You want to advance your nursing career. To date, you’ve worked hard to achieve your nursing career goals. However, you may find your recent career growth has been slow. At this point, it may be time to consider a new career path in nursing.
Here are three paths that you can follow to advance your nursing career.
1. Specialization
You can enroll in a training program that allows you to earn a certification or degree in a specialized area of nursing. Training programs are available to nurses across many specialties, including:
- Assisted living
- Behavioral/mental health
- Corrections
- Occupational health
To choose the right specialization, consider what you enjoy doing as a nurse. From here, you can evaluate different nursing specializations.
As you assess nursing specializations, look for job opportunities across them. This gives you insights into the skills you’ll need to earn the job you want. Then, you can identify a training program that helps you gain the specialized skills you need to grow your career.
2. Leadership
A nursing leader typically oversees a team of nurses. This leader offers support and guidance to nurses to help them deliver the best patient care.
Many nurse leaders start their careers as registered nurses. They build the skills they need to thrive in leadership roles over time. These skills include:
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
To become a nurse leader, you can earn a master’s degree in clinical nurse leadership (CNL) from an accredited college or university. This requires a bachelor of science in nursing degree or an associate’s degree in nursing. You must also complete a CNL program and pass the CNL test from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
3. Management
As a nurse manager, you coordinate patient care across a team of nurses. A nurse manager engages with nurse team members, patients, and patients’ families. This manager ensures that all of these parties receive plenty of support.
Earning a Master of Science nursing leadership and management degree is a great starting point to become a nurse manager. This degree program helps you build on your current nursing management skills and develop new ones.
Furthermore, you can seek management opportunities with your current employer. To do so, you can share your interest in becoming a nurse manager with your manager. Next, you and your manager can work together to help you take the next step forward in your nursing career.
BOS Medical Staffing Can Help You Advance Your Nursing Career
Nursing career advancement can be challenging. Regardless, doing everything you can to keep your nursing career on track is crucial. Exploring any of the aforementioned career paths can accelerate your career growth. On top of that, you may be able to build the nursing career you’ve always wanted.
BOS Medical Staffing can connect you with employers seeking top talent. Our team makes it easy to pursue a wide range of nursing jobs at your convenience. To get started, check out our job board today.
