Five Steps to Ensure You Have a Happy, Rewarding, and Long Career as a Nurse

When you first set out along your chosen career path, there is no doubt that it is an exciting time of life. You are excited about your career choice, it’s usually something you feel passionate about, and you’re ready to embrace all that comes along with it. Over time, you’ll need to weather challenges and obstacles, and your views and thoughts on life in general tend to change. All of these things can have you questioning that original career path and asking yourself if that was really the right one for you.

For those who have chosen a path in nursing, it can be especially trying. Let’s face it, a job in healthcare can be both mentally and physically draining. So how can you ensure that you manage to have a happy, rewarding, and long career as a nurse? These tips can definitely help you achieve just that.

Accept that Not Every Day Will Be Great

The first thing to come to terms with is the fact that not every day will be great. There will be days where your job will wear you down, frustrate you, make you sad or depressed, have you questioning whether it’s right for you, and leave you completely exhausted.

Here’s the thing, those same things can be said for pretty much every career path out there. The key is to find a career that has a lot more rewarding days than bad days.

Further Your Education

One of the best ways to ensure a long and successful career in nursing is to further your education. Why stop when you become a registered nurse? Programs such as the RN to BSN program online through institutions like Carsen-Newman are described as a way to “futureproof your career”.

So, what's so special about an online program?

• You can complete the program in as little as 14 months
• The entire program is done online, there is no need to attend a campus
• Despite the fact that the program is online, it meets all the same quality standards as the RN-BSN on-campus program
• You can obtain your degree while you continue to work full-time
• You can further your knowledge of nursing practices, leadership skills, community health, professional ethics, critical thinking, and more
• The tuition is extremely affordable
• Get personalized support
• Enjoy small class sizes

By furthering your education, you make yourself that much more hirable and in-demand. It also makes you versatile so that you can meet the needs of today's healthcare industry. At the same time, you’ll be fulfilling your own desire for more knowledge, learning new skills, and being able to provide your patients with a heightened level of care.

Some stats worth making note of include:

1. The average job offer rate for nurses at graduation is 73% (American Association of Colleges of Nursing Report, 2017)
2. Job placement rate is four to six months after graduation is 94% (American Association of Colleges of Nursing Report, 2017)
3. The average age of online RN-BSN students is 40 years old, which means there is no pressure to start the program early
4. Females are dominating the program with an 88% enrollment rate

Make the Most of Your Days Off

This is a tip that is just as important for those just starting off in nursing as it is for the veteran nurses out there. Because nursing is so mentally and physically demanding, it is important that you have balance in your life and have non-nursing days. What this means is that when you have your day off, don’t discuss work, don’t think like a nurse, and don’t worry about what is happening at the clinic, hospital, or office. Your days off are for everything non-nursing related.

Find Productive Ways to Fight Stress

Stress is something that can creep up on you slowly over time or hit you like a truck. It’s very common that nurses feel stressed out on the job, even if it’s just once in a while. This is why it’s so important to find productive ways for you to fight stress.

Some of the best stress relievers include:

1. Exercise
2. Reading
3. Journaling
4. Meditation
5. Deep breathing
6. Hanging out with loved ones
7. Picking up a hobby
8. Taking a class just for fun
9. Listening to music

Ideally you want to engage in a handful of stress relievers so that you can get the maximum benefits.

Mentor Students or New Nurses

As you progress in your career and gain more years' worth of experience, it can also be helpful to give back to the nursing community. It's nice to pass along what you've learned while on the job and help others who were like you when you started out. Mentoring students and new nurses can be an excellent way to feel like you’re having an impact on the field as a whole.

So, how can you be a good mentor? Well there are some general tips and rules you can follow, such as:

• Start with ground rules, meaning you explain what your role as a mentor may be.
• Ask what they are looking for or hoping to gain from a mentor.
• Set up a schedule where the two of you will meet either in-person, online, or on the phone.
• Set up a variety of goals that you want to achieve together.
• Brush up on your listening and communication skills. Remember, you want to listen, then ask follow up questions, and then offer your insight and advice.
• Help them to make contacts in the industry.
• Remember, it's not your job to make decisions for them.

Setting Yourself Up for a Long Career

Each of these tips is designed to help set you up for a long, happy, rewarding, and successful career as a nurse. Being kind to yourself, knowing when to take a break, and constantly feeding your thirst for knowledge can certainly help you out.