If you’ve just started looking into becoming a nurse or signing up for an LVN program in California, we put together a list of what we think are the most compelling and common sense reasons to take the plunge.
The reality is that nursing is a very much in-demand profession with a lot of room for growth, development, and potential. Check out our top 10 list and let us know how we can help you get signed up to become an LVN in just over one year.
1. Current Job Status: Sucks
Truth: there’s no shame in an honest day’s work, right? Also true: not all jobs are created equal. Maybe your current role is not the right fit for you. (No judgment!) Is there not enough room for advancement? Does it lack meaning and significance? Are you motivated by the idea of making a real difference and, wait for it…
2. Saving Lives
Your literal job description in many nursing roles is to save lives. You may even find yourself doing it off the job when you’re minding your own business and chilling out with your family on the weekend (that happens more than you think). It’s inarguable that as a nurse, you know that you’re making a real contribution to your community.
It’s also a bit of a mic drop moment when you’re at a party, and a friend brags about his latest startup going IPO. Your response? “I save lives.”
3. Nursing Shortage: Yep, It’s Real
The nursing shortage isn’t a rumor. It’s actually a problem (so much so that we’ve written about it) and will have an adverse impact on the national healthcare system unless more and more men and women enlist in the field. The population is aging, chronic disease is on the rise, and baby boomer nurses are starting to retire. Those are just three reasons that the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics cited that demand for nurses will grow 15% between now and 2026. (To give you some context: that same office reports that the demand for computer programmers is declining by 7% during that same period.)
4. Connecting with People in this Crazy World
Most nurses (even those in admin roles) spend most of their time working and connecting with other staff members and patients. Nursing is as socially interactive as it is life-saving. Tired of hiding behind a cubicle? Would you describe yourself as a “people person?” Yearning for engagement outside Instagram likes? Nursing may be your calling!
5. Career Opportunities
Starting out as an LVN allows you the option of enrolling in an accelerated program and transitioning to an RN quickly while you’re earning a competitive and living wage. Once you become an RN: your career options are almost endless. You could become a nurse practitioner or specialize in a number of in-demand nursing fields. Dreamed of seeing the world? Become a traveling nurse and work in different hospital environments around the country. (Read more about the fascinating challenges and lucrative nursing career paths on our Facebook page.)
6. Working with Great People
Maybe no other word is overused quite so much as “great,” but we’re going to do it anyway. Nurses are amazing people, and so are nursing aids, vocational nurses and the wide array of selfless healthcare professionals who put patient care first. You’ll never get the same sense of teamwork in any other profession. Doesn’t that sound pretty…great?
7. Most Trusted Profession
For the past 16 years, #1 in Gallup’s Most Trusted Profession poll? Nurses. According to the poll, nurses consistently outrank 22 other occupations (including teachers, cops, clergy and daycare providers) for having higher ethics and honesty.
8. It’s Not Just for Women Anymore
Where there was once a stigma associated with male nurses, that’s changing quickly. The field is still dominated by women (90%) but with more and more millennials becoming nurses, it’s likely that men looking for competitive wages, and, let’s face it, all the reasons in this list will ignore the perceptions that were placed on the profession during their parents’ generation.
9. Diverse Work Environment
While nursing used to be a mostly white and female profession, that’s also changing quickly. According to a study by the American Nurses Association (ANA), all nurses under 40 are becoming increasingly diverse. The rates of diversity in nursing will, according to the report, continue to rise right along with the demand for nurses into the future.
10. Great Starting Salary
Rewarding work is important, and so is compensation. There aren’t many careers where graduates without a 4-year degree earn a living wage. The median salary for vocational or practical nurses is $21 p/h according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Also: the demand for vocational nurses is set to increase 15% by 2026, the same overall rate of the nursing profession.
Enrolling in an accelerated LVN program ensures that you’re certified and trained in just over a year, allowing you to get hands-on experience and potentially even finding an employer that will reimburse your tuition if you transition to an RN.
Saving lives. Earning a competitive salary. Stable and flexible employment. Engaging with people in meaningful and rewarding ways. Sound too good to be true? It’s not. It’s called being a nurse. We’re here to help you do that. Call us at 1-310-559-0225 or email us today.
