Why Become a Nurse?


Nursing Careers

Nurse with baby

Nursing is an Emotionally Rewarding Career

As a nurse, you are responsible for helping people through some of their most vulnerable moments. You have the opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of others. Every day is meaningful and unique. Your daily work can range from helping save lives to holding someone’s hand during their time of need to everything else in between.

Nursing is America’s Most Trusted Profession

Doing such purpose-driven, meaningful work is one of the top reasons to become a nurse and explains why nursing is such a highly respected field. In fact, nursing has been the most trusted profession for the past 16 years, according to an annual nationwide poll.

Registered nurses are even ranked #18 on The 100 Best Jobs list from US news, based on salary, job market, future growth in the job outlook for nurses, stress, and work-life balance.

Nursing is Growing Much Faster Than Most Occupations

With nursing being such an essential occupation in our society, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects the employment of registered nurses to grow 12%—much faster than the average occupation—between 2018 and 2028, resulting in 371,500 new nursing positions.

Because of this rapid employment growth, and with many older nurses predicted to retire in the next decade, the demand for nurses continues to be strong. Some geographic areas even face a nursing shortage, with high numbers of nurses needed.

Most Employers Prefer Nurses with a Bachelor’s Degree

According to the BLS, the job outlook for nurses with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) will be better than for those without a BSN degree. In 2017, an American Association of Colleges of Nursing survey also found these nursing facts:

Nursing Offers Many Diverse & Exciting Career Paths

When you become a registered nurse, you can choose from a variety of nursing career paths, including pursuing nursing specialties such as:

Additional nursing career paths (such as nurse practitioner and nurse midwife specializations) can be pursued by nurses with master’s or doctorate degrees in nursing. However, you will need to first earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited nursing school like Arizona College.

The role of a nurse can vary greatly depending on your specialty and where you work, with common work environments including:

  • Hospitals
  • Surgical Facilities
  • Emergency Care Facilities
  • Long-term Care
  • Home Care
  • Nursing Homes
  • Physicians’ Offices
  • Outpatient Facilities
  • Hospice Care
  • Schools and Education Facilities
  • Correctional Facilities
  • Military Bases

Nurses are a Vital Part of our Healthcare System

A critical part of the US healthcare system, nurses are important for their work providing patient care and collaborating with other healthcare team members. A registered nurse interacts with patients daily to help them regain and maintain wellness and can greatly impact their patients’ health, outcomes, and even happiness.

The tasks nurses perform include:

  • Assessing and observing patients’ conditions
  • Administering medication
  • Educating patients and their families about treatment plans and health conditions
  • Providing emotional support for patients and their loved ones
  • Consulting with and assisting physicians
  • Carrying out physician medical orders
  • Supervising LPNs and nursing students

Information in this blog post is accurate as of December 10, 2019.