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Advancing Your Nursing Career

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

A career in nursing can open many opportunities for both discovering new fields and paths and advancement along a specific one. According to parrallonjobs.com, “Nurses rarely begin their careers in the position they want to keep for the rest of their professional lives.” This is easy to understand, especially considering the multiple options nurses have to choose from.

Some may choose cardiac care or critical care, while others may prefer holistic care, neuroscience, pediatrics, or women’s health. To begin advancing your nursing career, first decide your long-term and short-term goals.

• Specify where you want to be in the next year, 5 years, and 10 years. Then, set up a game plan of goals and milestones to reach along this timeline. Write them down and review them often.
• Make use of your connections. Nurses come in contact with dozens of people daily. These include patients, fellow nurses, and management. Grow your relationships and take extra steps to stand out in a good way. Knowing the right people is one of the best ways to advance in a short amount of time and leaving a positive impression with everyone guarantees that when your name comes up it’s followed by praise and recommendations for advancement.
• Keep learning and keep challenging yourself. Knowledge really is power in the world of nursing. Go out of your way to acquire new skills, participate in workshops, follow current events in the healthcare world, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you hit a ceiling in your current position, look for other routes that will lead you further up. Sometimes the best way to develop your skills and knowledge is to change your nursing-related career.

Rue Education has been helping LPN/LVNs, RTs, and Paramedics advance their nursing careers by bridging to become RNs for over 20 years. Rue Education has assisted nearly 100,000 adult learners earn credit towards their nursing degrees and that number continues to grow. If you’re serious about taking the next step in your professional nursing career, Rue Education is ready to help!