Why nursing is one of the most versatile degrees

If you have a caring spirit but you’re not quite sure what to study within the field of medicine, why not try nursing? We’ll explain why nursing is one of the most versatile degrees and how it’s a direct path to a stable, fulfilling and rewarding career no matter where you live. If you have a caring spirit but you’re not quite sure what to study within the field of medicine, why not try nursing? We’ll explain why nursing is one of the most versatile degrees and how it’s a direct path to a stable, fulfilling and rewarding career no matter where you live. 

Clinical versus non-clinical roles

When you study nursing at the University of Bolton, you don’t have to go right into a clinical environment. There’s so much more variety available within nursing that you can take advantage of. You could work in hospitals, clinics, schools and care homes. But there are also case management, health education, policy advising and healthcare administration routes that you can follow as well. Then just think about the specialisms for more advanced practice that include Anesthetists and Nurse Midwives. And that’s assuming you want to go into a traditional route as opposed to something in the third sector. You could be working with international organisations to provide care in underserved areas and during global crises. It’s clear that nursing is one of the most versatile degrees because you don’t have to go right into working for the NHS (although that’s a great option). There are so many other career paths you could take, but all of them lead to a rewarding future.

Working worldwide

According to Deloitte, “In the UK, more than 42,000 workers left the NHS during the last two quarters of 2022. [...] However, healthcare workforce shortages are not unique to the UK. By 2030, the global healthcare sector will need an estimated 80 million healthcare workers to meet the demands of the global population — double the number of health workers in 2013. And without intervention, the world will be short of some 18 million healthcare staff, mostly in lower-income countries, with nurses and midwives making up half of that gap.” So, not only are nurses needed here in the UK but there are also a lot of places globally where you could work once you’ve been trained (and some for a very high wage). The US, Virgin Islands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Canada, Denmark, UAE, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands are the 10 highest paying countries for nurses abroad. And many (like Switzerland) are also facing an overall shortage of nurses.

Variable working hours

Hospitals, care homes, schools, corporate offices, public health departments, home care and even remote telehealth positions are available options once you’ve got your nursing degree. This means you could work on-call, full-time and part-time; creating an amazing work-life balance that few careers get to enjoy. That’s perfect if you know that you perform best during certain hours or have other responsibilities at home. You can take a more or less intense role as it suits you and really focus on forming strong connections with patients and their families, making policy or contributing to a particular specialism. This makes nursing great for busy parents, carers or even mature students.

Plus, as you interact with other departments and teams, you might find a direction you’d like to focus on for further study or development. No matter what your passion is, it’s clear that nursing is one of the most versatile degrees available. Ready to launch your nursing career? Talk to us at 01204 952 747 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk to get started and enjoy #UniAsItShouldBe.