Career Nurses: How to Advance Your Healthcare Career
Nursing is a challenging yet rewarding career for thousands of individuals across the country. Many seek to advance their careers to a higher level in healthcare, whether that be in the field of nurse management or elsewhere. If you’re a career-minded nursing professional and seek a higher calling, use the following tips to help you advance your nursing career:
Advance your Education
Like any profession, education is often the key to success. For the nursing field, if you started out with an Associate degree, go back to school for your Bachelor’s degree. If you already have a Bachelor’s degree, look into getting a health care law degree online. Your current employer might offer tuition incentives for those seeking a higher education.
Once you’ve obtained an advanced degree, you’ll be able to move into a management or administrative level position
Seek Different Certifications
Medical and healthcare employers are always looking for nurses who have obtained various specialized certifications. Some popular certifications include dialysis treatment, MDS (coding and billing), phlebotomy and more. There are over 26 different certifications that are available for nurses who are looking to advance their careers.
Nurses who have recently graduated from school normally choose a specialty and seek an entry level position within a hospital, nursing home or medical clinic.
Look for a Mentor
Mentors can be great for helping aspiring nurses advance their careers. The best mentors will have years of experience as a manager or director, and can meet with you on a regular basis to discuss issues within the workplace and offer hands on training in management areas, if necessary.
Many employers offer mentorship programs that can lead directly to a promotion if the nurse successfully completes the program.
Grow your Network
Like any other career field, nurses must always focus on growing their network of healthcare professionals. Connect with other nurses online, stay in touch with classmates from college, and mingle with people at work. Personal networking can lead to numerous potential opportunities in specialty areas and in management.
The road to becoming a nurse is not an easy one. Those who successfully complete their college education and on-the-job training have a rewarding career to look forward to. Those who put in the extra time and effort into professional development will give themselves the opportunity to enjoy higher salaries and a fruitful career in nursing or healthcare management.
About the Author
Lizzie Weakley is a freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio. She went to college at The Ohio State University where she studied communications. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and long walks in the park with her 3-year-old husky Snowball.
You can also diversify your nursing career with a variety of healthcare certifications for nurses.
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