Let’s assume that you are an accredited RN. What’s next in areas of improvement for nurses? The advantages of a nursing career are abundant. From team leadership to upper management and even C-suite positions, the possibilities for career progression are wholesome.
But what are the benefits of progressing your nursing career? And just as importantly, how do you get your nursing career where you want it to go?
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How Do I Advance My Career as a Nurse? areas of growth for nurses
Stepping up into leadership positions as a nurse takes ambition, drive, and dedication. It means being committed to your journey, and challenging yourself professionally. You’ll also need to prove yourself. Advancing your nursing career is not a requirement but it is beneficial. And it generally requires you to work on skills like collaboration and teamwork. You should also work on staying calm and composed under pressure.
But it’s more than just developing your personal skills. Pursuing an advanced nursing career path also requires attaining higher qualifications. You should look at development options like master’s courses and specialization degrees. Because specializing in nursing area will also take you further in your career. Also we can say that nursing practitioners with specialization degrees have access to better career outcomes. And this also means higher salaries as well as more opportunities for career progression.
nursing areas for improvement
- First off, communication skills is top areas of improvement for nurses. When it comes to chatting with patients, family members and the rest of the healthcare team, nurses should be fluent.
- Another big one is time management. Nurses generally have a lot of tasks and responsibilities. Hence they need to learn how to prioritize and stay organized. Because no one wants a confused nurse running around, right?
- Critical thinking is another biggie. Because they need to assess situations quickly, identify problems and come up with smart solutions.
- Another critical point we mentioned is continuing education. Because the medical field is always evolving. Hence, nurses should know about the latest treatments, technologies and best practices.
- And last but not least, we should not forget that nurse’ self care is important. Because nursing can be intense. Both physically and emotionally. As a nurse, you should make sure you are taking care of yourself. And it means getting enough rest, eating right and finding ways to relax.
At the end of the day, these are all areas where nurses can improve but everyone knows that it is a never-ending process,
Elevated Career Outcomes for Ambitious Nursing Professionals : how to be a better nurse?
If you’re a nursing professional, you may not like practicing as a general registered nurse that much. That is But we all now that general RNs are highly valued. Yet there is a heavy nursing shortage, hence, the professional skills of an RN is a highly valued commodity in the US.
professional development goals for nurses: areas of improvement for nurses
Despite this, your career goals may go beyond general nursing. If this is the case, you may want to become an advanced nursing practitioner (APRN). After that you can specialize in a specific area of nursing. Here below you can see specific areas for nurses:
- Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
- Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (AGNP)
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
- Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)
- Chief Nursing Officer (CNO)
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
- Cosmetic Nurse Practitioner
- Geriatric Nurse Practitioner
- Military Nurse Practitioner
- Forensic Nurse Practitioner
- School Nurse Practitioner
- Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC)
But irrespective of which specialty APRN career you choose to pursue, you will need to follow a higher education pathway in case you wanna grow out. If your goal is to specialize in mental health nursing, for instance, you need to complete studies in psychology and human behavior.
APRNs specializing in addiction nursing should know about substance misuse and abuse. As a next example, family nurse practitioners should be treating patients of all ages. Such as from infants to adults, while geriatric nurses specialize in caring for the elderly people.
The Benefits of Progressing Your Nursing Career
The areas of improvement for nurses are many. For some, the main reason is the opportunity to learn, grow and progress their skills. For others, the career opportunities and their professional goals are another motivators. For many nurses, one of the main advantages is the ability to increase their earning potential.
Do you want to earn more as a nurse, possibly like everyone? The FNP salary you can expect to earn if you qualify as a family nurse practitioner is considerably more generous than general RN. Similarly, if you qualify as an adult gerontology nurse practitioner or a specialist oncology nurse, a higher salary is available.
professional goals in nursing
We can easily state that there are many areas of improvement for nurses. Some of these advantages include better job opportunities. And the biggest one is the potential to earn a higher salary. Also we cannot forget the professional growth you will get when you improve yourself.
But navigating nursing career progression isn’t always easy. Also it requires a great deal of dedication on your part. If you want to commit further studies or focus on a certain area of specialization or APRN specialty, you career will shine.
Do you ask the good news? As an APRN, you can expect to earn more than your general RN ones. As well as this, your opportunities for career progression will grow like a snowball.
With more than 20 years of progressive experience as Program Manager and Project Manager had led complex IT projects/programs in a wide variety of industries in America, Latin America & Italia.
Mario Bisson Andini is an advanced Program Manager who is the founder of Bisson Training.