5 Nursing Myths—Debunked
Nursing. The word is synonymous with care and compassion. From the moment we’re born, nurses are our first point of contact with medical care, and the World Health Organization estimates that there are about 29 million of them worldwide. But despite their importance in literally keeping us alive, not to mention their indispensable role in the medical system, it’s been hard for these health care professionals to shake the nursing stereotype of a kindly woman dispensing Band-Aids and lollipops.
The truth is that nursing is an incredibly diverse profession, and being a nurse requires a high level of skill and training. Let’s debunk five of the most common nursing myths your nurse wishes would disappear for good.
5 Myths About Being a Nurse
Nursing Myth 1: All Nurses Do the Same Work
There are as many nursing specialties as there are branches of medicine, and nurses often have very specific skill sets depending on where they work. One of the main appeals of being a nurse is its flexibility and variety. From aesthetics to podiatry, there are endless choices when it comes to what kind of work you want to do beyond the nursing stereotypes.
Nursing Myth 2: Nurses Are Doctors’ Assistants
Don’t let a nurse catch you repeating this myth! Nursing is a complex and specialized field in its own right. Although nurses collaborate closely with all health care providers, including doctors, they make their own decisions and recommendations for the patients they care for. Many nurses can even provide the same level of treatment to patients without the need to even see a doctor.
Nursing Myth 3: Nurses Only Work in Hospitals
Anywhere health care happens, you can find nurses working. This, of course, includes all the places you would expect, like hospitals and medical offices, but also places you probably wouldn’t. Nurses also work in noncritical care settings, such as schools, insurance companies, rehabilitation centers, and pharma, among others.
Nursing Myth 4: Nurses Only Work with Patients
Caring for the health of individuals and communities is at the core of everything nurses do, but being a nurse doesn’t mean you have to only work one-on-one with patients. Informatics, health care policy, research, education, hospital administration, and consulting are all areas where nurses can make a difference without being bedside.
Nursing Myth 5: Nurses Don’t Make Good Money
No one becomes a nurse to get rich. Nursing is a calling as much as it is a profession. However, it’s a highly regulated profession that requires rigorous training and education, and as such, it’s compensated accordingly.
Nursing salaries vary depending on your level of education, specialty, and the geographical area in which you work, but the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median annual pay for registered nurses was $86,070 in 2023. Plus, with an average of 194,500 nursing jobs projected to open each year, nursing is a career with a lot of room to grow, especially if you continue your education. One of the benefits of a bachelor’s degree in nursing is that you could earn even more over the span of your career.
The Truth About Your Nursing Career
Nurses work hard every day proving these five myths wrong, and despite some pesky nursing stereotypes, an annual Gallup poll measuring the honesty and ethics of various professions has listed nursing as the profession trusted most by Americans since 2002.
Is nursing right for you? The truth is that being a nurse is a rewarding professional path for a person with a calling to care, and Excelsior University has nursing degree programs at every level so you can build the career you want.
