Nurses and healthcare workers are among the most important resources in any country. They are doing an amazing job of maintaining the health and prosperity of the population.
But when you do the same job over and over again, day after day, for years, you can start to lose your spark and passion.
You may feel stuck and your worries become more routine and robotic. This is a demanding profession. Feeling tired and exhausted is normal. But don’t worry, here are seven secrets that will help you start a fire in your stomach, helping you climb the nursing career ladder.
Table of Contents
1. Set clear goals for your nursing career.
Having something to strive for motivates and inspires.
If you know where you want to be in a year, five or even ten years, you can take steps now to make sure you are there. Having big goals like going from Registered Nurse to a Nursing Leadership Team or Chief Nurse is awesome. Or maybe your goals look a little more attuned to the lifestyle you hope to lead in the coming years. For example, many aim to switch to nursing over the next few years of his career to provide specialized assistance in areas that need it most.
Whatever your goals in a nursing career, think not only about your main goals, but also about what you need to do to achieve them. It can be helpful to write it all down and break down your goals into smaller goals with shorter time frames so you can see your progress.
2. Find a caregiver.
There is nothing more valuable in the professional world than a mentor.
Choose someone who has the experience and knowledge to help you achieve what you want, especially in the field of nursing.
As a nurse, you face completely different situations. You are faced with a huge number of scenarios every day, some of which even the oldest nurse has not even heard of.
Having someone with a lot of experience and knowledge in the field you aspire to ask questions, seek advice, and give advice is such a valuable asset to help you take your career steps.
3. Accept constructive feedback.
Feedback is a useful tool when you are trying to grow, learn, and progress. This allows you to get to know the areas where you excel and those that seem to need some work.
Feedback is not meant to upset you or make you feel like you’re doing a bad job. He is here to help you. keep learning and become a better medical professional, so don’t take it personally.
Use the feedback you receive to improve your practice. Write down what you need to do to get better. This way you can remember them and work towards achieving them on your next shift.
If professional feedback isn’t given to you regularly, ask for it. Be active and show that you want to learn and develop. Soon you will find yourself a little higher up this ladder.
4. Don’t succeed.
Nobody’s perfect. Something goes wrong all the time, especially in nursing.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Raise your hand, acknowledge it, learn from it and fix it. Will you make the same mistakes twice? No.
The best way to grow and improve your practice is to try. Success will never be a straight line to the top. You must make several failures along the line in order to succeed. It is how you handle these difficult moments that will make you notice and recognize that you are capable of taking a higher position.
Ask for advice, find an effective solution, implement it successfully and learn from your mistakes.
5. Specialize in your nursing career.
There are so many different paths in the nursing industry! All of them relate to different aspects of health or patients.
If you become an expert in a certain area, you will be able to move up the career ladder faster. Fewer people will apply for these high-class positions.
Find an area of nursing that you are truly passionate about, where you feel comfortable and have the potential to really excel and pursue it.
If you choose to follow this path, studying to become a doctor of nursing will increase your career prospects. Baylor University Online DNP CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife) allows graduates to enhance their careers with exemplary leadership and interpersonal skills ready to climb that career ladder.
6. Be active!
New developments are constantly taking place in the world of healthcare, medicine and patient care.
As a nurse, especially one who wants to move to a higher position, you need to be up to date with practice and theory.
Be active in your growth by attending trainings and events both inside and outside your workplace. Show that you are committed and passionate about your role. Always look for opportunities to develop and further develop your practice.
Also, be proactive during your shift by anticipating patient needs, helping colleagues, and completing assignments. Do it when you notice that they need to be done, not when you are asked to.
7. Ask about opportunities.
If your workplace does not offer any training or promotional activities or networking opportunities, ask for them.
When you know what will help you climb the corporate ladder, ask for it. If you would like to learn more in a particular area because you feel you need to increase your confidence and this will greatly improve your clinical practice, say so.
If you are ready to take on more responsibilities because you feel you are capable of handling them professionally and successfully, become a volunteer and prove yourself. Make it clear that you want to move up the career ladder.
Demonstrate that you are a hardworking, reliable worker who deserves it.
Being stuck at the same level for years, no matter what career you’re in, can be daunting. This can slowly extinguish the flames of passion you once had. Instead of sitting still and just doing your day to day tasks, pull yourself together, know your goals, and steer your career in the right direction.
