The Pros And Cons Of A Nursing Career
The road to becoming a nurse is not easy. It has its ups and downs but the benefit comes along. Nursing staff forms the backbone of our healthcare system yet they are underappreciated for their efforts. A nurse is a licensed healthcare professional that helps to promote and maintain a patient’s health. A nursing career offers promising and versatile opportunities on the way. Nursing jobs and wages depend on their experience and skills.
Every profession has its pros and cons. The only thing that matters is if one has more passion for the profession than fears that the surrounding voices inculcate in him. The nursing profession is usually opted by people who want to serve humanity more than anything. They accept the pros and cons as part and parcel of the package. In this article, we will shed light on the pros and cons of a nursing career.
Pros Of A Nursing Career
Before discussing the pros of a nursing career, we should acknowledge the fact that most people enter this profession because they want to serve humanity more than anything. The following are pros of a nursing career:
- High In Demand
Skilled and experienced nurses are always high in demand. The Healthcare system needs them in surgery, intensive care unit(ICU), gynecology, pediatrics, etc. They work side by side with a doctor and work in their maximum capacity to serve mankind. Without a qualified nurse, no operation would be successful. The nursing staff is as important as doctors in a health care system.
- More Opportunities
Nursing careers offer a wide range of opportunities and specialties. A nurse can choose her desired area of specialty and succeed in it. The specialty areas include pediatrics, certified nurse-midwife, nurse anesthetist, Orthopedic nurse, and much more. The nursing field is not stagnant and offers continuous growth.
- Demand Drives Growth
The demand for nursing staff is increasing with each passing day. This demand promotes their growth. According to the recent data, on average, registered nurses earn around $80,010 annually. The nursing career promotes potential earnings.
Cons Of A Nursing Career
The cons of a nursing career mitigate when nurses take care of their mental well-being. But before entering into this profession, one should process through the cons of a nursing career. The following are the cons of a nursing career:
- Stress And Workload
Being a nurse is not an easy job. You need to calm yourself and make rational decisions in times of critical situations. In hospitals, nurses deal with versatile cases. They have to be patient and professional even with difficult patients and their families. You can not allow stress and pressure to blur your thinking process as you are dealing with human lives. However, with patience and good mental health you can overcome this challenge.
- Long Working Hours
Hospital nurses work for long working hours. Usually, a shift is of 12 hours but if there’s a lot of patient influx the shift might extend to 15 hours. Working under stress and pressure for long hours can be hectic at times. Moreover, there can be a night shift, working holidays, and weekends. You need to prepare yourself for every possible consequence to adjust well in the profession.
- Mental and Physical Demands
Nursing careers are demanding in mental and physical needs. A nurse is expected to go through a lot of emotional scenarios. Be it helping in labor, assisting a patient who’s battling cancer, or dealing with a patient of trauma. All of this requires nerves of steel. In addition, nurses have to move around constantly to look after patients. This requires physical demands as well.
In a nutshell, the pros of nursing careers are far more than the cons. If an individual is committed and passionate about this profession, no power can stop him from walking the ladder of success.