The best advice I’ve received to become a nurse has changed the trajectory of my life. Reading this blog post may be just the advice you need.
However, knowing what best advice to take in a particular situation, especially in becoming a nurse is like driving a car and coming to a fork in the road.
As a result, of the confusion, you sometimes don’t know what to do, what direction to go in, or what will happen if you take that suggestion.
Read on to find out the best advice I’ve received to become a nurse.
The nursing profession is the most rewarding. Well, to me anyway.
Nurses are the ones with patients 24 hours a day. They are the ones holding the patient’s hands when they’re going through some of the most difficult periods in their lives.
They treat the patient holistically with dignity and respect.
The beginning
As a young woman in nursing school, I recall being in my last semester of nursing school and wanting to quit because I felt the classwork was overwhelming.
My nursing lecturer during that class noticed the bewildered look on my face, and asked, “what was wrong?
I told her I was overwhelmed and wanted to quit. She asked me to sit down and asked me a series of questions.
By the way, there was nothing wrong with my grades. I was doing exceptionally well in my nursing classes and passed my RN exam on the first try and was sent to work in ICU when I finished nursing school.
Nevertheless, I declined that position and worked in another department because I had aspirations of doing something different. Stay tuned for that blog post.
Here are the reasons that she gave me.
She looked me in the eyes and said in her calm, gentle voice, “ don’t quit nursing school, and here’s why”.
1. It’s a “stable job”
This means that you probably will always have a job even when other professions are closing or jobs are being lost. I am not saying it’s okay for people to be losing their jobs.
Nevertheless, this did turn out to be accurate. When I became a nurse, there were still nursing shortages. Companies and hospitals were competing with each other to get me to work for them and this happens today as well.
Here are the statistics to prove how stable the nursing workforce is.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, “nursing is the nation’s largest healthcare profession”.
Moreover, “more than 200,000 new registered nurse positions will be created each year from 2016-2026”. Does this statistic make you see how the nursing profession will be around forever and you don’t have to worry about getting a nursing job?
Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, states that the job projection,” for registered nurses will grow 12 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations”.
2. “You will be able to have choices to work in many areas of nursing”
The great thing about working in the nursing profession is that it has so many areas for you to choose from. You can start as a novice nurse and progressed to charge nurse, manager, director, or chief nursing officer all within the nursing profession.
Check out this podcast I did on the different roles in nursing.
Moreover, you can even become a nurse entrepreneur and open your own business- I did not learn about this one until years later.
You will be able to choose from specialties like:
- ER
- tele
- med-surg
- college
- step-down neuro ICU
- behavioral health.
I worked in all these specialties mentioned above. These choices still exist today for many areas in nursing that you may want to work in.
Up to this day, I still have several options in the nursing profession. The advice about becoming a nurse has certainly paid off for me. It can do the same for you too.
Now, to be clear, it does depend on what field of nursing that you want to go into after becoming a nurse that may or may not guarantee you having a position in that specific field.
Please know that you do not have to wait for the position to open up in the institution that you work in. You can leave to work in another place or stay where you are and work prn at another place to get the position that you want.
Stay tuned to read more of the reasons for me not quitting nursing school and why it was the best advice I received in becoming a nurse and the life-changing events that followed.
3. “You will touch many lives”
When my professor told me all the lives that I will touch as a nurse, I didn’t realize the enormity of that statement.
I have worked over 15 years as a nurse and I have seen patients come in at their worse and leave in a better condition. Many of you can relate to this.
Additionally, I have seen nursing students come in timid or not knowing how to perform a skill and leaving confident and equipped to take care of our community.
Even more exciting is that many of my nursing students who became nurses took care of me when I ended up in the hospital.
You will have to deal with the sad parts of nursing too.
On the other hand, I have also had the opportunity to be with patients at the end-of-life, hold their hands, and also be with their families as they pass from this world. This has made a huge difference in the families’ lives because of your presence.
I am not making you believe that you have to run with all the advice you receive about becoming a nurse is the right one for you or that working in these areas of nursing is a bed of roses.
The purpose is to inform you of all that you can accomplish with the right advice.
There’s no profession out there, that I’m aware of that can enable one to work in so many areas, such as nursing.
Conclusion
The best advice I’ve received to become a nurse has opened doors for me to receive the experience of a lifetime. I was able to obtain advanced degrees and certifications.
Moreover, I was able to touch the lives of all kinds of people, live to see many of my nursing students become nurses, and take care of me as a patient.
This can happen for you as well.
And I’m not done yet.
There are times in life when you get sound advice about getting into a profession like nursing and you will have to follow through- if that is your desire.
Click the link below to listen to my podcast about becoming a nurse.
What is the best advice that you have received to become a nurse?
Please share it with me.
“A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory”.
Your Nursing Voice
She can help you with strategies to achieve engaging classroom and corporate presentations. She has worked as a college professor, corporate trainer, as an RN in areas such as medical-surgical, emergency room, telemetry, behavioral health, and geriatrics for more than 15 years.
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