Nursing Career Advancement: Taking The Next Step

Being a nurse for a living means that you’re a caring and compassionate person who loves to help others, and the world certainly needs more of your kind. Yet, caring about others doesn’t restrict you from caring about yourself as well – in fact, it will be difficult for you to apply your skills where it’s needed the most if you don’t spend some time on thinking about your next move. Even if you’re not ready today to take the steps needed to get to the next level in your nursing career, it’s good to be informed about the different options out there.

It doesn’t matter when you feel like it’s time for a change. Whether you’ve been a nurse for years already and have vast experience, or if you just put your uniform on for the first time last week; you know better than any when you should be aiming even higher.

Advancements is simply a way of using the experience you’ve built to stand out among your fellow nurses – and we have a handful of brilliant tips on how you move strategically.

Read a lot

Knowledge comes from reading and observing and as a nurse, you know this better than any. If you feel that it’s time to broaden your horizons, make sure you’re continuously reading and learning. The Internet is an endless resource of knowledgeable and experienced professionals who can give you tips on the latest trends, advice on problems you may encounter during your day, and an abundance of valuable medical experience in general.

Technology is constantly evolving, and you don’t want to be left behind. With the knowledge of other nurses online, you’ll be able to stay up to date on the latest advancements and practices in the sector; some of which you can patronize your fellow nurses on during the week. With the simple click of a mouse, all of this and more is available to you – completely free of charge.

You might get lost in the vastness of great blogs for nurses, so make use of this list of the top ten you absolutely must visit when you get the chance.

Specialize in something

The great thing about being a nurse is that you have a lot of opportunities for specializing in a field of interest. You’ve undoubtedly encountered a few areas that make you concentrate a bit better, that triggers your interest more, so to speak; by narrowing your focus to this area rather than general nursing, you’d be able to build a career out of it.

Different fields require different levels of education, so spend some time on reading up on where you’d like to go from here. It’s not just good for your career in the long run, by the way, it’s also healthy for your paycheck.

Although a lot of people arrive at this decision after years of experience as a nurse already, there’s nothing wrong with finding something to specialize in while you’re still a young nurse.

Achieving your BSN is also a good idea even though you’re already a working nurse. The healthcare sector is changing, as we all know, and the most dedicated of nurses will aim to acquire this degree as soon as possible.

Use your mentor

If you don’t already have a more experienced nurse to guide you, make sure to befriend one as soon as possible. The amount of knowledge and experience seasoned nurses possess is too valuable not to take advantage of – especially to you who are looking for a way to advance.

Build relationships with fellow nurses, ask them for advice when you need it, and make sure they know how immensely helpful their insights are to you. If you’re stuck with options of specializing in different fields, ask them for their opinion to make the right decision. Nobody else will be able to provide you with as many resources and experienced advice as these can, and they should know just how much you appreciate their help.

Another way of making use of other people’s experience in the field is to join a nursing organization. You’ll be standing shoulder to shoulder with the elite of nurses and have the opportunity to network with them – as you should – as well as absorbing all their knowledge. Read up on these great reasons to join an organization, by the way, to make up your mind.

It’s a step you can reap a lot of benefits from in the future and a clear choice for the dedicated nurse, looking for ways to boost their career in the right direction.