So, you’re thinking the nursing profession…and if you’re reading this site, it’s you’re most likely thinking about becoming an LPN as one of your main choices. However, it’s important to understand that nursing isn’t always the best option for all people, so let’s take a look at why.

Nursing is a field that really requires a person to be compassionate and to also really enjoy helping other people. If this doesn’t sound like you, then this may not be the best choice in terms of a profession. Now, obviously, that doesn’t mean a person who isn’t overly compassionate or who doesn’t like helping sick people in need is a bad person, that’s not the case. It just means that not everyone is suited to every profession, and the field of nursing is one that generally requires a specific type of person. People who are generally well-suited to the nursing field are people who really enjoy helping other people and take great pride in making the quality of another person’s life better. Some people may be attracted to the field of nursing because they really like the science, but that’s not the only thing that matters; there is a big personal component associated with health care, and if that’s not something that you think you would like, then it might be wise to stop and think whether nursing is the best choice for you.

Working long hours with little sleep in a high stress environment is also something that is common to the field of nursing, and if you’re someone who requires a set amount of sleep every night and doesn’t want a job that can be stressful or intense at times, then nursing may not be the best choices. Nurses often have to respond to emergencies and deal with patients who are upset or in pain, and this isn’t always the easiest job to do. So, before you decide on nursing as a profession, it’s important to think about your personality, your own preferences, and how that might factor into being a nurse to help you decide whether that would be a wise choice or not. It’s not a good idea to simply look at the pay or prestige associated with a profession; it’s more important to look at the profession as a whole and really take some time to determine whether or not that might be something that would be a good fit for you.

This isn’t to say that nursing is a bad profession in any way; the job growth projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the satisfaction that many nurses report with their jobs are quite high. Arguably, there aren’t many jobs where someone can make the same immediate impact in a person’s life as a nurse can, but it’s important to understand the pros and cons of nursing as a profession in order to make the best decision possible.