A Guide for Healthcare Professionals: 5 Career Progression Tips for Nurses

Have you recently hit that proverbial glass ceiling in your nursing career? If you’re to overcome this hurdle and push yourself forward in a professional sense, it’s imperative that you put the advice laid out below into practice.

Here are five career progression tips for nurses:

Be Proactive

The nursing field is incredibly competitive. No matter what hospital you work in or how many years you’ve dedicated to the healthcare industry, you will always face stiff competition when it comes to attaining promotions and opportunities.

If you’re to stand out from the crowd as a nurse, you’re going to need to operate in a highly proactive fashion. By taking the initiative on your ward, you will show yourself to be more than just a skilled healthcare provider. You will show yourself to be someone that is capable of taking control, you will show yourself to be a dedicated professional, and you will show yourself to be incredibly confident. All of these attributes will stand you in good stead whenever you attempt to take on more responsibility in your healthcare environment.

Want to climb your career ladder in double-quick time? If so, you simply must embrace proactive nursing. Here are ten things you can do to take the initiative in your career:

1. Keep your workspace tidy and sterile

2. Respond to patient concerns and physician requests promptly

3. Stop shying away from challenges

4. Honor your commitments at all times

5. Follow up on patients even after you’ve finished caring for them

6. Learn from your mistakes

7. Have the foresight to predict certain events before they take place

8. Embrace a ‘solutions only’ state of mind

9. Don’t wait for opportunities, create them

10. Actively attempt to involve yourself in new projects

Display Your Resilience

Climbing the nursing career ladder isn’t going to be easy; there’s no denying that. If you’re to maximize your professional potential as a healthcare provider, you’re going to need to circumvent a whole host of challenges along the way. If you’re to overcome all of the hurdles that you encounter (increased demand of services, long hours, tighter budgets, etc.), you’re going to need to showcase your grit, determination, and perseverance. Resilience is the backbone of nursing, which is why you need to display it all conceivable points.

Does your ability to persevere during tough times currently leave a lot to be desired? If so, be sure to cultivate your resilience by taking the steps laid out below:

1. Build your self-esteem by reminding yourself of your best qualities (your bedside manner, your ability to diagnose patients, your capacity to stay calm under pressure, etc.)

2. Surround yourself with likeminded individuals and talk to them about your problems

3. Learn how to handle and embrace sudden changes

4. Pay close attention to your self-care needs

5. Remain optimistic at all times, no matter how difficult things become

Understand Your Job Market

As previously touched upon, you operate in an incredibly competitive field. If you’re to thwart all of the challenges that are likely to come your way, it’s imperative that you get to grips with your job market.

Here are just a few of the questions that you should ask yourself regarding the nursing field:

1. What jobs are out there?

2. Which roles are most in-demand?

3. Are there growth opportunities found in your local area?

4. What level do you wish to reach as a nurse?

5. What experience, skills, and qualifications are required to obtain your dream nursing role?

Shadow Experienced Professionals

So long as you don’t distract them from their work or make a nuisance of yourself in high-pressure situations, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with shadowing experienced professionals in your place of work.

Here are five top tips for a successful job shadowing experience:

1. Do your homework on the person you are shadowing before you shadow them

2. Focus on the interactions that your shadow host has with their colleagues and patients

3. Take study notes at all conceivable points (with pen and paper, NOT your smartphone)

4. Be curious to find out more about why they do what they do

5. Thank your host for their time as soon as the shadowing experience draws to an end

Become a Family Nurse Practitioner

If you’re serious about smashing through the proverbial glass ceiling that is currently looming above your head, you should seriously consider becoming a family nurse practitioner. Taking this route in your career will allow you to expand the healthcare services that you provide, which in turn will allow you to branch off in different nursing directions going forward. Whether you choose to focus on holistic medication or whether you instead opt to dedicate yourself to family care, becoming an FNP will most certainly help you to maximize your potential as a nurse.

Interest piqued? If so, be sure to click here for more information regarding the day-to-day demands of being an FNP. As stated by Texas Woman’s University, you will be taught how to provide treatment across the entire lifespan during your FNP training program. This will stand you in good stead as you attempt to gain promotions in the future, as it will showcase the fact that you know how to handle a whole host of different patient demands.

Are you determined to reach the pinnacle of the nursing career ladder? Do you want to rub shoulders with the most influential nurses, doctors, physicians, and stakeholders in your industry? If you’re to maximize your professional growth and development in this sense, it’s absolutely imperative that you put all of the above advice into practice.

More importantly, it’s crucial that you exercise A LOT of patience. You aren’t going to achieve your healthcare career goals overnight, which is why you must prepare yourself to be in this for the long haul. If you want to become a successful nurse, you’re going to need to dedicate yourself to your craft over a sustained period of time.