鈥淣ursinghasbroadenedmyhorizons鈥?t'scausedmetofocusoutsidemyselfandmyownlittleworld鈥?likebeinginaprofessionthathelpspeople.AndIfindthebodyofknowledgeI'vegainedishelpfulineverydaysituations.Plus,nursinggivesyoulotsofvariedopportunitiesforacareer鈥?oucanchangefromonerealmofnursingtoanother鈥?ndtheflexibilityoftheschedulesofferedisadefiniteplusforthoseofustryingtobalancefamilylifewithwork.鈥滭br/>Asthenursequotedabovestates,therearemanyreasonstoconsiderbecomingaprofessionalnurse.Inadditiontothecareeradvantagesandpersonalsatisfactions,thedemandforregisterednursesintheU.S.healthcaremarkethasneverbeenhigher.Todaypeopleranginginagefromtheir20stotheir50sarechangingcareersandmovingtonursing.They'refindingthatwhenthey'vealreadytrainedandworkedinanotherfield,theycanleveragetheirknowledgeandtraininginanewcareerthatoffersthemchallenge,stability,andfulfillment.

　　Oneprofession,lotsofpossibilities

　　Asaprofessionalnurse,youcanuseyourknowledgeandexperienceinsomanydifferentways.Youcouldorganizeadisasterreliefeffort鈥?anageahospital鈥?ducatethecommunity鈥?eliverbabies鈥?hapepublicpolicy鈥?rmakenewdiscoveriesdoingcriticalresearch.Eachdayisanythingbutroutine鈥攏ursesmustalwaysbereadytothinkontheirfeet.

　　Checkoutsomeofthespecialtiesandcareerpathsavailablefornursestoday.

　　You'llfindthequestionshouldbelessabout鈥淲hybeanurse?鈥andmoreabout鈥淲hatkindofnursedoyouwanttobe?鈥滭br/>

　　Considerallthebenefitsofprofessionalnursing

　　Personalsatisfactionandgrowth.Asanurse,you'remakingarealdifferenceinpeople'sliveseveryday.Notwodaysarethesame,andnursingprovidesyouwithknowledgeandexperienceyoucanuseforyourself,yourfamily,andyourcommunity,inadditiontoyourpatients.

　　Careermobility.Onceyoubecomearegisterednurse(RN),youcantakeyourcareerinotherdirections,too.Youcouldworkonthefrontlinesintraumacareorinthejusticesystemasalegalnurseconsultant.Youcanworkasateacher,awriter,orasaresearcher鈥?nteractwithchildrenortheelderly鈥?orkdirectlywithpatientsordirectahealthcareagency.Theopportunitiesarevirtuallyunlimited鈥攅speciallyfornurseswhocontinuetolearnandeducatethemselvesintheirfieldsofinterest.

　　Jobsecurity.Becausethere'sashortageofnursesnationwide,youcanfindcareeroptionsnomatterwhereyouwanttoliveintheU.S.Ifyou'remarriedandyourspouseistransferredforwork,youwon'thavetoworryaboutfindingnursingworkinyournewcommunity.

　　Schedulingflexibility.Morethanhalfofthenation'sprofessionalnursesworkfulltime.Youcouldworktheday,evening,ornightshift.Nursescanworkthree12-hourshiftsandhavefourdaysaweekoff!Someprofessionalsarepart-timeorper-diemnurses.Manynurseslikethefactthattheycancombinearealcareerwiththedemandsofraisingafamily.

　　Thebestofbothworlds鈥攁professionthatoffersbothcollaborationandindependence.Yes,nursesoftenworkinteams.Buttheyalsohaveagreatdealofautonomy.Withadvancededucation,manynursesenjoyagreatdealofindependenceasmanagers,educators,researchers,nursepractitioners,clinicalnursespecialists,andmore.

　　Nursingisagreatsecond-careerchoice.I