5 Things about Nursing Careers You Should Know

5 Things about Nursing Careers You Should Know

Introduction

You’ve seen nurses on big screens; you’ve watched them in action on television, you are lucky enough to have observed them work in real life. It’s easy to assume that you know a lot about the nursing profession. With nurses being ranked as the number I most trusted profession for 15 consecutive years according to the annual Gallup poll, it obvious to assume you know more about the career.

But do you know who nurses are and what they are capable of? Do you understand the profession of nursing or those who carry the title, not to mention the excessive number of specialties they practice? Nursing careers involves much more than we speculate.

Nursing duties depend on your specialty, but nurses virtually operate in every area to provide healthcare services. They also monitor the patient’s progress and educating them and their relatives about their health condition. Nurses provide limited treatments and administer medications to patients under the supervision of a doctor. They also offer advice to patients on matters of health and the much needed emotional support.

Nurses have a task in promoting a healthy lifestyle and providing individuals with advice on how to live longer and healthier lives. Nurses mostly work in hospitals, but some work in prisons, military bases, and nursing care facilities. Experienced nurses are tasked with other duties such as supervising beginner nurses, administrative responsibilities, conduct research, and teach nursing skills to students.

Nurses should be organized, patient, and compassionate. They should pay attention to details, handle stressful situations successfully, and embrace opportunities for growth and improvement. After years of burning midnight oil in your nursing school and having successfully passed your board exam, what next? You must be prepared to be a member of this noble and prestigious nursing profession.

Read on to understand the most important things you need to know about nursing careers.

1. You must have an outstanding memory and expect mistakes

When you are in the nursing career, your memory game must be on point, if not, you’d better come up with a mnemonic system to keep things better in your head. You need to be extremely careful and organized and make sure you do not forget every detail you’ve recorded. You will always be expected to have details of your patient, their detail profile, the technology you need, and medication relations.

When in this field, it would be naïve to think that you won’t have mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, so expect you will too. Always learn from your mistakes. They make you a much better nurse. You should always take care of medications; they’re the easiest things to mess up!

2. Expected to stay healthy and to invest in comfortable clothing

Being a nurse exposes you to various risks; it involves taking care of patients daily, exposing you to different medical conditions. These tasks may be tedious and may include plenty of running and heavy lifting. Always practice healthy habits such as regular exercise, taking vitamins. Always take preventive measures to get rid of germs and viruses you may gather in your place of work.

With the nursing career, you have to kiss your designer shoe goodbye as well as skinny jeans and snow-stopping top. Your daily work wear is limited to scrubs and comfortable nursing shoes that enable you to move freely and quickly while on duty. It is advisable to invest in good pairs of comfortable nursing shoes and scrubs to keep your body and feet protected from a long haul.

3. understand your role and be ready to embrace change

A nursing career requires you to let go of a few privileges that you’ve been enjoying in the past. This includes changing your wardrobe and taking a rest any time you feel like. Nursing has many facets of perks and quirks that were not in your nursing syllabus in school. You have no choice but to adjust as soon as you take an oath.

More changes come along as you get exposed to more situations during your career as a nurse. This is also a profession that has constant changes as newer knowledge is learned, better systems being implemented, and advancement in technology being used. Nurses have a wide range of learning opportunities, whether by attending conferences or staying up to date with new computer software.

To perform your job with ease and confidence, you must have a desire to learn the different patient care systems set in various workplaces.

4. Enjoy your work environment and learn to multi-task

There are only 24 hours in a day; as a nurse, you must be prepared to spend more than 12 hours your life at work at least four days a week. You have to love and familiarize yourself with the work environment, including your workmates. Treat them as your second family and be a team player.

You should get to the fact that nursing is not just a routine. You don’t come to work and expect to do the same tasks from A-Z. Expect that you will handle more tasks every time you clock in. Be ready to multi-task always.

5. Stay up to date

Nursing career is subject to technological advancement; as a nurse, you must be ready to evolve with time. The medical field experiences rapid evolution, and having constant changes is inevitable. Always stay up to date with what you’re doing in your area of specialty. It will make your work easier

Conclusion

Being successful in nursing calls for commitment and loving what you do. You should be able to handle all medical instruments in the world of medicine. As a nurse, you should have all the necessary tools near you.  A stethoscope is one of the essential items that a nurse should not miss in the nurses’ arsenal.

In the nursing career you will encounter annoying and unsupportive people, always take a moment o compose yourself. When starting your shift always take a deep breath and remind yourself that the shift will end, and hope for a better day.

Resources: Nurse journal, The Job Network, Very Well Health