When you’re a parent, it’s often difficult to prioritize yourself. You have so much to do and so much to think about every day, from the minute you wake up until the second you go to bed. Getting the kids up and dressed ready for school, cooking or preparing healthy meals and arguing with the children over how many peas or carrots they have to eat, navigating bath time and bedtime, setting a time limit on the use of screens and devices – it’s a lot to handle, and it’s almost impossible to find time for yourself on top of all this.
However, it’s so important to think about your own life and make yourself a priority. If you stopped working when you had a child, as many moms do, you might be considering a transition back to work, so why not take the opportunity to think about what career path you want to follow?
Nursing can be an incredibly rewarding career, and the benefits of taking a nursing degree are numerous. Want to know more? Keep reading.
Flexible Study
Many nursing degree programs offer flexible study options, meaning it’s easy to fit your studies into your busy life. If you want to become a nurse practitioner, there are NP programs online that you can take that will fit in around you. Many of these courses take place completely online, excluding only the practical aspects of the course and a short in-person residency. This means that you’ll be free to learn at any time and in any place that suits you.
You could study at home once your kids have gone to bed or take a laptop with you when you drop them off at school and head to a library or coffee shop to do some studying there. Flexible options like this mean you can make your future a priority without sacrificing your home life or neglecting your family responsibilities.
Bonus: Practical Experience
Another benefit of studying nursing over an alternative degree program is that the course includes practical elements, meaning you’ll get hands-on experience of what it’s like to be a nurse practitioner. You’ll gain a pretty comprehensive knowledge of practical medicine, but you’ll also learn how to comport yourself in a healthcare environment”, but you’ll also learn how to comport yourself in a healthcare environment and how to interact with people in various, often stressful, situations.
These are useful life skills no matter whether you decide to pursue a career in nursing or not!
Meeting Like-Minded People
Another great thing about studying to become a nurse is that you’ll have the opportunity to meet people who share the same values as you. This is true of in-person courses and online-only courses, as you’ll have virtual access to a social support group even if you choose to study remotely.
If you’re considering nursing as a career, the chances are that you’re a kind, compassionate, and generous person who wants to be able to give something back. The other students that you’ll come across on your course will share those values, and you could make friends for life.
A Rewarding Career
Once you complete your nursing degree and become a qualified nurse, your employability will soar. Nurses are in high demand all over the world, which means you could be presented with the opportunity to travel or move abroad if that’s something you’d be interested in. It’s estimated that 95% of nursing graduates will have found employment within six months of finishing their degree, so you can all but assume you’ll walk straight into a job as soon as you’ve finished your course!
As well as the large number of job opportunities that are open to nursing degree graduates, the career itself is incredibly rewarding. Working as a nurse means you’ll be on the front lines of the healthcare industry, providing an invaluable service and helping people every day. It can be a challenge, but it’s an incredibly meaningful and important job. You’ll be interacting closely with patients and their families, providing medical but also pastoral support to people going through a difficult time; it can be very fulfilling work.
Working a job that you find worthwhile can lead to a huge increase in job satisfaction, which is so important for day-to-day happiness. Research also suggests that finding a job you’re passionate about can have mental health benefits, so you could be doing your brain a favor in the long run.
Financial Incentives
As well as being personally gratifying, nursing work can be financially lucrative, as the salary for qualified nurses is usually quite generous. It varies from city to city and state to state, but the average salary for a nurse can reach well over $100,000 per year or more than $50 per hour. Investing in yourself now by taking a nursing degree could open up lucrative money-making opportunities later down the line, allowing you to provide for your family.
Adaptable Work
Another benefit of a nursing degree is that once you’re qualified, the job can be as flexible as you need it to be. You could apply for nursing jobs in a hospital or a doctor’s surgery, or you could sign up for temporary work that you take on as and when you need a little extra income. You can work as a full-time employee or an on-call nurse, or find a shift pattern that suits your needs.
This means that nursing is a great option for parents, as you should be able to fit your shifts around your family’s needs.
Nursing isn’t the right job path for everyone, but completing a degree in nursing can be a great way to give your career a boost and figure out if it’s the right line of work for you. The degree in itself is hugely rewarding, and you’ll gain a wealth of skills that can be applied to other jobs if it turns out that nursing isn’t a good fit for you. The flexibility of a nursing degree also means that you’ll be able to fit it in with your other commitments, meaning you can still be a great mom while you make yourself more of a priority.
