Nursing is a career where no two days are the same and you will have a lot of responsibility for looking after patients, promoting good health, and saving lives. Nurses are professionals who have a unique opportunity to work in a career where the work that you do is directly making a difference to the lives of others every single day. Nurses work in a career path where they will see and be a part of things that are often kept private from members of the public and are typically some of the first people that others will go to when they are sick or injured. Nurses play a hugely important role in making sure that patients get the best standard of care and are treated with respect and empathy throughout their stay or visit to hospital. Nurses work towards making sure that all patients have the best chance of recovery and are kept comfortable, calm, and safe during the process.
Whether you’re right at the beginning of your career journey and want to become a nurse or are considering changing your current career to work as a registered nurse, here are some of the main reasons why nursing is an awesome career choice.
High Demand in Nursing:
Most people would prefer to train to work in a career where finding work is not going to be difficult for them. This is one of the main benefits of working as a nurse. With a nursing degree such as a BSN, you will be able to find employment anywhere you go, almost immediately. The US is currently experiencing a nursing shortage, meaning that most healthcare employers are in serious need of more nurses to join the ranks. With an aging population leading to more demands on the healthcare industry in general along with more nurses now reaching retirement age and finishing their career, getting a nursing degree now means that you’ll be entering one of the most in-demand roles in the country.
Career Advancement:
Nursing is one of the few career options worldwide that offers a huge range of opportunities when it comes to career progression and advancement. Once you are working as a registered nurse and have a BSN, you will be able to choose from countless directions in which to take your career. Whether you want to focus on a specialty area and work with certain patients or specific conditions and diseases or move upwards in your career and progress into working as a nurse practitioner, nurse leader, or nurse educator, nursing is a career path that you can tailor to your preferences and make work for you in terms of what you want to do. And the high demand for advanced and specialty nurses means that you are unlikely to be waiting around for a promotion, with many advanced nurses finding work as soon as or shortly after they qualify.
Study Online:
Becoming a nurse has become easier and more accessible than ever with more investment into alternative pathways to help more people get into this career. Career changers in particular now have a range of online degree programs available to them such as online ABSN degrees that they can use to get a nursing qualification and become a registered nurse while continuing to work in their current career. In addition to this, current registered nurses also have lots of options when it comes to studying at nursing schools such as Wilkes University where you can find MSN programs, DNP programs, and nurse practitioner training programs available for nurses with a BSN who want to progress in their career by studying online while continuing to work.
Earning Potential:
Along with the education and training options, massive demand, and great job security for nurses today, these professionals can also enjoy a high earning potential with registered nurses earning an average of $80k per year according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. Opportunities to earn even more are abundant, with specialty nurses and advanced nurses earning six-figure salaries. Training to become a nurse practitioner could see you earning more than $100k yearly, with some specialty areas such as neonatal nurse practitioner roles paying even more.
Choice of Work Environments:
Another benefit of getting into a career in nursing is that there are many different work environments to choose from. Nurses do not work exclusively in hospitals, and there are many different settings where nurses are necessary to provide a high standard of patient care including doctor’s offices, outpatient clinics, residential programs, schools, prisons, within the community, research facilities, and more. Once you have qualified as a registered nurse, finding the workplace setting that suits you best should not be difficult with so many options to choose from. Some nurses find that they thrive best in a busy and fast-paced environment like the ER while others prefer to work in quieter, lower-pressure settings like doctor’s offices and research facilities.
High Satisfaction and Reward:
One of the best things about nursing as a career choice is that it is one of the most personally satisfying jobs in the world today. When you work as a nurse, you will not begrudge any of the hard work or the long hours that you are putting in since you know that it is all making a huge difference to the lives of others. This career is the perfect option for anybody who has a lot of empathy and cannot imagine a life where they are not able to be there for and support other people when they needed them most. As a nurse, every day on the job comes with the reward and satisfaction of knowing that you have been able to do something to help somebody, whether that was chatting with a patient while they were feeling scared and upset or holding somebody’s hand as they awaited the news about the condition of their loved one.
How to Become a Nurse – Which Degree is Right for You?
With all the benefits of nursing clear to see, this career could be perfect for you if you want to make a difference to others in a range of environments, enjoy high demand and job security, and plenty of opportunities to progress in your career. When it comes to getting started in your nursing career, there are various different qualification options to consider. You will usually be required to get an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in nursing. Once you have completed your degree, you will then need to pass the NCLEX; this is a national nursing exam that will earn you the license that you need to start working as a nurse in your state.
- Associate’s Degree:
An associate’s degree in nursing is the fastest way to get your nursing qualification and start your career as a registered nurse. Typically, this degree will be the minimum requirement to work as a registered nurse in most states, however, it’s worth bearing in mind that many healthcare employers are now actively looking for nurses who have a BSN. In the future, it is likely that the BSN will become the minimum requirement, which is already the case in New York State, where new legislation requires all nurses who do not already have a BSN must get one within the first ten years of their career. So, while getting an associate’s degree is still a great way to get started in your career as a nurse, bear in mind that you may need to upgrade it to a BSN in the future, which you can do with an ADN-BSN bridge program. An ADN may also not be enough if you want to get onto advanced nursing degree programs in the future.
- BSN:
The BSN or bachelor’s of science in nursing is a degree program that is becoming more and more in demand by healthcare employers. BSN-educated nurses tend to find work faster as an increasing number of healthcare employers hire them to achieve Magnet status and improve the standards of patient care. Studies have found that when just 10% more nurses in a healthcare setting have a BSN, the rate of patient deaths, infections, and readmissions to a hospital is reduced significantly. A BSN will typically take around four years to complete and clinical experience is a key part of getting this degree. You can take your BSN online with various options to choose from. With a BSN, you will also be qualified to study for an MSN, DNP, and other advanced nursing degree programs.
- Accelerated BSN:
If you are currently working in another career and have earned a bachelor’s degree in a different subject, an accelerated BSN might be the best option for you if you want to change your career to nursing. The ABSN is designed to be taken by students who already hold a degree in a non-nursing subject, allowing them to build on their current knowledge to get straight to the nursing-specific parts of the program to complete it and get their qualification in around two years rather than four.
Advanced Nursing Degree Options:
Once you have a BSN, this will open many doors of opportunity for you when it comes to getting an advanced degree in the future. It might be worth thinking about your career progression plans now so that you can choose relevant elective modules and get relevant experience throughout getting your BSN and starting work as a registered nurse. The main advanced degree programs that are available for BSN educated registered nurses include:
- MSN:
The masters of science in nursing is a popular advanced degree program for nurses. You can find general nursing degree programs or opt for studying an MSN that has a specific focus on a certain area of nursing such as pediatrics, nurse practitioner training, or another specialty area. A master’s degree is typically the minimum requirement for advancing your career as a nurse. It is expected for nurses who want to get into certain high-skilled areas of nursing such as the role of an operating room nurse or neonatal nurse. You’ll also need an MSN if you want to be a family nurse practitioner, nurse educator, or work in nurse management or leadership. Advanced degrees are available widely online, allowing you to fit studying in around working in a full-time career in nursing if needed. They will typically take around two years to complete, with both full-time and part-time options available.
- DNP:
The DNP or doctor of nursing practice degree is one of the most advanced qualifications that you can get as a nurse. This doctoral degree will prepare you for even further advanced clinical practice roles, educating nursing students at a higher level, or working in nursing and healthcare research. A DNP may also be required for getting into some high-level nurse executive positions. You will usually be required to have at least an MSN to get a DNP, although programs that are designed for BSN registered nurses to get their DNP are now available. This program will usually take around four to six years to complete and is available to study online as well as in a traditional classroom setting.
- Nursing Degree Bridge Programs:
Nursing degree bridge programs are now becoming a popular way to expand the nursing education and experience that you already have. For example, if you are a registered nurse with an associate’s degree, you may want to consider an ADN-BSN bridge program to get your BSN rather than studying for the full four years when you will already know a lot of the curriculum covered from your previous degree. Nursing bridge programs are now becoming more widely available at every level including RN-DNP programs and RN-FNP programs that are designed to help you achieve higher education or train for advanced roles.
If you’re considering a new career, there are many great options to choose nursing. With a wide range of education programs available and lots of benefits of working in this role, there’s never been a better time to become a registered nurse.
