I get a lot of questions about nursing. How do I become a nurse? How do I become an oncology nurse? What is nursing like…for real? Is it too late for me to switch careers and become a nurse? What kind of opportunities are there for me in nursing? What if I don’t make it through school or pass the NCLEX? Can you look at my resume cover letter?

I never tire of answering questions about nursing. I love my career, and I try to provide a balanced perspective of the good, the bad, and the ugly within nursing. However, as much as nursing needs interested individuals, I have actually told people nursing might not be the best choice for them.

In a nutshell, if you do not have a deep desire to help others, or you shy away from hard work (which may or may not include bodily fluids), or you get tired of problem solving, nursing is probably not the right career choice for you. You’ll quickly find that daily nursing work usually includes all these elements, and if you don’t love what you do, it shows. Nursing already has plenty of unhappy individuals that often make me wonder if they were always like that or if they are by-products of negative experiences and environments. There’s no need to add more unhappy folks to health care.

Do what you love. Love what you do. That may or may not be nursing.