Lifestyle

Why Moms Often Make The Best Nurses

Why Moms Often Make The Best NursesWe all do our best to maintain a frugal households and keep those myriad day to day costs manageable. We’re master budgeteers, and are always finding ways to squeeze every cent out of every dollar. But that’s far from the only skill we bring to the world of work. It’s an unfortunate but evident state of affairs that we’re conditioned to pursue jobs and careers that offer us the greatest financial reward. It’s what drives young people in their droves toward seemingly lucrative careers in sales and marketing without feeling the need to enroll in further education. While we may survive or even thrive in these conditions, we often find ourselves feeling unfulfilled and lacking in a deeper sense no matter how well we’re compensated, financially.

Finding that sense of reward

As we mature, we slowly realize that some things really are more important than money. Our priorities realign and we gain the world experience to learn that no matter how much money we seem to make, it’s never quite enough. As we grow older and more seasoned in our worldview, we also come to realize that a career spent helping others is infinitely more rewarding and character building than a career spent pursuing money. Not only is it rewarding intellectually and spiritually, it also aids our mental health to pursue a career in which we can do good.

In terms of careers in which you’re rewarded by an ability to do good, you’d be hard pressed to beat nursing. While undeniably hard work, and requiring a particular set of skills, nursing has a number of benefits such as relatively high starting salaries, good job mobility and career progression and a huge range of potential specialisms.

Even if you’ve spent years in a completely unrelated career, this needn’t necessarily be prohibitive. Indeed, many come to nursing as a second career after they’ve become frustrated with their previous career or found returning to work after having children prohibitive or hostile. The great thing about nursing is that, so long as you’re fit enough to navigate the fast pace, you’re never too old for it to be a viable career option. The training options for nurses are both flexible and you can even pursue an MSN MBA program entirely online. Moreover, if you already have kids, you already have many of the qualities that make an awesome nurse… You just don’t know it yet.

Here we’ll look at the many skills all Moms possess which makes them perfect for the nursing profession…

Patience

If you’ve guided a youngster through the terrible twos without throwing them out of a window, selling them on eBay or encasing them in lucite you likely have the patience of a saint, and this patience is a vital component of what makes a great nurse. When people are in ill health or concerned about their health they’re rarely at their best. They may be disproportionately needy, short tempered, quick to anger or emotionally volatile… The very qualities we see exhibited by young children. A nurse’s responsibility is to care for these people with patience, dignity and respect without becoming incensed by their behavior, looking beyond it and empathizing with the causes. Thus, Moms already have one of the most fundamental qualities that not only gets a nurse through her day but propels her to greater heights in her career.

Communication

Communication is a fundamental part of parenting. A parent knows that there’s a whole lot more to communication than talking. They also quickly learn how to effectively use their voice to communicate important information to their kids in ways that will stick while resisting the urge to yell and get angry. They also know the importance of listening. No child will respect a parent who doesn’t listen to their needs, thoughts and opinions.

Likewise nurses are expected to communicate well with colleagues, especially since misunderstandings can have severe consequences for patients. They must also communicate effectively with patients, even if they’re not in a terribly receptive state. They must learn to keep their composure and modulate their voice, in order to deal effectively with upset or irate patients. They must also show active listening, empathy and compassion in their communications.

Planning and organization

Whatever her career was before, every Mom becomes adept at planning and keeping herself organized pretty darned quickly. Parenting is a steep learning curve and a Mom needs to keep herself rigidly organized if she is to survive those early years with her sanity intact (especially if she is a lone parent). She quickly becomes attuned to the rhythm and flow of her child’s sleeping and behavioral patterns and strategize accordingly without even thinking about it. As a nurse, this level of organization is absolutely essential. They need to prioritize their workload effectively, keep their days ordered and use their time as efficiently as possible (since every spare moment will likely be spent dealing with patient queries).

Teamwork and collaboration

There’s no truer test of a relationship than when your first child is born. You learn the true importance of working with your partner as a team to ensure that your child has the best possible start in life. You bring complementary skills to the table and even if you’re not doing it consciously, you plan your days and assign your duties depending on the skills and experience you and your partner bring to the table. Even if you’re a lone parent, you likely work collaboratively with your parents, other Moms and friends and family to ensure that your child gets the quality of care and attention they need for a healthy and happy life.

Nurses also have to establish great working relationships with their peers and supervisors. They need to communicate well with colleagues while ensuring that they maintain a healthy and happy working relationship through all the jobs’ various pressures.

Critical thinking

Thinking on your feet quickly becomes an integral part of a nurse’s training and experienced nurses are able to use critical thinking to make quick judgement many times throughout the course of a working day. For most Moms, however, that’s already been second nature for years.

 

5 thoughts on “Why Moms Often Make The Best Nurses

  1. In considering a rewarding career, you never find a career as rewarding as it is in the healthcare and medicine industries. Having the power and means to support someone in a life-threatening situation will make you feel more confident and happy with your career decision. Thank you for sharing.

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