Do you want to work as a nurse? There are currently over 60 thousand nurses working in Iowa, but there is still a national nursing shortage – so if you are interested in becoming a nurse, now is a great time to start your career!
However, it is essential to be aware that nursing isn’t suited to everyone. The job is fulfilling, inspiring, and rewarding, but it can also be challenging, so it is important to think about if you are actually suited to the healthcare industry before you start studying.
If you want to become a nurse, here are four things you should consider
Your Personality
Personality is a big part of nursing. The role is very social; every week, you will speak to hundreds of different people, including children, the elderly, and medical practitioners, so the ideal person will get along well with others.
It is also likely that you will deal with people who are frustrated and upset, so being patient can be very useful. Finally, you should be able to remain calm in stressful situations, because daily life in a hospital can be very chaotic!
Your Qualifications
If you want to become a nurse, you will need to get the relevant qualifications. You can get a nursing degree by going to university, or you can take an online course to break into the industry. It is also worth noting that even once you are a nurse, you can still take further qualifications to move up the career ladder. For instance, it is possible to get a masters in nursing informatics, which allows you to work with innovative medical technology.
Your Ability To Make Decisions
It is also crucial to be a good decision-maker. Nurses frequently have to make snap decisions, especially if a doctor isn’t around, and these decisions can sometimes have a huge effect on patient lives. For instance, you may have to prioritize patients on a busy day, or you may need to administer emergency medical care if a doctor isn’t nearby.
Your Overall Health
Health and fitness also play a role in nursing. This is because nurses are very physically active; most work multiple 12-hour shifts a week, and they spend most of this time on their feet moving around. So every shift is a decent work out – but if you are unfit when you start, you might struggle to keep up! For this reason, it is a reasonable idea to start doing light cardio before you begin work as a nurse, as this means that you will be better physically prepared for your first day.
If You Can Handle Responsibility
Finally, you should be able to handle responsibility without panicking too much. Working as a nurse is very rewarding, but this is because the job is so crucial: every day, you will help to save lives. Nursing is the work of heroes, but it isn’t easy, and the responsibility can be too much for some people. But if you like taking on new responsibilities, nursing could be a great career path for you.
