What Can You Expect from a Nursing Career?

While there are many excellent career paths in the healthcare sector, nursing is still one of the most popular choices for those interested in this line of work. It is certainly a career that you can be proud of and can offer stability and numerous progression opportunities. However, not just anyone is up to the task of taking on such a big responsibility and caring for others in this way, so although you might be interested in becoming a nurse, it’s crucial to know what you can expect from this career journey.

1. Long Hours

There are various working environments you can find yourself in as a nurse, and not all of them will have unsociable working hours attached to them. However, you can expect to have to work long shifts and weekends at some point in your nursing career, especially when you are in training and are working at an entry level. While this can be daunting, working in fast-paced environments like a hospital setting can give you a wealth of experience that will be invaluable to your career. If you are someone who dreads the thought of working over the weekends and long shifts, then you might want to rethink this career path.

2. Dedication to Learning

To become a qualified nurse, you will need to achieve a bachelor’s degree in nursing, as this will enable you to move on to sitting your licensure exam. A dedication to your studies will be key if you want to complete your degree and get as much as you can out of this learning experience. Nursing school can take up to four years, but you can also explore other options, like this one to study nursing online with UIndy for a more flexible and accelerated degree program.

Your dedication to learning doesn’t just stop at your degree, either. As a nurse, there will be a lot of learning on the job, and as healthcare evolves, you may find yourself needing to take further training at a later stage in your career to keep up with these developments so that you can provide top-quality care.

3. There Will be Days You Feel Under-appreciated

Nurses give a lot of themselves to support patients and other members of the healthcare team, and while they do deserve praise for this, they don’t always get it. When you feel underappreciated at work, it can make you feel a bit defeated, but you do need to persevere as a nurse. You might find that other healthcare teams are demanding of your time, or even patients seem impatient and agitated with you when you’re only trying to help. While this can be unpleasant, it won’t happen all of the time, and when someone does express their gratitude for your help, it can be incredibly rewarding.

There is a lot more to a nursing career than listed above, but these are all key areas that you can expect to come across when you are working in this role. Before you do choose a nursing career, do some further research into what you can expect, and consider whether or not you are prepared to deal with these circumstances.