---
title: Why Become a Nurse?
url: "https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/why-become-a-nurse/"
type: post
date_published: 2019-12-10
date_modified: 2025-08-01
schema:
  @type: Article
language: en-US
word_count: 692
reading_time: 4 min
canonical: "https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/why-become-a-nurse/"
featured_image: "https://arizonacollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/nurse-and-baby1.jpg"
categories:
  - Nursing Careers
topic:
  - Nursing
---

# Why Become a Nurse?

---

![Nurse with baby](https://arizonacollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/nurse-and-baby1.jpg)

### Nursing is an Emotionally Rewarding Career

As a nurse, you are responsible for helping people through some of their most
vulnerable moments. You have the opportunity to truly make a difference in the
lives of others. Every day is meaningful and unique. Your daily work can range
from helping save lives to holding someone’s hand during their time of need to
everything else in between.

### Nursing is America’s Most Trusted Profession

Doing such purpose-driven, meaningful work is one of the top reasons to become a
nurse and explains why nursing is such a highly respected field. In fact,
nursing has been the most trusted profession for the past 16 years,
[according to an annual nationwide poll](https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/nurses-top-gallup-poll-most-trusted-profession-16-years-running)
.

Registered nurses are even ranked **#18 on The 100 Best Jobs** list
[from US news](https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs)
, based on salary, job market, future growth in the job outlook for nurses,
stress, and work-life balance.

### Nursing is Growing Much Faster Than Most Occupations

With nursing being such an essential occupation in our society, the
[US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm#tab-6)
expects the employment of registered nurses to grow 12%—much faster than the
average occupation—between 2018 and 2028, resulting in 371,500 new nursing
positions.

Because of this rapid employment growth, and with many older nurses predicted to
retire in the next decade, the demand for nurses continues to be strong. Some
geographic areas even face a
[nursing shortage](http://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Shortage)
, with high numbers of nurses needed.

### Most Employers Prefer Nurses with a Bachelor’s Degree

According to the
[BLS](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm#tab-6), the job
outlook for nurses with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) will be better
than for those without a BSN degree. In 2017, an
[American Association of Colleges of Nursing survey](http://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Research-Data-Center/Employment/2017)
also found these nursing facts:

### Nursing Offers Many Diverse & Exciting Career Paths

When you
[become a registered nurse](https://www.arizonacollege.edu/blog/how-to-become-a-registered-nurse)
, you can choose from a variety of nursing career paths, including pursuing
nursing specialties such as:

- [Neonatal Nurse](https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/neonatal-nursing-what-you-need-to-know/)
- Medical-Surgical Nurse
- [Pediatric Nurse](https://www.arizonacollege.edu/blog/pediatric-nursing-what-you-need-to-know/)
- Geriatric Nursing
- Emergency Room Nurse
- Hospice Nurse
- [Oncology Nurse](https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/oncology-nursing-what-you-need-to-know/)
- [Labor and Delivery Nurse](https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/labor-and-delivery-nursing-what-you-need-to-know/)

Additional nursing career paths (such as nurse practitioner and nurse midwife
specializations) can be pursued by nurses with master’s or doctorate degrees in
nursing. However, you will need to first earn a bachelor’s degree from an
accredited nursing school like Arizona College.

The
[role of a nurse](https://www.arizonacollege.edu/blog/a-typical-day-in-the-shoes-of-a-registered-nurse/)
can vary greatly depending on your specialty and where you work, with common
work environments including:

- Hospitals
- Surgical Facilities
- Emergency Care Facilities
- Long-term Care
- Home Care
- Nursing Homes
- Physicians’ Offices
- Outpatient Facilities
- Hospice Care
- Schools and Education Facilities
- Correctional Facilities
- Military Bases

### Nurses are a Vital Part of our Healthcare System

A critical part of the US healthcare system, nurses are important for their work
providing patient care and collaborating with other healthcare team members. A
registered nurse interacts with patients daily to help them regain and maintain
wellness and can greatly impact their patients’ health, outcomes, and even
happiness.

The tasks nurses perform include:

- Assessing and observing patients’ conditions
- Administering medication
- Educating patients and their families about treatment plans and health
  conditions
- Providing emotional support for patients and their loved ones
- Consulting with and assisting physicians
- Carrying out physician medical orders
- Supervising LPNs and nursing students

---

_Information in this blog post is accurate as of December 10, 2019._

**Categories:** Nursing Careers