7 Ways to upgrade Your Nursing Career

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Nursing is a multifaceted career. Though many people still associate nursing with bedside care, it has expanded well beyond it. Today nurses are taking part in complex procedures, prescribing medications, diagnosing patients, and taking part in important decisions about their patients.

But transitioning from basic bedside care to complicated responsibilities doesn’t happen if you don’t develop your career. Career upgradation can happen in many ways. If you have decided to advance in the career path you are following or change your current career trajectory, this article is a must-read for you. Today we will explain ways you can upgrade your nursing career.

1. Upgrade your qualification

The most obvious way to advance in your career is to upgrade your education. You can enroll in a higher education program in your current work domain or change your work area too. For instance, if you started working with a mere nursing diploma with an RN certification, now is the chance to advance with a BSN degree. 

A BSN degree opens up many specialization options for you, and you can get into the work area of your choice. You have two choices for enrolling in a BSN degree— an online or an on-campus program. 

If you have decided to rest from your job or if your workplace allows leaves to register in a full-time degree program, you can move ahead with an on-campus degree. Otherwise, getting into an RN to BSN online program is your best choice. You will be working full-time but learning new things too. Online programs give you the liberty to manage your study schedule and pace, which is impossible in an on-campus program. 

2. Work with a mentor

Nurses often find themselves in tough situations. They must make complicated decisions in an emergency, handle multiple patients at a time, control their nerves, communicate with other medical staff, etc. These situations require clinical knowledge, and skills like critical thinking ability, decision making, etc., are indispensable too.

Nurses can polish their skills by working with a skilled and seasoned mentor. A mentor can train nurses to respond in a specific situation, work under pressure, or make decisions when the information is scarce or unavailable.

Working with a mentor is extremely important for your professional and personal development. It helps you grow without wasting your time making avoidable mistakes.

3. Consider specialization options

Often, the key to taking your career to newer heights is to constrict your options and find a niche.

Based on your educational qualification level, you can get many specialization options to choose from. You can get into anesthesia, cardiology, dermatology, midwifery, and whatnot.

In addition, you can also opt to specialize in a different area – this would mean a chance to work on different projects and with people and learn from them. It also means expanding your career options and job prospects.

Your certification or specialization becomes more meaningful if you receive them from an accredited institution. So, always look into the accreditation and credibility of the institution and the course before enrolling.

4. Join a professional organization

Engaging with organizations that share your interests is always a good idea. Joining a professional nursing organization will help you meet like-minded people, connect with them, and expand your networks.

You will also get exposed to new learning and working opportunities. Professional nursing organizations often offer study scholarships, complimentary passes, and invitations to seminars and conferences.

5. Befriend technology

Technology is becoming indispensable for everyone, including nurses. Healthcare is flooded with sophisticated technology that helps with intricate procedures, surgeries, record keeping, information management, etc. All these technological applications allow better patient care services, not to mention that the currently available cloud applications, software, etc. store unlimited information too.

Nurses wanting to excel in their careers must be inclined to become more tech-savvy and learn about using new software and how to utilize them in their job.

Maintaining tech knowledge is paramount to your career development in the 21^st century. Plenty of resources, short courses, and free guides are available online to learn about the latest medical equipment and technology and how to use them.

6. Read nursing blogs

It often does not cross our minds to read about others’ experiences and life lessons to make changes in our personal and professional life. But reading can help a lot.

Nursing-related blogs and resources can be available to you with just a few clicks, and you can take advantage of them. Sometimes doing something in practice like managing teams or being in leadership roles starts with simply knowing about them.

Through nursing blogs, you can learn about the journey of the leading nurses and use their experience of how they overcame problems and got out of certain situations.

7. Discuss your ideas

Discussing your ideas and ambitions is one way to be conspicuous in your career. You can connect with your supervisor and let them know what you intend to achieve, where you see yourself in the next five years and your aspirations for your organization.

Never miss the chance to highlight what you can do for your current boss and organization. If no one knows your plans and ambitions, you will not be considered a potential choice when there is an opportunity. You can also show interest in participating in committees that oversee various hospital functions. These committees are an excellent chance to engage with people from other departments.

Conclusion

Nursing might look like the easiest job on this planet. It is because some people limit nurses' jobs to a few monotonous duties only. In reality, nursing is a very tricky, demanding, and exhausting job. Therefore, it is not suitable for everyone.

Nursing is for those who believe they can overcome this profession's challenges and possess the desire to take the initiative to excel. There are various ways to excel in your career. Some of them are mentioned in the article above too. These ways can help any nurse at any career stage to upgrade their career.