In a highly competitive field like nursing, it takes more than just the right degree to standout. Stakes are always high in nursing; therefore, onboarding individuals with commendable skills and training is necessary.
In such a challenging environment, nurses must do more than just their daily tasks to push their careers on the right path. Landing your first nursing job is just a tiny steppingstone that can lead to lucrative career opportunities.
So, how can you standout from the crowd? Let’s look at how you can highlight your role as a successful nurse.
1. Have a strong network:
There’s no survival in the healthcare industry without networking. Having impeccable communication skills is one of the most admired qualities in a competent nurse.
Similarly, using these communication skills to network with the right professionals can lead to better job placement than any other way.
Connecting with peers working in various healthcare settings can familiarize nurses with new practices, methodology, and career growth opportunities.
Nurses should attend professional meetings, conferences, meetups, social media events, and career fairs to build strong references.
2. Go back to school:
Every nurse’s professional interest is to go back to school and continue advanced education. According to a report in the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advance Health, more employers are likely to hire BSN-prepared nurses.
This means that going for advanced degrees like the Master of Science in Nursing FNP Degree or various advanced specialties would do wonders for a nurse’s career.
Not only going back to school but keeping an attitude of learning more than necessary will also help nurses standout.
Make it a habit of listening to experienced nurses and checking all experiences, whether good or bad.
Standout nurses actively push to learn more than required, making them look ambitious and committed.
3. Prepare an appealing resume:
Your resume is the first thing all employers see, and that’s why it should be your priority as an aspiring nurse to make it dynamic.
Your resume should speak volumes and be as appealing as your knowledge and skills. You should highlight your best skills and talk about relevant experiences both professionally and academically.
If you want to be an outstanding nurse, you should first highlight what you can contribute to the organization and show how you can bring value.
You must show employers that you have all the ingredients for making a great nurse and aspiring future goals.
4. Find a good mentor:
As an aspiring nurse, you need to be on the path which leads to better career opportunities. One way to have inside resources to help you map out your options is to work under a strong mentor.
Whether it’s your first year as an RN or a veteran nurse, you can always benefit from the experience and intel of a more experienced and successful professional.
It can help you cope with common hurdles faced during nursing when you are supported by a mentor and even avoid them altogether.
Being under the wing of a senior nurse can increase your networking confidence, and you can have that much-needed emotional support to cope with the stress of the job.
5. Work on your leadership skills:
One of the best ways to standout even among a competitive crowd is to demonstrate leadership skills. A leader is fearless, ambitious, calm-headed, problem-solving, and sometimes even a team player.
Employers value individuals who can lead from the front and prove an asset. Becoming a nurse leader goes that extra mile and shows your commitment to your job.
When you become a go-to person, you naturally start to standout, and your peers consider you a strong voice.
Nurse leadership roles are one of the best ways to climb the career ladder, get noticed by employers, and grow your reputation.
6. Develop the right soft skills:
Nursing is a profession centered around effective communication, feeling empathy, caring for patients, and so on. Soft skills such as time management, bedside manners, problem-solving, critical thinking, etc., play a defining role in a nurse’s career.
Lack of skills like organizational skills, delegation, and even interpersonal skills might be holding you back from performing at full potential. Therefore, competent nurses must be as sound in developing skills in their clinical practice.
While working on soft skills, it is also essential that nurses identify their weaknesses and be self-aware. It might seem hard at first, but self-improvement is the way to go if you want to stand out.
7. Be a team player:
There’s no single opinion in the healthcare setting, especially when it comes to patient diagnosis or treatment. Nurses must work with various medical professionals to choose the right course of action for the patients.
Therefore, a competent nurse must have a strong sense of community and teamwork. Demonstrating strong leadership skills while being a team player is one of the best qualities in a nurse.
Nurses who standout are well aware of looking at the bigger picture, and that is to prioritize patient care and be a team player whenever required. This will allow you to rely on fellow nurses when you have a tough day, and you can do the same for others.
8. Master your bedside manners:
The most important thing for a nurse inside the hospital is the patients. Every nurse’s utmost priority is to look out for patient satisfaction and care for them beyond being just another sick person on the bed.
Nurses who enjoy a successful position in any healthcare setting know the importance of mastering bedside manners. It is a nurse’s characteristic to treat their patient with the utmost respect, listen to them, and show interest in their concerns.
Every patient deserves to be treated with patience, care, and empathy, and an excellent nurse knows how to be there for people without crossing boundaries.
Conclusion:
It takes more than clinical practice and higher degrees to make a great nurse. The nursing profession is a competitive field which means that nurses must go that extra mile to standout.
Great nurses trust their gut and are always willing to learn from their experiences to provide the best experience to their patients. Aspiring nurses can take inspiration from the above points and work towards standing out from the crowd.
