffing." says Natalie Seller, owner/ operator of Plan A - British Columbia Staffing Solutions. Among those aging and reaching retirement age are thousands of practicing RNs and LPNs that will need to be replaced when they retire.
2. You help people for a living
It’s been said a thousand times, but we’ll say it again—you can make a difference as a nurse. This is a people profession. You will more than likely help patients in some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. You will take care of their medical needs, but you may also have the chance to make them feel safe, cared for and heard like few others.
3. Nurses have solid earning potential
Altruism and “hero talk” aside, any nurse will tell you that your career still needs to pay the bills. The good news is that nursing positions tend to fair well. Interested in what your earning potential could be? Check this out!
4. Technology is opening new opportunities in nursing
The fundamentals of patient care aren’t going to change overnight, but that doesn’t mean the nursing field is insulated from innovation. Advances in technology are rapidly changing the scope of the healthcare industry, including nursing.
5. Nursing-related careers can expand beyond the hospital or clinic
Nurses today can be entrepreneurs, administrators, policymakers, bloggers, professors, researchers and even doctors of nursing, practicing at the uppermost levels of nursing.
As nurses become more mobile throughout healthcare, business, politics and other spheres of society, they gain more influence to change the industry. Plus, nurses who experience burnout on the floor now have more choices to change their work lives without leaving the nursing field entirely.
6. Nursing has a vibrant community
Nursing is positively stuffed with organizations, supportive community boards and interactive blogs (like this one!!). If you are a nurse and have internet access, you’ll never need to feel alone.
7. Nurses have support for educational growth
The British Columbia government will pay fees for international nurses and help finance former nurses who want to return to health care in a push to get more workers into the system. Want to know more? Click here.
8. Nursing careers often have schedule and location flexibility
It’s a commonly known fact that many nurses have some flexibility in their schedule as they meet the always-on demands of patient care, but that’s not the only place where nurses have a plethora of options from which to choose.
Flexibility in location is another reason to pursue a career as a nurse. And if you like to be on the go, travel nursing can be an appealing option. Plus - due to the in-demand nature of these jobs, they often pay very well and may even cover the expense of your travel to boot.
9. There’s a variety of educational pathways into nursing
Many healthcare careers offer just one path—get the degree, then get the job. This can be restricting if you aren’t sure what you want your career to look like or if you prefer to get working faster. Nursing offers multiple paths that can be added to as time goes on.
10. The nursing profession is well-respected
Nurses have been consistently rated as the “most respected profession” by consumers and is consistently a career that you can be proud of—even respected for. While nursing might not be the first profession people think of when looking at the medical world, it is one of the first professions people think of when they look for ethical and honest work.
There are a lot of reasons why nursing is a great profession to choose. But perhaps an even more important motive for those pursuing this path is the constant opportunity for nurses to change lives—a purpose that will never go away.
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