Nursing as a second career is a great choice for a rewarding job helping others. Making a career change to nursing starts with a nursing program like the one at Madonna University. Our ABSN program has online courses, in-person labs and clinical rotations at top healthcare facilities in the area.
There are a variety of reasons people choose nursing as a second career. Personal fulfillment, career opportunity, and job security are just some of those reasons.
For Steve, a graduate of the Madonna University Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program in metro Detroit, the act of pursuing nursing as a second career wasn’t personal. He just needed to find the right program. Read on to discover common reasons why people like Steve decide to pursue nursing as a second career, then learn about three ways Madonna’s ABSN program can help you achieve your goal.
Do you have these 11 qualities that make a great nurse?
1. Personal Fulfillment
Steve was exposed to the healthcare profession at an early age. “My stepdad was an ER doctor, so growing up I spent a lot of time with the people in his practice.” He specifically recalls watching the registered nurses perform their daily tasks. “I saw the connection the nurses had with their patients and I really liked the amount of direct patient care nurses had compared to any other health profession.”
Despite graduating in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, he instead took a job for a year playing professional baseball. After that, he worked in sales. Regardless of these successes, he put his biology degree to use and make a career change to nursing. “Not a lot of doors opened up to me in sales – it was very one-track-minded in terms of caring about yourself and your goals and it wasn’t really adapted to helping other people,” he says.
This was the turning point that motivated Steve to pursue a career in nursing. “I never really thought about nursing before because my parents were physicians and I had so many other things going for me, like athletics,” he says. So, is being a nurse worth it? For Steve, the ability to help others and have a rewarding profession was a huge plus.
Getting to go in and out of work every day with the fulfillment of helping others was something I was really looking for.
2. Career Outlook
The career outlook for nurses is another perk of pursuing this rewarding career. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for registered nurses is 6% from 2021-2031, with the number of job openings at 203,200 for that time period.
3. Salary
Additionally, you can make a comfortable salary as a nurse. The average salary for RNs is $77,600. Of course, this will vary by state and experience.
4. Demand
The demand for nursing is also something to consider when deciding on nursing as a career path. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have been in high demand, and this trend is expected to continue as generations become older and need more care or as experienced nurses begin to retire.
How Madonna ABSN Can Help You Make a Career Change to Nursing
For those interested in making a career change to nursing, Madonna University’s ABSN program in metro Detroit offers three major benefits – immediacy, access, and curriculum that includes online learning.
Accessibility
For Steve, the thought of waiting two to three semesters to begin nursing school wasn’t in the cards. “I really wanted to hit the ground running and start,” he says. Thanks to Madonna University’s three program start dates each year (summer, fall, and winter), he could begin his nursing education at a time that was right for him.
Steve chose nursing as a second career and was eager to get started. Luckily, Madonna’s ABSN program has rolling admissions, Steve could secure his seat in the program before other students even applied. “While a lot of other schools had me waiting nine months to a year to begin my nursing education Madonna allowed me to start about four months after I applied,” he explains.
Accelerated Timeline
Another reason why Steve chose Madonna University’s ABSN program was because he could leverage his existing biology degree to earn a BSN in as few as 16 months. Not to mention, since his existing degree was a Bachelor of Science degree, he could start sooner since he already fulfilled many of the science-based prerequisite coursework. “I only had to take three prerequisites to get into the program,” says Steve.
Hybrid Learning
Madonna University’s ABSN program offers a comprehensive learning model which consists of online nursing theory coursework, hands-on labs, and in-hospital clinical rotations. This was another motivating factor in Steve’s decision to apply.
Choose Madonna University’s ABSN Program!
Regardless of your reasoning for wanting to pursue nursing as a second career, Madonna University’s ABSN program can help make your career goals come to life. Contact us today and learn what you need to get started on your nursing school journey.