Nursing is a profession that calls for passion. It is a dynamic and expanding profession, a meeting ground of both art and science, and focusing on helping patients maintain and achieve an optimal state of health. According to National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 1999, nurses help clients in 4 specific areas:

? Promoting good health,

? Coping with health anomalies and maintaining normal life,

? Adapting to and/or recovering from after-effects of disease or injury, and

? Supporting them in their right to a dignified death. In general, a nursing career is a good choice for individuals who find pleasure in actively participating in helping others, desire to remain untiring to the extent possible and prefer a wide variety of employment opportunities.

To be true, nursing offers ample opportunities for able and talented individuals to explore their attributes to work in critical health-related environment, such as childbirth centers, community health, emergency departments, geriatric wellness programs, intensive care units, mental health programs, occupational health, operating rooms, nursing research, school health, substance abuse treatment programs, and many more. It is imperative that nurses appreciate the need for life-long learning in order to keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date in view of ongoing changes that constantly occur in nursing and the health care system. In short therefore, nursing is a career for a lifetime.

That being so, what motivates nurses to pursue their chosen careers? Some notable reasons are enumerated below:

? Lucy Collins, who works as a critical-care nurse for close to 16 years and has one of her daughters in the same line, feels that nursing has been an extremely rewarding and flexible career for her. There are a lot of open doors, she says insisting that the outlook for nursing jobs is going to improve manifold.

? Ruth Jacobs, a clinical nurse specialist, is forever an optimist. She notes that nurses are not driven by haughty lifestyle and enormous salary, but by an honest desire to help people. Ruth concludes, "No matter what patients are going through, they're always there to thank you. That indeed is very motivating."

? David Williams recalls that he wanted to become a physician, but knowing that he desired a caring family and free time for himself, he found that nursing was his best option. After all, wouldn't nursing merge flexibility and provide a thousand career opportunities! He is confident of having chosen the right career.

? Judy Jones readily admits that becoming a doctor was high on her priority. But after the first semester, when she switched to nursing on the spur of moment in a career fair, she knew she made the right choice. She has not looked back since. Today she has become a traveling nurse, meeting new challenges everyday. Judy is working for her master's degree, and is fairly confident of starting her own traveling nurse agency soon.

Apart from job diversity and rewarding career, nursing is also a well-paying profession and holds a good growth promise. Today, entry-level nurses can look forward to an annual income of $31,000 to $41,000, translating to $15 to $20 per hour of work. Additionally, flexible work schedules, child-care, educational benefits, free housing and other attractive bonuses are also in offing.

But perhaps the most heartening aspect is the spiraling requirement of qualified nurses for many years to come, which means that nursing will continue to stay on top of the job market. In other words, nursing as a career is not only rewarding, but is also limitless in terms of opportunity and fulfilling profession.

Little wonder therefore that nursing is increasingly chosen as a second career by professionals from other fields and also by male aspirants. As Rob Peterson, an applicant to master's degree in nurse anesthetist program puts it succinctly, ?I like the flexible hours, the benefits, the pay, and besides, nursing is fun.? Few will disagree.

Copyright 2006 Linda Raye