Nursing is undoubtedly one of the most deeply rewarding careers you can find anywhere, thanks to its unique combination of challenging work, competitive pay, considerable diversity in working environments, and of course the ability to help people daily.
Although there are many worthwhile careers you can pursue in the healthcare industry across the world, nursing is particularly compelling because there are so many routes you can take at different points in your career, which injects some much-needed excitement into your work.
These are crucial points to understand, especially if you are struggling to decide upon the type of career that you want to pursue.
Achieving a respectable quality of life is an underrated quality to seek in a vocation, because it is so easy to get caught up in the amount of money you could make, the powerful positions you could one day rise to, or simply trying to survive in your current job for another quarter.
Although these factors are vital to consider, it is equally important to consider what kind of impact you will make with your work, whether you will feel fulfilled at the end of each day, or whether your skills are applicable anywhere other than your current place of work.
While specialization is key to job security and a healthy pay packet, being unable to take your skills and qualifications to other parts of the world – or even another organization – severely limits your career options.
These are all considerations to make when you are choosing the right career for you, and while it sounds like an awful lot to take in, you can easily simplify the process by assessing different career paths one by one.
If you are interested in finding out more about why nursing is such a great career to embark on, this is what you need to know:
Nursing is evolving as a vocation
Everyone has their own idea of what a nurse should be or the role they usually fill within a medical facility, but the truth is that nursing is evolving rapidly as a vocation.
Just as the world is constantly changing (just look at how the healthcare system has had to adapt over the past couple of years), nursing has evolved with it.
There are now a huge range of different nursing roles to choose from – whether you are interested in becoming a labor and delivery nurse or a family nurse practitioner, a nurse supervisor or someone who works in an emergency room.
This offers you a wide range of career options in several healthcare sub-sectors.
Moreover, recent trends in nursing illustrate that nursing is becoming far more reliant on technology. This makes sense, as innovative tech (such as blockchain, Internet of Things and even wearable devices) are transforming the way that nurses complete daily tasks.
Of course, in order to adapt to these changes and make yourself attractive to prospective employers, it is imperative that you upskill yourself in these areas.
Take blockchain technology for instance. Very few people understand what this technology is or recognize the incredible potential it has to improve healthcare processes.
If you were to become knowledgeable in this area and learn how to integrate it into daily nursing practices, then you could launch yourself to the front of the jobs queue.
You can travel the world with nursing qualifications
One of the most under-appreciated benefits of a nursing career is that it can enable you to travel the world if you want to.
Every country and region in the world require skilled and hard-working nurses, so as long as you fit the bill, it could open a huge number of job opportunities across the planet.
Compounding this increasing globalization within nursing is the ease with which you can set yourself up in a different country (COVID-permitting). Thanks to the vast number of short-term lettings (such as Airbnb properties) which abound in most countries, you are unlikely to struggle to find accommodation.
Furthermore, thanks to rapidly improving WIFI infrastructure, you will find it easy to stay in contact with family and friends.
Of course, to improve your chances of landing a nursing job abroad, you could learn the language and customs of the nation you wish to move to.
Not only does this help you to adjust to life in another country, but it will significantly improve your ability to work alongside the native nursing team.
Not only is taking your skills abroad incredibly exciting, allowing you a unique opportunity to soak up a different culture for an extended period, but it could end up making your career more rewarding in an altogether different sense.
By widening your horizons to a global level, you open yourself to potentially far higher paying jobs, the ability to learn new skills from different healthcare professionals and inject dynamism into your nursing career.
It allows you to help people for a living
Of course, arguably the most compelling benefits of pursuing a career as a nurse is that you can help people every single day.
This is deeply important, and not only for the reasons you might think.
Firstly, and most obviously, helping other people is one of the kindest actions you can take, and it makes being a nurse deeply satisfying.
Few people can truly travel home from work every day knowing that they have changed someone else’s life for the better. While it is easy to persuade yourself that your current job is beneficial to society in a particular way, few are more important than nursing.
Not only is this good for your patients, but it can have a positive effect on your mental health. As a nurse, you are truly valued, which can give you a deep sense of self-worth and enrich your spirit.
In fact, this satisfaction can make nursing a more realistic long-term career option, because you will continue to feel rewarded for years to come. No matter how hard the work becomes or how stressed you feel at times, you can always be reminded of why you do what you do when you make a positive contribution to someone else’s life.
As a result, you are less likely to become burned out, and find it easier to continue working your way up the ranks year after year.
You will never be out of demand for work
A key consideration you will need to make when you decide upon any career direction is how much job stability there is within the industry.
While no industry is immune from redundancy, cutbacks and instability, becoming a qualified nurse gives you certain skills which will always be in demand, so long as you are willing to be flexible.
This demand is also fueled by certain outside factors, which are increasing the burden put on healthcare organizations.
For instance, there is significant population growth in many countries, as the elderly are living longer, more babies are born, and people are generally able to stay healthy and work relatively safe jobs.
The inevitable result is the need for more nurses when people do get sick, as well as the ticking time bomb as a population of unprecedented size grow old and require medical care.
Another unexpected factor may be the increase of remote working, which is encouraging people to leave busy cities and move out into more remote areas. This is likely to spread the national population out, increasing the demand for nurses in rural areas as a result.
However, it is crucial to remember that achieving true job security is about making yourself as useful to an organization as possible. This may require you to adapt to changing demands within your industry, take on additional responsibility in the form of a team leadership role or longer hours, or consolidate your existing skill set with new abilities which few other nurses possess.
Furthermore, you must be prepared to move with the winds of change if they do come along. It might mean relocating to a new area, which is exciting in your youth but virtually impossible if you have deep roots where you are (such as if you have children and they attend local schools). Bear this in mind before starting your career in healthcare.
You won’t be bored when you work as a nurse
Nursing can be stressful, tiring and even harrowing at times, but it is also exciting.
Your daily roles will tend to vary, depending on which patients you are treating, the people you meet and the challenges you must overcome. Simply reaching the end of a long shift can feel like a victory which, while hard work, keeps you constantly on your toes.
Of course, the level of excitement will depend on the type of nursing you specialize in. Nurses who work full-time in a city emergency room are likely to have more adrenaline coursing through their veins than a family nurse practitioner, but every nurse is challenged regardless.
This is a positive if you are someone who can’t stand the thought of office life, and dreams of being on their feet all day instead.
