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Why Nursing?

"Think about all the different kinds of people you can take care of, and different areas you can work in. Envision yourself doing something incredible."

Why nursing?
“Patient care,” says Andrea Schmoyer, undergraduate admission and recruitment officer for the College of Nursing. When she meets with prospective students, she often asks them, have you been in a hospital? Who did you deal with? “It’s usually the nurses. The nurses are the ones who care for you on a regular basis. If the reason you’re interested in medicine is to work with patients and make a difference, nursing is a good fit.”

Nursing is also where the jobs are. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has determined that nursing is the top profession for job growth through 2012. With an estimated creation of 2.3 million jobs, registered nurses make up the largest health care occupation, according to the BLS. Career satisfaction, a nursing shortage, and good salaries are all contributing to the growth of the field.

Current UIC nursing students and alumni find this to be true. “Nursing covers so many areas of life,” says alum Dr. Marguerite Dixon. “UIC exposes you to all these areas of care that let you make a decision for what you want to do.”

Explains PhD student Cynthia Fritschi, “Although nurse practitioners have some prescriptive authority and some diagnostic authority and we are capable of diagnosing, our main focus has always been on the affects of the therapy, the treatment, and the response of the patient, both from a psychological and physiological level. We’re looking at a much broader picture – we’re looking at the whole person.”

“I knew I wanted to go into healthcare, I just didn’t know what area,” says senior Andrew Freeman. “Through a medical class in high school, I spent time with nurses in the ER and the cancer unit. I realized I wanted something intense. As a nurse, you’re on the frontline of care for patients.”

His classmate Laura Sweeney echoes this sentiment. “I always wanted to be in the medical field, but I didn’t know which field. When I was a freshman in high school, I had to go through surgery. Being at the hospital, I felt scared – I didn’t know what was going to happen. But the nurses were so amazing. They really inspired me.”

Mid-career individuals are also making the decision to switch to nursing. In 2005, the College of Nursing welcomed the first class of its Graduate Entry Program, which makes it possible for people with a baccalaureate degree in another field to pursue nursing qualifications through to a master’s degree in nursing.

Fritschi sees this trend on a personal level. “Right now I know five different women in their mid-40s who are either thinking of nursing or starting a career in nursing. Why do we come into it later? Because we realize we really can combine a lot of things and life experience – it’s not just about the science. Think about all the different kinds of people you can take care of, and different areas you can work in. Envision yourself doing something incredible.”