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Dreaming of a change? If you’re spending your working hours rotting at your desk and quite literally watching the seconds tick by, it’s time to switch careers.
So, why not give nursing a go? Yes, nurses go the hard yards, and the job itself can be super demanding! From the revolting task of cleaning out a soiled bedpan or two, to the icky job of piercing your patient’s skin with a pinpoint needle to take their blood. And then, there’s the horrendously unflattering scrubs you have to wear – no one looks good in those get-ups!
But despite all the detractors, becoming a registered nurse and making a real difference is something many of us can only dream about. Heck – it might even be your true calling! So, how do you take your existing professional skills, and covert them onto the path of nursing? Stay with us as we take you through it.
Changing Careers: It’s Never Too Late!
Are you feeling unsatisfied professionally? The good news: it’s never too late to switch it up! If your current work situation just isn’t feeling right, and you’re dreaming of something, well, better – consider making the change to nursing. If you’re not already a registered nurse, though, you may feel like your dream career is completely out of your reach. This is wrong, though! There now exist streamlined pathways into nursing, such as direct entry MSN programs for non-nurses online. So if you’re a medicine newbie, you can get yourself qualified, prepped, and ready to become a nurse, in (virtually) no time. In just 20 short months, to be precise.
Of course, being a nurse can be humbling – albeit, far from boring! You’ll be running around the ward from task to task, of course, so you’ll never have time to be bored. You’ll certainly never have time to watch the clock tick again, that’s for sure. Another positive? Nurses are always in demand. And then, there’s the job satisfaction! As many as 89% of nurses in America are either extremely or moderately satisfied with their roles, as recent studies have shown. That only leaves a minute proportion of 11% of nurses being unsatisfied professionally. So, the medical field must be doing something right when it comes to keeping their nursing professionals happy!
So, how do you break into nursing, and get to achieve that coveted sense of job satisfaction? And perhaps most importantly, how do you use your existing professional skillset to your advantage when becoming a nurse? Just read on!
Transferable Skills: Leveraging Your Existing Skillset
As a corporate professional, some of the transferable elements of your existing skill set (and how to leverage them) will include:
Clear, Competent Communication
Want to be an excellent nurse? Leverage your communication skills. Use them to your advantage when advocating for your patients. Patient advocacy requires a mix of confidence and assertiveness when communicating your points. Getting people to listen to you requires you to be able to communicate effectively. If you waffle on, take too long to spit it out, or talk around your point, you simply won’t be able to hold people’s attention.
Thinking Clearly and Making Good Decisions
Being able to make decisions is part of almost every job. In nursing, being able to do this well is critical. Often, your decision could be the reason for a patient surviving, or not. In emergencies, you’ll need to be able to trust your gut, maintain composure, and think clearly. Failing to do so could mean the difference between life and death in some scenarios.
Teamwork Techniques
Lastly, teamwork. Yes, most jobs require you to work in a team. But you’ll need to leverage your teamwork skills more than ever before as a nurse. Show your team that you’re capable by stepping up, and not backing down from challenging tasks. Your teammates need to know they can trust you and that you will pull your weight when working on group objectives.
Of course, being a nurse is a challenge that not all of us are ready for. The good news? Your existing skillset may already make you more competent than you even realize.
