Why Consider a Nursing Career Change

Most people need to find work so that they can earn money and live the type of life that they want. However, if you’re working in a job that you’re not happy with, life won’t feel great. Most people would agree that we all spend too much time working to not be satisfied with what we do. Whether you are not satisfied with the type of work that you do, the amount of money that you earn, or the company that you work for, there are lots of reasons why people decide to change careers.

Sometimes, a career change is something that you might have always had plans to do and only took work in your current role as a means to an end until you were in a better position to change careers. In some cases, people choose a career based on their interests at the time, but since we’re all capable of growing and changing, many people decide that after some years in their career they would prefer to do something new.

If the main issue that you have with your career is that you don’t get a lot of chances to do something good and help others, then you might be thinking of becoming an allied health worker, nursing as a career option. Here are some of the main reasons why this is a great choice for career changers.

Accelerated Nursing Program:

If you already have a bachelor’s degree that is related to your current career and have decided that you want to do something completely different that means you’ll have to retrain, this can be very frustrating. It’s even more frustrating if your current degree qualification has nothing to do with your career change choice, meaning that you’ll need to go back to college and do it all again. The good thing about changing your career to nursing is that if you already have a degree in a different subject, you may be eligible to get an accelerated BSN, which is usually around half the duration of a traditional BSN program. This will allow you to qualify to become a nurse in two years rather than four by simply building on the knowledge and skills you already have during a high-intensity course that is focused on preparing you to be a great nurse once you graduate.

High Demand:

Most people prefer to work in a career where they don’t have to worry about losing their job or not being able to find work. High-demand careers, in addition, often bring with them better benefits and more work opportunities compared to fields where the demand is average or low. Currently, nursing is one of the most high-demand career paths in the country. The shortage of both nurses and primary care physicians means that many employers cannot hire more nurses fast enough. As more nurses leave practical, healthcare-based nursing to become educators and advanced practice nurses to relieve the strains put on the industry by this shortage, the demand for registered nurses to replace them is on the rise. Travel nursing is among the most in-demand positions in the nursing industry. Travel nurses are registered nurses working in short-term roles at hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities worldwide where there are nursing shortages. Despite the bonuses this job gives, you should consider some factors, such as qualifications, highest paying travel nurse state, licenses, and how much the travel nurse makes.

Career Progression:

If you’re the type of person who always has to be working towards something new and really hate the idea of a job where there’s no chance of moving up the career ladder for a long time, nursing could be the ideal choice of career change for you. If the main reason you are thinking about changing your career is that you don’t feel there are very many professional opportunities open to you and want a career where you can learn new things and choose from a wide range of advanced roles to get into, a role as a nurse could be ideal. As a nurse, you will have the option to get into advanced practice roles such as a nurse practitioner, nurse management and leadership roles, educator roles, and more, along with the chance to train in a wide variety of specialty areas working with different patient populations and health conditions. To further specialize and advance in these roles, many nurses turn to an online Masters in Nursing Education. This program provides the convenience and flexibility to study advanced nursing concepts and teaching methodologies while continuing professional practice.

Further Education:

For nurses who are interested in progressing in this career, there are several further education options available to consider. Nurses who want to continue working full-time while studying for a master’s degree in nursing or another similar advanced program can often do so online, which makes it much easier to juggle the two compared to studying on-campus. Studying online has now become easier and more accessible as a result of the COVID19 pandemic but online nursing degrees have been growing rapidly in popularity since before COVID times. If when researching nursing, you find yourself thinking going down the nursing route isn’t something that excites you, you could look to work within other areas of the medical profession. Other medical areas include helping with marketing, accounting or ordering supplies for hospitals, such as ConvaTec ostomy supplies.

Earning Potential:

Chances are that the money is not the first thing on your mind if you feel called to become a nurse. Most nurses do this job to help people and not because they want to get rich. However, it is always worth noting the earning potential for nurses. Today, nurses earn a very competitive salary due to the high demand for these professionals across the country. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that registered nurses earn an average of $80k each year, with advanced practice nurses such as nurse practitioners earning around $30k more.

Choose From Different Work Environments:

As a nurse, there are several different work environments where your knowledge and skills might take you. Compared to an office-based career where you might not have much of an opportunity to get out of the office and try something different, working as a nurse can be highly dynamic and give you the option to work in a range of different settings. Nurses are not only employed in hospitals – they are also needed in a variety of other healthcare settings including outpatient clinics, pop-up clinics, sexual health clinics, doctor’s offices, schools, prisons, research facilities, and more. Once you have qualified as a nurse you will have a lot of choices when it comes to deciding where you would prefer to work.

High Reward and Satisfaction:

One of the main reasons why most nurses choose to do this career is that it’s a very highly satisfying and rewarding job to do. Most of the time, nursing can be quite a demanding profession both physically and mentally, but the chance to work with people and know that you have been able to provide support and make the experience easier for people who might be going through some of the toughest times in their lives can make it all worth it and is likely to stay with you forever.

How to Change Your Career to Nursing:

There are several pathways to consider if you want to change your career to nursing. If you currently work in healthcare, your employer might provide options for employees to take advantage of to become a nurse, especially if your employer hires nurses and they are in high demand in your workplace. On the other hand, if you are currently working in a completely unrelated career, you will need to retrain as a nurse.

This is usually done through getting either an associate degree in nursing or a bachelor’s degree in nursing. You can get an ABSN if you have a bachelor’s degree already in a non-nursing field. While the associate degree might mean that you get to start working as a registered nurse sooner, bear in mind that more and more employers are actively looking to hire more BSN-educated nurses. This means that without a BSN, you might have a harder time finding work and may find it more difficult to progress in your career compared to nurses that do. In addition to this, with New York now requiring that all nurses get a BSN within ten years of joining the workforce, other states are likely to follow suit meaning that there’s a high chance that no matter where you work you may be required to get a BSN at some point in your career.

Studying online is an ideal choice for those who are currently working full-time in another career but want to start a new career as a nurse. Since training to be a nurse can take up to four years depending on the route that you decide to take, this can be a long time to be out of work for while you are studying. While it’s always worth quitting work to focus solely on studying if you have the means to be able to do so, most people find that this is not an option for them.

Studying to become a nurse online can make the process of retraining to change your career much easier by allowing you to access online lectures and classes at your leisure rather than having to commit to a class schedule. While you will need to book some time off work to get clinical experience, it’s usually possible for online nursing students to be in charge of how they choose to divide their time between work and study.

There are many reasons why people decide that their current career choice is no longer for them. If you want a career that is rewarding, in high demand, has great progression, and allows you to make a big difference to others, you should definitely consider nursing.

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