Why nursing is a rewarding career and why I chose it

I have been a Learning Disability Nurse for 15 years and the story of my journey is not a long one. I became a Learning Disability nurse by chance. One trial shift in a children’s home one sunny summer afternoon had me sold. I have not looked back since that day and the rest (as you can see) is history!

The role of the Learning Disability Nurse (RNLD) is holistic and versatile; looking after individuals across the whole life span; working with their families and with multi-disciplinary teams, across health and social care and the voluntary sector; to improve the lives of people with a learning disability. Yet at the same time, we also work in other settings where we are not solely supporting people with learning disabilities. The environments in which Learning Disability Nurses work have shifted dramatically over the past three decades as social care policies have changed where people with learning disabilities live, work and receive support for their healthcare needs. This creates a wide and exciting range of career opportunities.

Nursing, in general, is one of the most rewarding careers. It takes a special kind of person to choose to be a nurse. For starters, you need to be compassionate, caring, kind and patient. You need to want to help people and do whatever it takes to make them feel better. There is an expectation that you need to understand technical terms and medical information however, it does not mean you must be a scientist! In other words, you need to have a brain that can switch from the pastoral aspect of nursing to the scientific aspect quickly and seamlessly. There are other things that are fascinatingly interesting about why nursing is such a rewarding career which this blog will focus on. It is not what you need to be or what you can do but more like what can you get from being a nurse.

Although not as prominent in the media as it was during and just after the Covid19 pandemic there still remains a huge need for nurses to enable hospital and community services to effectively meet the needs of the population and nursing therefore remains a popular career choice for many. If you feel that nursing might be the career for you, here are some reasons why it is such a rewarding one.

The role of the nurse in improving people’s lives

Nurses can help people get through difficult health conditions and feelings and stay with them on the journey to recovery. Nurses will help to improve people’s lives simply by being there. Without nurses, hospitals would be a lot more frightening than they already are. It is not all nurses though who work in hospitals. You can work in an office, at a GP surgery, in a community team or with a bigger team of other health and social care professionals.

Career spanning your lifetime

Nursing is effectively a career for life. You can concentrate on your career and move up the career ladder.  This is a wonderful thing to know, and having this kind of job security is certainly a good reward for the hard work you are putting in daily.

Progressing in nursing

Nursing is not about joining at a specific level and then staying there, it is a career for life, and you can progress, but if you do want to stick at a level you’re happy with, that’s no problem, you certainly can. However, there are many chances at career progression in nursing, which is one of the many reasons people who join this area find it so rewarding.

The key to this career progression is to continue to learn.

You might choose to apply for a promotion in the field you are already working in, for example, or perhaps move across to another discipline, choosing to specialize rather than generalize in the workplace. The choice is yours if you have the evidence to back up your learning, knowledge, and experience.

Multidisciplinary work with different professionals

When you are a nurse, one of the most rewarding aspects is that you get to work alongside lots of different people. These people might be just like you, or they could be completely different, and that is part of the excitement of this particular aspect of the job.

So many people from a variety of walks of life choose to be nurses because it really is such a rewarding job. Therefore, you are sure to meet interesting people who vary in age, ethnicity, experience, personality, country of birth, and more. Think how much you can learn from these people, and what extra knowledge you can pick up.

This won’t just affect and improve your nursing work and working life, but it will have a positive impact on your home life too. Learning about how other people live and what they think will give you much more insight into everything.

The rewarding challenges of nursing

It’s true that some people are more than happy with a steady, nine-to-five job behind a desk, doing the same thing all day every day. For some, that is ideal. This is not the case for everyone, though, and if you prefer to have variety in your life, nursing is where you should think of applying as you can work across the twenty-four-hour care period including long days, nights, twilight shifts and many other shift types. Being challenged is exciting and will give you the chance to learn new skills, or to put your existing skills into practice. You will need to think on your feet and go with your experience and instinct in some cases, and although this can be daunting, over time, it will become one of the very best parts of the job.

To conclude, nursing is a truly rewarding career, opportunities are unlimited, and time is abundant in the pursuit of personal advancement within our field. The important consideration is whether or not, nursing is for you. If it is a career you would like to pursue, Leeds Trinity University offers Nursing courses with four specialisms:

• Nursing (Adult)
• Nursing (Child)
• Nursing (Learning Disabilities)
• Nursing (Mental Health)

There are currently still places for January 2025 entry available in Clearing. To find out more, or to arrange a call back from an academic, visit leedstrinity.ac.uk/nursing.

Chris Dlamini is a Senior Lecturer in Nursing - Learning Disabilities, at Leeds Trinity University