Are You Right For The Job: Nurses

Your eyes are tired, but you spread a smile across your face for your patients as you do your usual rounds at the hospital, updating the charts. You’re not used to the 12 hour shifts, but slowly your body is adjusting. Are you ready to be a nurse?

While this is only a small sample of being a registered nurse, there is a lot that comes with the position that you should be aware of before entering the field. Though a passion for the medical industry will carry you where you need to go throughout your journey, make sure the hours and people are things that you are ready to handle.

Nurses Work Long Hours

While location and position are factors, nurses generally work the following type of schedule:

• 5 days per week, 8 hours per day.
• 4 days per week, 10 hours per day.
• 3 days per week,  12 hours per day.

Depending on how the schedules work, you can end up working anywhere between 36-40 hours per week which is the norm.

Though these hours are normal, there are shifts around the clock that need to be filled, so it is very possible that you will be working the night shift, which can be quite an adjustment. It is also common for there to be a decent amount of overtime offered, which, financially speaking, isn’t so bad.

Nurses Handle People Just As Much As Illness

When you become a nurse, you are accepting that this is a highly interactive career choice that will require you to not only handle patients on a constant basis, but their families as well. Do you handle people well? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? This is important to recognize.

While being an extrovert does not mean you have good bedside manner, which is also important, being an introvert can cause undue social anxiety when dealing with the amount of people you will encounter. Introverts shouldn’t write off nursing, but it is important to keep in mind when considering this field.

These are only two things to consider when thinking about becoming a registered nurse. There are so many positives to being a registered and these items are not meant to sway your judgment, but rather bring to light some things you may not have thought of.

Do you have any questions about becoming a registered nurse?