Is Being a Nurse Worth it

Nursing has always been a career associated with selflessness. However, some nurses today have decided that they need to focus more on themselves than on their careers due to burnout and stress. In fact, a recent poll revealed that 34% of nurses plan to leave their positions in 2022 alone.

Is Being a Nurse Worth It in 2023?

Yes, it is. While determining whether or not nursing is still a good choice for you is certainly a personal decision, I believe that well-educated, compassionate nurses are more important today than nearly ever before.

Based on the personal as well as tangible rewards of this career, many men and women can still feel great about committing to becoming or remaining nurses.

Is Nursing Still a Rewarding Career These Days?

It is no secret that nursing has become even more stressful these days than it was even three or four years ago.

However, there has always been stress associated with the uncertainty and busyness of nursing, and this increase may not be enough to cause burnout among the majority of nurses.

Therefore, the most important consideration to make when deciding whether or not being a nurse is still worth it in 2023 is if the remaining rewards of the profession still outweigh any negatives associated with it.

What Makes Nursing Rewarding?

There are many tangible and intangible rewards associated with nursing, and you will find that some are more meaningful to you than others. If your reasons for wanting to be a nurse do not match up with those of others, there is no reason to feel guilty.

For example, I loved the ability to have so much paid time off, which allowed me to get together with out-of-state friends and loved ones as well as take at least two vacations each year.

Others find that the personal rewards of touching individuals’ lives at perhaps their most difficult moments are the key reason they stay in nursing. The following are just a few of the top rewards mentioned by a majority of nurses in the past.

1. Affecting Others’ Lives

The initial reason why many individuals choose nursing for their career paths is the chance it gives them to impact so many lives positively.

It is a big draw for sympathetic, compassionate individuals who love to connect with patients and their family members while teaching or advocating for them. Many nurses remember certain patients or families with great fondness.

2. Career Growth

Nursing also offers remarkable career growth and a vast variety of continuing career paths even without additional education. Nurses can easily switch to different nursing floors, such as:

• Medical/surgical nursing
• Oncology Nursing
• Pediatric Nursing
• Hospital-based nursing
• Clinic nursing
• Private physician office nursing.

For those willing to complete additional education, there are plenty of opportunities for growth for nurses with master’s degrees or doctorates, including positions as nurse educators, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, or nurse managers.

These opportunities keep one’s career exciting and offer the possibility for meaningful change that very few other careers do.

3. Compensation

Nurses are also paid quite well throughout the United States. However, compensation certainly varies based on the area of the country, the nursing specialty, and the type of practice in which you works.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average yearly pay for a registered nurse is over $77,000, while some of the top earners make well over $100,000 annually.

4. Benefits

In addition to excellent paychecks, nurses can expect to receive a variety of great ancillary benefits as well. Some of these include:

• Plenty of paid and sick time off
• excellent health care coverage
• A well-funded retirement account
• Childcare
• Plenty of family medical leave
• Reimbursement for additional certification fees
• Free or reduced-fee wellness programs

And much more.

Plus, you will usually have a flexible work schedule, especially if you work 12-hour shifts. This can make it easy to hold down a full-time job even if your significant other works full-time as well.

5. Job Security

Nurses have been in high demand for years, and the demand has only ever been predicted to grow as the large baby boomer generation continues to age.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the number of jobs for registered nurses will grow by 6% by 2031 and that approximately 203,000 new positions will open up every year over the next decade.

Are These Rewards Still in Place Today?

These rewards have long been touted by nurses across the healthcare spectrum and, for the most part, remain the same today.

In fact, as some aging nurses retire and as others leave their careers because of burnout, some aspiring nurses may find that healthcare companies will offer them more money or better benefits than usual because of the high demand for nurses combined with the current shortage.

With many industries cutting jobs, decreasing pay, or even laying off thousands of workers lately, nurses can rest easy that their jobs are not in jeopardy, thus eliminating one possible stressor.

What Makes Nursing More Difficult Today?

Despite these rewards, you may still find that nursing today is too stressful for you. Indeed, many have recently made the decision to leave this career for the sake of their own physical or mental health or for the health of their families. Even before the pandemic, there was some stress in the workforce because of nurse shortages.

However, the pandemic has only exacerbated that shortage while introducing a host of other new stressors. As the pandemic turns to its endemic stage, nurses can expect to continue caring for more patients than usual while also seeing many patients admitted to hospitals with long-lasting, serious COVID symptoms.

In addition, many people have delayed preventative care, elective surgeries, and even necessary health care for acute conditions over the past couple of years. This is sure to further increase the workload for most nurses across the United States.

This video (below) from CBS News gives a glimpse of just how strained the health care system is these days.

These are certainly valid reasons to reconsider a nursing career, whether you are just applying to college or have been in the healthcare industry for decades.

However, many of the initial challenges experienced at the beginning of the pandemic have been ironed out, allowing stress levels to dissipate somewhat for many nurses. As old norms return (and new norms are made), the profession as a whole has begun to adjust itself to this.

The Nursing Career as a Personal Decision

As always, your choice in a career path is a completely personal one that should be guided by your individual desires and strengths rather than by pressure from someone else. If you are a resilient, compassionate person who can think on your feet, deal with the unknown without panic and enjoy the positives of your role more than you focus on the negatives, nursing is still a great path for you.

On the other hand, as I know from personal experience, it can be difficult to find joy in any job situation where you feel never-ending stress no matter how financially or personally rewarding the career may be.

In these cases, you may wish to consider a different type of job that is still in the healthcare sector. Another option is to consider a change in your nursing role to a different department that could give you a break from whatever is primarily causing you to stress. You may find that a non-bedside role would be best and would still allow you to thrive in the nursing field.

Making Your Choice

Although some may disagree, I certainly believe that nursing remains a positive career choice for the vast majority going into the new year.

Resources

• Is Nursing a Good Career For Moms
• I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse ➡ Get the Book