How Working as a Nurse Makes You Stronger

It goes so much further than the leg muscles that nurses develop walking an average of 986 steps per hour at work. At every level, nursing makes a person stronger, sometimes in unanticipated ways. Some take those strengths to another line of work after a short experience, while others use the power to climb the career ladder or put that strength to use in their personal lives.

It’s not exhaustive, but this short list sums up the many ways nursing makes you stronger, as defined by those on the front lines:

Nurses become strong judges of character: “Working as a nurse exposes you to all kinds of people in all kinds of situations,” noted licensed practical nurse and school nurse Christy Smith. “For the most part, it isn’t a good or happy time in their lives. You see people at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. You also meet people, whether delusional or manipulative, trying to manufacture or exaggerate health ailments for attention or sympathy. Having experience with different people in many different, sometimes extreme situations, helps you gain insight into human behavior in general and informs the decisions you may make in your own life.”

Nurses develop…