Why Moms Make Great Nurses

Going back to college can be a scary prospect for anyone, but especially a stay-at-home mom. You're probably thinking, I stay at home all day cooking meals, tending to laundry... making sure my precious little ones are well cared for. How could I possibly be prepared to enter into a field of study that will lead to me thriving in a career?

Actually, it can prepare you plenty, particularly when considering a career in Nursing.

The key trait shared by successful nurses and moms everywhere can be summed up by one word - empathy. Understanding what it means to love someone as only a mother can only lead to a more caring nurse capable of taking great care of patients.

Besides, think of some other tasks most mothers deal with daily, such as monitoring fevers and bandaging skinned knees. These are all qualities that can easily be transferred into the nursing profession.

Nurses can impact the world in a way few professions can. And moms definitely have valuable experience that they can bring to the field. Returning to school still might seem daunting. But accelerated training programs like the Nursing programs at Concorde can take a lot of those stresses away with its focus on hands-on training and getting you into your career as quickly as possible.

Reversing Roles

Laura Ballance, RN, MSN, an instructor at one of Concorde's Nursing Programs in Jacksonville, FL, today finds herself in a reverse role with her 80-year-old mother. About 10 years ago, Ballance's mom grew seriously ill, and Ballance moved her mom from Atlanta back to her Jacksonville home.

"If I had not been a nurse, I would not have known what a layperson does not know," Ballance said. "All of the things that had to be done were legal, ethical and required going to the courthouse, hiring a social worker and talking with attorneys. However, I was successful with hospitalizations both in Atlanta and Jacksonville and re-establishing her physicians and financial concerns in Jacksonville."

Every step of the way, Ballance said, was based off providing nursing care, being a daughter and becoming a caretaker.

"This experience has been traumatic, life-learning and a very new love-learning experience," she said. "I'm proud to be a nurse, a daughter and a new, different kind of mom."

Six Nursing qualities you didn't know you already have

A recent blog post by Collegis Education listed six qualities nurses typically possess that also are natural qualities shared by good moms, as determined by software analysis of more than 1.8 million registered nurses.

• Communication - More than simply talking, it's also listening and recognizing non-verbal cues. Moms do these things daily, which could be an important advantage for a good nurse to have.
• Planning - Moms must plan every day to improve the lives of their children and families, and nurses also must be good planners in order to prioritize tasks and maintain order and efficiencies on the job.
• Teamwork and collaboration - A family is a team, and mom is the co-head coach. Most nurses also work in teams and must know qualities such as compromising, communicating, being firm when necessary, and also knowing when to show a softer side.
• Supervisory skills - Moms, obviously, are the chief supervisors at home, and nurses also have to supervise and monitor as primary tasks.
• Computer skills - You might not think filling out online forms for your child's enrollment is a skill that carries over, but nurses record a lot of information every day in much the same fashion.
• Critical thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify and solve problems? It sounds like an ordinary, every-day process for both nurses and moms.

There are many different kinds of nurses and nursing programs out there. Some programs, like our Vocational Nurse Programs and Practical Nurse Programs, take less than a year to complete and can get you into your career in that short a time. Others take longer. Some programs are even online, like our RN to BSN program. But take the time to check out Concorde's nursing programs. There's one that might fit you!