Why Nursing is a Rewarding Career

To answer the question, ‘Why is nursing a rewarding career?’ we interviewed Jessica Napoli-McNally, DNP, FNP-BC, CNEcl, Associate Dean of Nursing, RN-BS Completion Programs, Director of Clinical Experiences to find out what she had to say, both as a nurse education and a practicing RN.

What originally sparked your interest in becoming a nurse?

What originally started me in nursing was my daughter. I always had an interest in healthcare, and my first bachelor’s degree was actually in health science, but I did not have a real, true direction on where I wanted to take that. My daughter was born very, very premature. She was in the NICU for four months in Syracuse and I connected with a nurse there who gave me hope that my daughter was going to be okay. I connected with that nurse, and I realized that she did not just give meds; she did not just do those tasks. There was so much more to it. She comforted me, she gave me hope that Rose was going to be okay; she did a lot of things outside of just the skills that you always think about with nursing. You know, you always think about CPR and stuff like that, but there is so much more to it. I still remember her, I do. I was inspired by another nurse.

Tell me about your career and how it has developed over time.

Oh, I have had an interesting career. Very interesting! So, I started as an ICU nurse in Cortland, New York. I worked there for several years, and then I decided to move to the Albany area because my family had actually moved up here. When I came up, I worked in ICUs and I worked in trauma units, and I did a little bit of travel nursing. A very small amount, but I did a little. That is how I actually figured out which hospital I wanted to work at. I did travel assignments so I could try them out! Then, over time, I moved on and went to nursing supervision, and one day I was a charge nurse on a unit in St. Clare’s in Schenectady, which is now closed. But I was working there and students came in, and they were Maria students! The instructor asked me, “Have you ever thought about teaching?” and I said, “Oh, absolutely not. I am not a teacher! I am definitely not a teacher, there is no way; I don’t think I could do that at all.” So she asked me to bring her my resume to talk about it, and I did. I have been at Maria since! At Maria, I have had many different roles. I was the lab coordinator for a while, I have been a classroom instructor, and I have been a clinical instructor, all over the place.

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of your job?

I think honestly, I have the same problem that everyone else does: the challenge right now is enough staff. It really is. For me, it is multifaceted because I need staff to teach the nurses. So, we obviously need to hire enough faculty to go to the hospitals and work with the students. Also, when we do go to work, in the hospitals with the students, they are short-staffed there. So we are there, and they are short, so those nurses are stretched as thin as they can be. So, you know, there is a tension. There is a definite underlying vibe that everyone is as maxed out as they can be. So, as an instructor, I have to take the approach of helping, rather than being a burden, so we have to approach all of this the right way so that we can help them, rather than become a burden on them. We really do try to help the nurses out there because the staffing shortage is unreal.

Regarding the mood in the hospitals: Covid brought out most of the panic and concern and anxiety, there was a lot of change. A lot of people left, a lot of people went and traveled. Right now, I see more teamwork than ever, to tell you the truth. I do. For example, we came in last week and we took the nurse’s assignment, I took her whole assignment, all the patients she had, I said, “We got it” and we took care of them. I had senior students, so in turn, they had no Patient Care Associate, or technician that day, so she went and did vital signs around the whole unit and acted as the PCA. Where she could have just said, great you got my assignment, easy day for me. But she didn’t. She stayed and stepped up to help her fellow nurses on the unit. I see a lot more teamwork now.

What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of your job?

For nursing, the patients. The patients, the patients, the patients. They are absolutely the most rewarding. Helping people at their lowest moments. I go on the trauma unit a lot, and on the trauma unit, no one plans for anything that has happened to them. This is a sudden traumatic event that has altered them in some way, shape, or form. So, to help them, whether it be in that moment, or to help them get home, or to help them walk again; or whatever it might be, that is absolutely the most rewarding part of that.

As a nursing instructor, the most rewarding part is watching your students grow from these novice, inexperienced, healthcare providers; into these people you would let care for your own children. Watching them and seeing these little pieces of care that they learned from you; the little techniques that you do, the little phrases that you might say to your patient, they’ll pick up on those little nuances and then use them and that is so rewarding to watch them grow and develop into really caring nurses.

What drives you to continue within your field?

What drives me? I don’t know what else I would do! It’s like it is my purpose. It really is! I really don’t know what else I would do. I would feel empty if I didn’t do it. I would. I get a ton of fulfillment from this. Meaningful and worthwhile are really good words to describe it because there is nothing that I do that is wasted. It’s all for the good of humanity. Whether it be one person, a class, whatever it is. It’s helping.

What motivates you to come to work on a daily basis?

I think it’s the drive to keep doing it, you know? It just is. It’s like an adventure every day. It really is, no day is the same.

What would you tell someone who is considering becoming a nurse?

It is the most rewarding experience short of having children. It is a career that continues to give back to you over and over and over. And it can be the simplest little thing as a thank you, or you know, as big as a promotion, whatever it may be. It just always gives back. It does. If you care about human beings, and have that empathy, and drive to help people, it is a perpetual cycle of reward.

What makes the occupation of nursing a rewarding career?

The people. The reactions from people, the interactions with people, obviously helping people get better, making them feel better, and then the students. They are amazing. They are absolutely amazing. They work, SO hard. So, so hard. I’ve been there. I did that work. I know it’s not easy, I know how difficult it is. But to watch them from start to finish… Some of them are fighting. They are fighting a lot. They have a lot going on at home, they have work, they have other obligations, they have families, they have everything, and they push through, and push through. And you coach them along.