Like desert soil devoid of rain, a nursing career without direction or purpose can dry up, crack, wither on the vine, and leave you feeling barren, lost, and lacking direction. Do you want that to happen to your career? Of course, you don’t!
Your nursing career is built on the soil of your interest, engagement, and authentic desire to continue moving forward. Skills can be learned, and experiences can be created, but if the engines of willingness and passion aren’t driving the bus, the fertile ground will become fallow sooner rather than later.
If you want to keep your career fertile, you can take any number of actions regularly to keep things fruitful.
Inspired Actions
Taking inspired action in the interest of your nursing career isn’t rocket science, but it does take a certain amount of conscious effort. I’m not saying that these actions are fool-proof, but they can till the soil of your career and make it more likely that new growth will occur.
Take stock: On a regular basis, take stock of your career. Be honest, and evaluate if your career offers you the fulfillment and learning you desire. Is your workplace supportive? Are you challenged to a degree that’s satisfactory for you? Do you need a change in terms of what you’re doing and who you’re working with?
Build your network: Make sure you’re meeting other professionals, connecting with like-minded nurses, and building a robust professional network that can help you expand your interests and contacts around the country and around the world.
Explore: Be certain to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the profession and the broader healthcare industry. Are there new certifications that interest you? Are there educational experiences that would spice up your nursing career and open new employment horizons for you? Have there been new advances in your nursing specialty that are worthy of your attention? Are there shifts in the industry that portend changes in your relevance or your ability to find employment?
Personal evaluation: Consider whether you’re content on a personal level. Does your work offer mental, emotional, and/or spiritual growth opportunities? Is your career feeding you as a person?
New Growth
Encouraging new growth in your professional nursing career
is about tilling the soil, providing nourishment and moisture, and paying attention to the weather.
The weather may be stormy in your workplace, turbulent inside your head, or cloudy deep within your nurse’s heart. No matter where the storms are occurring, it’s important to know how to shift to a more comfortable and productive climate and continue to experience your optimal nursing career.
You can encourage growth and movement in your work life by attending interesting conferences and seminars, meeting other nurses and healthcare professionals, attentively assessing your changing needs and desires, or researching changes in the nursing and healthcare landscapes.
Remain Aware and Awake
Overall, it is paramount to remain aware and awake to what makes you most content in your professional life.
It behooves every professional to constantly assess their level of contentment, engagement, and satisfaction and take inspired action if they are not as fertile and growthful as they could be.
Seek the Fertile Ground
Life is too short to continue to work within a career path that’s become like a desert. Seek professional soil that’s fecund, not fallow, and choose experiences, colleagues, and workplaces that feed your curiosity and desire for professional fulfillment.
You became a nurse to serve others, but you also became a nurse to have a career that fulfills your needs as a working 21st-century adult.
Proper watering and fertilizing of your nursing career will prevent the desertification and misery that many professionals can experience when they’re not paying attention. So, pay attention and till that soil, and continue to reach for a career that feeds your soul and your nurse’s spirit.
The post Don’t Let Your Nursing Career Go Dry first appeared on Daily Nurse.