Consider how your current skills could transfer to nursing when determining if nursing is for you. You should also consider whether you’re a team player, emotionally resilient, and interested in a stable career with growth opportunities.
According to Forbes, nursing is one of the top options for a second career due to its high pay and fast-growing industry. How do you know if nursing is for you? There is no universal process for determining whether nursing is for you, but there are some common factors to consider and questions to ask yourself.
If you decide to pursue a nursing career, you can leverage your prior education toward earning a nursing degree sooner at Madonna University. Madonna’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program considers applicants with a completed non-nursing degree or at least 60 non-nursing college credits.
Since Madonna University accepts applications on a rolling basis and offers three start dates per year, you can reflect on your decision without significantly delaying the start of your education. You should start by thinking about how your current skills translate to nursing. It’s also essential to understand the potential challenges of a nursing career to know how to overcome them in advance.
ADN vs. BSN: Explore the differences in these degree programs.
Is Nursing the Right Career for You?
New nurses come to the healthcare field from all walks of life. Provided you have the passion to help others and a strong commitment to professional integrity, you likely have multiple transferable skills to assist you in a nursing role.
First, consider your current skill set and try to gain a little exposure to healthcare work.
Consider How Your Current Skills May Translate to Nursing
Nursing requires both hard and soft skills. While you’ll learn the hard skills in nursing school, you may already bring some soft skills to the table thanks to your prior work experience.
Some soft skills that translate well to a nursing career include:
- Communication
- Interpersonal skills
- Attention to detail
- Work ethic
- Professionalism
Look for Job Shadowing or Healthcare Volunteer Opportunities
Although you can’t work as a nurse yet, you can gain healthcare experience in other ways. This can help you determine if nursing is right for you.
Start by seeking job shadowing or volunteer opportunities at local hospitals or clinics. You can search hospitals’ websites for opportunities, or you could also take the initiative to call them to ask about job shadowing and volunteer positions. Before a job shadow or volunteer shift, write down some questions about nursing careers. What is a typical shift like? Or, what are the best and worst things about the job? The insider information may guide you as you make a career decision.
7 Signs Nursing Might Be Right for You
How do you know if nursing is for you? If the following describes you, you may have what it takes to be a nurse. Even if you’re unsure about your personal characteristics, you can rest assured that soft skills like teamwork and interpersonal skills can be improved with practice.
1. You Love Working With People
Most nursing specialties require extensive collaboration. Clinical nurses must frequently interact with patients and their family members, as well as with fellow nurses, physicians, and other healthcare providers.
Even if a nurse later transitions to a non-bedside role, such as administration, they can still expect to work with other professionals frequently.
2. You Thrive in a Fast-Paced Environment
Many nursing specialties require nurses to work well within a fast-paced environment. For example, emergency room and urgent care nurses must often triage patients quickly and juggle multiple priorities. Even non-ER nurses, such as medical-surgical nurses, must frequently care for many different patients in any given shift. Nursing could be a good choice if you can stay calm under pressure, have strong time management, and handle stress well.
It’s important to note that even if you’re unsure about your ability to handle a fast-paced environment, nursing could still be right for you. Not all nursing specialties are fast-paced. Home health nursing, for example, focuses more on building relationships with patients and families.
3. You’re a Team Player
Functioning well as part of a team is essential in nursing. On any given shift, each nursing team member must support other members and non-nursing healthcare professionals. Collaboration is vital for quality patient care.
4. You’re a Dedicated Lifelong Learner
Nursing is an excellent field for anyone who enjoys learning and is open-minded when new evidence presents itself. New nursing research continues to add to the body of knowledge in the field, and nurses must stay on top of it.
5. You Like the Thought of Choosing From Different Specialties
If you like the idea of being able to choose from a wide range of specializations, then nursing could be right for you. You could specialize by patient population, such as pediatrics or women’s health, or by health condition, such as oncology or cardiac care. There are dozens of different nursing specialties and a wide range of potential work settings.
6. You’re Interested in Career Growth Opportunities
Feeling like your current career doesn’t offer any possibility of advancement? Switching to nursing could change that for you. Registered nurses (RNs) can pursue leadership positions like nurse administration or management.
Another choice is to earn a graduate degree in nursing, fulfill board certification requirements, and become an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), such as a nurse practitioner (NP). Yet another option is to turn to education and become a nurse educator.
7. You’re Looking for a Stable Career
It’s important to consider job stability when planning your career. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job growth rate for nurses is expected to be 6% from 2023 to 2033, which is faster than the average for all professions. Healthcare employers are expected to hire about 197,200 new nurses during this time.
Thinking of becoming a nursing student volunteer? Learn how to start and what to expect.
Challenges to Consider: Is Nursing for Me?
Like any career field, nursing has both advantages and disadvantages. What are the disadvantages of nursing? Consider the following:
The Need for Physical Stamina
Nurses often spend much time on their feet and may need enough physical strength to help patients with mobility.
Choosing a nursing specialty less reliant on physical stamina, such as ambulatory care or dermatology nursing, is an option.
A Strong Stomach Is Helpful
Many types of nurses are routinely exposed to injuries that may be gruesome. It’s important to note that nurses are highly trained to use personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety procedures. In addition, some nursing specialties don’t require a strong continence, such as working for an insurance company or being a telehealth nurse.
Not All Patients and Families Are Easy to Work With
Many patients are even-tempered and pleasant to work with, yet some patients and family members can be complex. Nursing requires employees to maintain professionalism in all situations.
Emotional Resilience Is a Must
Nurses generally enter the field because they care about patients and want to help them. This is why it’s so hard when a patient doesn’t survive. It isn’t easy to console a family after a loss. When asking yourself, “Is nursing right for me?” consider whether you’re an emotionally resilient person with a well-established self-care routine.
Discover Why Madonna Nurses Are Different
Madonna University offers values-based nursing education infused with Franciscan values. With our ABSN program, you can earn your nursing degree in as few as 16 months while benefiting from small class sizes, personalized support, and academic success coaches. We graduate confident nurses who are prepared to tackle modern challenges in nursing.
Contact an admissions representative today to find out if our ABSN program fits your career goals.