We all have good and bad days when it comes to working as a nurse. On my best days, I can’t imagine working in any other field. On my worst days, however, there are certainly times when I consider leaving the patient-care setting and never coming back. Fortunately, these thoughts tend to fade fairly quickly. When they don’t, I’ve found that taking a few moments to appreciate the positive things associated with nursing helps me get my head back in the game. After all, there really are plenty of things to love about nursing. Here, I’ve listed some of the top reasons why I love being a nurse:
If you want to help people in a very direct, hands-on way, there’s no better way to do it than by working in the nursing field. As a nurse, caring for patients is the most important part of your job, and you help patients get better each and every day you go into work. It’s true that not all patients will show their appreciation, but knowing that you helped someone through a hard time (possibly the hardest time in their life) is often enough to feel good about your job.
The nursing shortage isn’t as bad as it used to be, but finding and keeping a decent job in the nursing field isn’t too much of a challenge. Most new nurses manage to find jobs shortly after passing their NCLEX, and there are plenty of seasoned nurses who have never had trouble finding good jobs. With just a few years of experience as a nurse, most hospitals and clinics will be eager to hire you. Illness and injury aren’t going away, so it’s a safe bet that nursing isn’t either.
While you’ll probably never become a millionaire with a career in nursing, you do make more than enough to live comfortably. Buying a nice house and a nice car, for instance, is certainly possible on a nurse’s salary, even starting out. Also, with the ability to pick up plenty of overtime hours, bringing in extra money when needed is usually a possibility. Having said all that, nurse anesthetists and a few other types of nurses make well over $100,000 per year.
With nursing, there are so many different career paths available. Sure, you can work as a floor nurse your entire career, but you certainly don’t have to. Nurses work in legal settings, as educators, and more. Also, if you start to get burned out, transitioning into another part of the field is a great way to refresh yourself mentally and emotionally without sacrificing gainful employment!
The medical field is changing at a rapid pace, and nurses have to stay on top of these changes in order to provide the best care possible. For this reason, nurses, new and old, are constantly learning new things. Besides, with continuing-education requirements, you’re forced to learn new things on a regular basis if you want to keep your license active!
Nurses work hard, but they also have plenty of opportunities to take time off. If you don’t want it to, nursing won’t consume your entire life. If you pick up three 12-hour shifts per week, you’ll have four days off to enjoy as you see fit. Additionally, most hospitals are pretty generous with paid time off, which means you can get at least a couple nice vacations in per year. If 12-hour shifts aren’t for you, it’s easy enough to find a more regular schedule working in a doctor’s office or in a research position.
Working in the nursing field can be stressful; that’s true. However, nursing is a very team-oriented profession, and you’ll have plenty of people to help you through difficult situations. You won’t like everyone who you work with, but you will make new friends. Over time, you’ll probably come to regard certain colleagues as some of your very closest friends.
Of course, there are plenty of other things to love about nursing, and it’s quite possible that I haven’t listed some of your favorite things about the profession. Let us know what you love about nursing by leaving a comment below! Also, if you love your nursing specialty in particular, be sure to let us know why!
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