Choosing a career path: What are the pros and cons of becoming a nurse?

Healthcare is a difficult industry in which to work, but a deeply rewarding one, nonetheless.

The NHS has inspired a great many to join the ranks of other healthcare professionals, but is itself faced with an interesting future.

According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, there are more than 758,000 registered nurses in the UK – the highest-ever figure for registered nurses. The Council also notes that the number of nurses leaving is on the rise, indicating an exodus of practising nurses even as new nurses join ranks. If you are thinking of becoming a nurse or indeed returning to nursing after maternity leave, what pros and cons should you way up before starting on your path?

The Pros

A Rewarding Profession

The key motivating factor for people to become nurses is the desire to care for others – an altruistic aim that, for some, is quite simply its own reward. Becoming a nurse enables you to make real differences to the lives of the patients you meet, and see the results of your labour as people heal and rehabilitate their condition.

Security and Longevity

Working as a nurse is not merely personally rewarding, though. The profession extends a level of job security that is difficult to procure in other industries, enabling you to develop skills and grow without fear losing your position. Nurses often enjoy decades-long careers, providing them with personal nourishment as well as longevity and security.

Community

Healthcare practitioners are a close-knit community, sharing as they do the profound difficulties and struggles inherent to administering care. The shared handling of hard, and sometimes harrowing, cases can bring about a sense of camaraderie unlike those in any other profession. Practising as a nurse can introduce you to life-long friends, and shape your social life just as much as your professional career.

The Cons

The Hours

Working as a nurse can involve the working of long hours, especially as staff shortages continue to impact hospitals across the country. Nurses are protected by the Working Time Regulations, but often asked to forgo the 48-hour weekly limit of working hours in order to plug critical gaps in healthcare. The result can be increased mental and physical strain, and difficulties with personal health.

The Liability

In medicine, there is little room for error. But with nursing staff stretched to breaking point, and many working multiple 12-hour shifts consecutively, the risk of making a mistake is higher. In instances of mistakes made in patient care, you might find yourself on the receiving end of medical negligence claims – that could impact your income and career, depending on the severity of the claim.

The Education

Lastly, the route to a career in nursing necessarily involves the gaining of a nursing qualification – specifically, a degree in nursing. This can be an inaccessible requirement for many, on account of financial reasons or existing difficulties with fitting education in with full-time employment. However, bursaries have recently been made available to subsidise the costs of study for budding nurses.

Have you pursued a career in nursing? If you have any more pros and cons to add, feel free to share in the comments.