Nursing isn't for everybody. It takes long days, lots of hard work and dedication. It's for the chosen few that are willing to sacrifice their time to help others. Well, that's what I want to do. I'm willing to sacrifice my time and energy to protect the well-being of others. All through high school I knew I wanted to work in the medical field. My junior and senior years of high school I was enrolled in the tech center in my county where I took a medical assisting and practical nursing class. I was also very involved in HOSA, a medical club through the tech center. HOSA stands for Health Occupation Students of America. I was class president and secretary both years I was involved and went to state leadership conference and qualified for the national leadership conference because I placed in the overall high scores. Well at the end of my senior year, I realized how much I loved nursing, so I sat for my boards and am officially a certified nursing assistant. I love it so much and am glad I got a head start in my nursing career as I'm currently in college working on my bachelor of science of nursing to become a registered nurse and eventually a nurse practitioner. Here's a few reasons why I chose to enter the nursing career.
1) You're making a difference in someone's life
Your patient's need you. You may be all they have left in life. You learn the true value of life as a nurse as you're watching somebody else fight to keep theirs. You as a nurse are working day in and day out to protect the health and well being of your patients or residents. They're literally giving their life to you and depending on you to help heal them.
2) You're Constantly Learning
Not only is it in the nursing field, but in all fields of life are you constantly learning new things. Specifically in the nursing field, there are different areas of study that you would work in. There's NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), pediatrics, gynecology, geriatrics, and family practice to name a few. Nursing is a great field to be in if you love challenges, there's always new experiences that arise. Even after you're certified and working in the field, there's several opportunities for you to continue education, even if it's standing at a patient's bedside observing another nurse or doctor performing something you've never done before. It's that simple.
3) You'll Almost Always Have A Job
Yes that's kind of cliche, but it's true if you think about it. The world is always in very high demand for more nurses. There are nurses all over the world doing a variety of different fields. If you wanted to move away form where you are, odds are there would be availability at a local doctors office of clinic where you go. There could never be too many nurses, there are approximately seven billion in the world, there's no way only a couple hundred nurses would be able to care for everybody effectively. The people need us and I'm willing to help.
4) Financial Stability
Money is nice, let's be real with ourselves now. Nursing is one of the higher-paying jobs in the United States. If you have a BSN-RN degree, you're looking at approximately $65,000 a year and if you're a MSN-NP you're looking at about $100,000 a year. Needless to say, you're, making good money. No I'm not in it just for the money, but you know, that always helps.
5) It's Rewarding
Nursing is awesome. There's no other job I could imagine myself doing. It's emotionally, physically, and mentally rewarding. It makes you feel good knowing you're possibly saving people's lives. Imagine how the patient's and their family feels? They couldn't be more grateful for you, not matter how much they do or don't show it. It's a hard job to have to do. Yes there will be many breakdowns and arguments you will have, but remember why you do it.
Nursing is hard, nobody said it was or ever would be easy. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to peruse such a career. Many people say be the nurse you would want as a patient. Think about that honestly because it's a true statement. I chose nursing because of it's high demand in the world right now and I want to have the opportunity to help people's health improve. As of right now, I don't have a social life, time to eat, or time to sleep. Want to know why? It's because I'm in nursing school and am working very hard to be successful!
Nurse (noun): A person trained to care for the sick or infirm. Honestly, it's so much more than that. You're their nurse, friend, shoulder to cry on, a teacher, communicator, and sometimes, you might even act as a family member. Your patients depend on you and trust you with their lives, literally. They need you just as much as you need them.
