The Pros and Cons of Being a Nurse
Before entering a nursing career, it is important to weigh the advantages and the disadvantages of being a nurse. Nursing school is said to be the toughest Bachelor’s degree that one can obtain, and many want to know, “is nursing worth it?” At Wanderly, we love our Travel Nurses, and we believe in complete openness about the pros and cons of nursing to ensure that your career will be based on educated individualized decisions. We have done our research, and we want to share with you the top 5 reported pros and the top 5 reported cons of being a nurse.
Pros:
Gratification
We think this is by far the most important “pro.” As a nurse, you will constantly be filled with gratification for doing your job. There are so many ways to make a difference in nursing that you will rarely wonder if you are needed. There are moments in nursing that are unlike any other profession because they are real, honest, and vulnerable. You will save lives, and you will help people on a daily basis. Let’s be honest, that just feels good!
We do not typically answer the questions “is nursing worth it” with a discussion about salary, because we want nurses to be involved with patients for the right reasons. However, a nursing salary is definitely not a disadvantage of nursing. Depending on the state and whether or not the nurse is a traveler, we have seen nurses making 60k a year to over 100k a year. There is also a ton of stability in nursing as we are experiencing a nationwide shortage.
Team Member
Nobody likes to feel left out or isolated, and nobody likes to work with people who are not helpful. One of the best things about being a nurse is that you are always part of a team. Always. You cannot work as a nurse and a patient care team cannot circulate with all of the moving parts. If you are a helpful people person, or you just like to work with people who collaborate for a greater good, nursing is definitely for you!
Career Options
When it comes to weighing out the pros and cons of nursing, this “pro” tips the scale for the majority of people. Nurses have a significant amount of choices when it comes to the career path, and they can change from to another if they experience discontent. Nurses work in hospitals, in clinics, in homes, in schools, in residential communities, and many more locations. The need for nurses is so diverse that most nurses have the option to choose where they would like to practice. This also leads to continued education and a wide array of skills. There are plenty of choices to accommodate the schedules of all ages and stages of your life.
Flexibility
Nurses typically work 3 twelve-hour shifts a week. That means that depending on how you schedule your 3 shifts you can have a very flexible workweek. You will also have four days a week off from work, which is ideal for growing families and other hobbies and interests. It is easier to schedule time-off, vacations, and other events when you have as many days off as nurses do.
Cons:
Germs and Fluids
One of the “cons” of nursing is quite unavoidable. There is really not much one can do if germs, fluids, blood, vomit, or anything else of the sort makes you squeamish. Nursing is quite literally the care of the entire human being and more often than not that includes germs and fluids. If you have a weak stomach or simply just have a hard time imagining yourself moving beyond this aspect of nursing it is most definitely not for you. The thing is: that is totally okay. It is not anyone’s fault that particular things are not their particular things. Let this serve as a polite reminder to thank your nurse the next time you need one—remember, it takes a unique kind.
Underappreciating
This is a big disadvantage of nursing, unfortunately. You see, nurses are constantly working in environments where people do not feel well and they work with professionals who have patient lives at stake. The combination of the two makes for both patients and healthcare providers that react accordingly. There are times where nurses endure the nasty side of people due to these conditions, and there are days where you will feel underappreciated, inferior, and bummed. The good news: you can celebrate your own small victories, you can use open communication to effectively decipher your roles as team members, and you will have so many wonderful moments of appreciation that hopefully, they outweigh the yucky ones.
Holidays
The public service-industry does not stop for holidays. Just like police, firefighters, and paramedics, you too will have to work holidays. This is a con of nursing with a very recognizable bright side. Bright side: you will have people who are working through that holiday with you, and you can celebrate with each other so not all is lost. You will not have to work every single holiday. You will also be paid exponentially more for working holidays. You are serving sick/ill/injured people, and those circumstances do not know when Christmas is, unfortunately.
Death
You will see death, and you will care about someone who dies in your presence. This part of nursing never really gets easier, but rest assured that you will also be a part of saving a life, giving an incredible end of life care that gives you a sense of wonderful purpose, and knowing some incredible people before they pass away. Death is not something most people deal with at “work”, and you have to be in tune with your own feelings, work on your own self-care, and be able to express emotional turmoil in nursing to take care of your mental health.
Stress or Burnout
You may have heard of “burnout” and sadly, it is a real disadvantage of nursing. Burnout occurs typically in one of two ways: 1. The nurse hates the unit he or she is currently on and reaches their limit of being able to work there any longer or 2. The nurse has worked in nursing for a while and just simply does not enjoy it any longer. Either situation can be due to a large array of circumstances, colleagues, and situations, but due to high levels of stress involved in some areas of nursing burnout is common. Combatting burnout takes patience within your career, self-recognition and awareness of feelings, and constantly checking in with yourself about how much you are enjoying or not enjoying your current role in nursing. You can always change roles!
Nursing is not meant to be easy. Nurses have people’s lives in their hands and it takes a unique, educated, and skilled human being to work in nursing. We hope this sheds some light on the fantastic advantages of nursing and helped educate you about the disadvantages of nursing, too. We have seen nursing work in people’s lives in amazing ways, and we would love to help you find your next assignment in travel nursing if you choose this path for yourself. Thank you, Nurses!
Wanderly.us