In a world of economic turmoil and educational uncertainty, many individuals, young and old, are finding themselves at a crossroads. Once lucrative jobs do not mean what they once did, nor do college degrees. Many jobs that once promised high wages do not even exists anymore do to new technology or other extenuating circumstances. Higher education is expensive, but the guarantee of an equally lucrative occupation after graduation is no longer there. For this reason, many individuals are seeking out alternative occupational routes that they had never considered before. One such route involves nursing, which has garnered many pleasant experiences from professionals for several different reasons. Primarily, however, nursing appears to be a great field of work in because it allows the nurse to be a part of an expanding operation after having spent less on their education than most, while also adapting leadership and communication skills on the job.
There was a time when nurses were looked at only as women in small, white uniforms who checked patient’s vital signs and quietly removed themselves from the room before the doctor showed up. They were paid small amounts of money for the long hours they worked. According to, “Assisted Living Expansion and the Market for Nursing Home Care,” this stereotype is swiftly being eliminated, with nurses often taking on more of a doctor’s responsibility every day . Though a nurse is not a doctor, of course, the medical field is expanding so rapidly that it now takes both doctors and nurses working as a combined force to keep up with the advancing technology. Nursing homes, for example, are one of the fastest advancing health systems in the country, often implementing new electronic record systems, as well as new equipment to aid the residents . Primarily, it is the job of physicians to see to the client’s care, while nurses are more involved implementing the expanding technology and helping clients use it. The rapidly expanding field also ensures job security. Because the medical field is always introducing new technology to its employees, as well as its clients, it guarantees jobs will not disappear, as they do in other fields. The reality is the nursing field does not have enough hands to do the jobs required; more nurses are needed to successfully help those who require care in hospitals, offices, and nursing homes. With this in mind, nurses can be sure that they will always have jobs that pay decently, as long as they are willing to learn the new technology that is introduced.
The expansion of new technology is the basis for expansion and better pay among nurses. Masclans J. Galimany explains in, “New Technologies and Nursing: Use and Perception of Primary Care Nurses about Electronic Health Record,” that the nursing field is looking for intelligent, flexible individuals who are open to change . Being flexible comes at a high price to the medical industry, however. Nurses and other physician’s assistants are paid in kind for their assistance with the expansion of the medical field, making it one of the highest paid professions in comparison to how much its initial education costs . The typical nurse’s education costs between $6,000 and $15,000. However, even if they remain a nurse throughout their career, with pay raises they could see an increases of $5,000 a year some terms, eventually earning up to $96,000 a year, depending on their specialty, location, and education . Not only does nursing offer advancement, but also decent pay for the cost of education, which is not promised after one receives a degree anymore.
Another reason nursing is viewed more often as an increasingly viable opportunity is because individuals receive the chance to learn leadership and communication while on the job. Many jobs promise to teach these skills, but few deliver. Pamela J. Grace, author of “Nursing Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Advanced Practice,” states nurses have no choice but to learn leadership skills while on the job for several reasons . One of the main reasons is because, though they have instructions from a chart, or their overseeing physician when treating a patient, they spend most of their time working alone. If an emergency occurs, a patient asks a question, or a problem arises the nurse must handle it themselves, to an extent . Nurses are also often put in team, according to Grace . Though the head physician always maintains ultimate power over a patient’s care, when a nurse is charged with the work of other nurses, it is another chance to learn leadership skills.
Communication skills, an integral part of leadership skills, are also learned while being a nurse. They are also a large part of why becoming a nurse can be such a great achievement. Igor Portoghese and his associates, authors of, “Change-Related Expectations and Commitment to Change of Nurses: The Role of Leadership and Communication,” state that without communication there can be no leadership among nurses, or anybody else . Communication must be effective, and while working, nurses are in the unique position to learn several different types of communication. They learn communication as a subordinate, as a superior, and as a caregiver. Often an individual who may be overlooked or even invisible to those around them, the nurse sees everything, and communicates with everybody. They effectively use this communication to lead everybody because, unlike the doctor who only communicates with the nurse, or the patient who also only communicates with the nurse, the nurse communicates with everybody . Understanding the different individuals in the hospital or doctor’s office, and being able to communicate with all of them not only hones one’s ability to connect, but also one’s ability to lead. These skills are important to nursing, but they also continue to make the nurse a better person after the job is done. Leadership and communication skills can be used in any aspect of life, but can rarely be learned from just any job.
In sum, nursing is a terrific career to consider in these uncertain times. Prior to the economic collapse, it would be considered a certainty that any college degree would grant an individual a good job and a sizeable income, but those days are gone and we must be thriftier about our educations. That is one of the reasons nursing is a decent occupation: the cost of the education is relatively low when considering the amount one stands to make over a lifetime. The field is also constantly expanding, which ensures job security. Many jobs are phased out, seemingly overnight. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in education are lost because a job simply does not exist anymore, but with nursing, this cannot happen. Secondly, nursing is a great career to go into because it teaches more than just how to take care of others. It allows nurses to learn leadership skills, as well as communication skills. Nurses act as the central hub of hospitals and doctor’s offices. They communicate with superiors, subordinates, and clients. They also tend to other nurses, as well as clients. Learning these skills so efficiently is not often offered in other occupational fields. They are also skills that can be used in other areas of life, which make them invaluable. Therefore, for these simple reasons, nursing is an occupation that everybody should consider.
References
Galimany, Masclans J., et al. "New technologies and nursing. Use and perception of primary health care nurses about electronic health record." Public Medical (2012): 42-45.
Grabowski, David C., David G. Stevenson and Portia Y. Cornell. "Assisted Living Expansion and the Market for Nursing Home Care." Health Services Research (2012): 2296-2315.
Grace, Pamela J. Nursing Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Advanced Practice. Burlington: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2013.
Portoghese, Igor, et al. "Change-related expectations and commitment to change of nurses: the role of leadership and communication." Journal of Nursing Management (2011): 582-591.
