Understanding the pros and cons of nursing before entering a new career can help you prepare. The pros of the career include high job satisfaction, meaningful relationships, job stability, good compensation, job variety and upward mobility. The cons of nursing include work stress, physical demands, and odd hours.
Embarking on a nursing career is a deeply rewarding journey, and while nursing school requires dedication and investment, the impact you'll make on people's lives is truly invaluable. To understand if you’re prepared to tackle nursing school and its challenges, you need to know about the pros and cons of the career and all it entails.
The faculty at Pacific Lutheran University near Seattle, Washington, are committed to helping students realize their potential and find meaning through their careers. If you decide becoming a nurse is the right path for you, our Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program will help you earn your degree in as few as 16 months.
Ready to get started? Here are ten tips to prepare for nursing school.
Now, let’s explore the pros and cons of being a nurse so you can decide whether it is right for you.
Pros of Nursing
Is nursing a respectable career? There are numerous reasons to choose a nursing career. Beyond monetary benefits, nursing is a career for those who find personal fulfillment in helping others and want a career path with many specialties and options. Let’s explore just a few of the many reasons to enter the nursing field.
1. High Job Satisfaction
People often enter nursing because of the profession’s intrinsic benefits, like personal fulfillment and the ability to make a difference. Nurses play such an essential role in patient’s health and recovery that they feel a clear purpose every day.
Many patients may even personally thank you for your role in their recovery. In addition to their tangible impact on patient health, nurses also make an intangible impact through emotional support, empathy, and advocacy.
When you opt for a nursing career based on your passion for patient care, you’ll feel fulfilled to head into work. You’ll know you are contributing to people’s lives in a life-altering or even life-saving manner, leaving you with personal and professional satisfaction.
2. Meaningful Relationships
Another key benefit of nursing is that it is a career steeped in positive relationships. Regardless of the health care environment you work in, you will build connections with patients over time.
You will also form relationships with coworkers because health care is an exceedingly team-oriented field. Nursing is a career where you collaborate daily with other nurses and health care team members. You’ll care for patients together and support each other. Nurses are some of the most teamwork-focused people out there, ready to lend a hand to a fellow nurse or health care team member whenever possible.
So, if you’re interested in a career where you’ll build positive relationships with your colleagues, nursing may be an excellent choice for you.
3. In-Demand Career
Nursing offers a career with a high level of job security. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of nursing positions available nationwide is expected to grow by 6% between 2022 and 2032, meaning nurses will remain in high demand.
4. Job Variety
Nursing has you covered if you are looking for a job where no two days are the same. It offers the opportunity for continuous learning throughout your career. You will treat myriad patients with unique health situations, so each day will require different skill sets and knowledge. You never know what each day will bring. Every day as a nurse brings new challenges and successes.
5. Diverse Specialties
Nursing is a career that opens many doors, allowing you to choose from numerous positions depending on your interests. If you enjoy working with children and young people, you can work in pediatrics, and there are several sub-specialties you could choose from.
After completing an accelerated nursing program, like the ABSN program at PLU, and passing the NCLEX-RN exam, you’ll qualify as a generalist nurse, prepared for various entry-level nursing jobs. After gaining initial professional nursing experience, you can specialize and earn certifications in the areas of nursing you’re passionate about, including:
- Surgical nursing
- Labor and delivery nursing
- Emergency nursing
Learn more about eight non-bedside nursing roles available to you as a nurse.
6. Growth and Leadership Opportunities
Not only does nursing offer variety in your work, but it also offers significant growth potential when you have a BSN degree. There are several ways nurses can advance professionally. Nurses with a BSN are equipped to rise through the ranks in the clinical realm and become nurse managers; they can even take on health care administration roles.
You could also earn certification in a competitive specialty like critical care or trauma.
If you return to school for a master’s or doctorate in nursing, you could pursue careers such as:
- Nurse practitioner
- Clinical nurse specialist
- Nurse anesthetist
- Nurse midwife
- Nurse educator
These roles come with greater independence and a broader scope of practice. If you’re professionally ambitious, nursing may be an ideal fit because it offers several ways to advance as you gain experience.
7. Schedule Variability
Generally, nurses can choose between various scheduling options like full-time, part-time, PRN (work as desired), and more. Plus, there are myriad work schedules depending on the specialty you enter.
Hospitals and nursing homes need nurses 24/7. Therefore, inpatient nurses can work day or night shifts during the week or weekend. Inpatient nursing shifts are often 12 hours, meaning you only need to work three shifts per week to be full-time. Alternatively, if you prefer a more traditional work schedule, you can opt for a clinic or outpatient care center, where you may have more conventional daytime weekday hours.
Cons of Nursing
Is being a nurse worth it? While nursing offers countless advantages, it is important to understand both the pros and cons of nursing. Here are a few challenges of the profession:
1. Fast-Paced Environment
There is always the potential for sudden changes when treating patients with health challenges. For example, a patient’s condition could deteriorate suddenly, at which point a nurse needs to be ready to jump into action and call backup. Nurses, especially those in a bedside role, must be at the top of their game and remain attentive to their patients’ needs.
Additionally, a nurse’s attention can be pulled in multiple directions during a workday, between charting or multiple patients asking for help simultaneously. Nurses have a lot to take care of every day, and managing the pace of the job takes skill and experience.
2. Working Weekends and Holidays
Nursing is a 24/7 necessity and offers the benefit of flexible scheduling. On the other hand, patients won’t stop needing care just because it’s the weekend or a holiday, so you may be called in to work. Although some nurses prefer to work on holidays, their colleagues call off because most employers will offer a financial incentive to encourage their employees to take those shifts.
3. Exposure to Bodily Fluids
Nurses are responsible for providing care to patients in vulnerable situations. This includes helping tend to patients’ hygiene needs, especially when patients are bedridden or unable to attend to their daily care. PLU aims to provide the education and practice to ensure occupational safety for nurses in these situations.
4. Physical Demands
Nursing is far from a stationary career, and nurses spend a significant portion of the day on their feet. You will not only walk all day long but also need to help move patients and lift heavy loads. For this reason, taking care of yourself physically and using good form to avoid injury and stay well over many years is key.
Now you know why to become a nurse, what do they do? Learn about RN duties and responsibilities.
Make the Jump into Nursing at PLU
After asking yourself, “Is nursing a good career,” are you ready to begin your journey of becoming a nurse? If so, Pacific Lutheran University can help you earn your BSN in as few as 16 months. You may be eligible for the ABSN program if you have a prior non-nursing bachelor’s degree or at least 60 non-nursing college credits.
The ABSN program at PLU teaches our students through an innovative combination of online classes, interactive nursing labs and clinical rotations at top health care facilities in the Seattle area. We aim to welcome students of all backgrounds and shape them into the best nurses possible.
Contact our admission representatives to learn more about the journey to a BSN at PLU.