Being a nurse is all about being able to improve your education. You cannot just study to become a nurse though; you literally have to jump in hands on into a clinical environment. This article offers some great tips that will help you to speed up your nursing career and help improve the training that you have received in class.
Get Messy and Be More Hands On – It’s Not All about Seminars and Classrooms
Your seminars will help you a little, and having good notes and listening skills is a great starting point, but everyone that works in a nursing environment will know that it really is all about being able to get messy with the hands on side of nursing.
Clinical Exposure Will Speed You Up A Lot!
Students are very fast learners when in a nursing environment, but a lack of clinical exposure will hold them back. When you watch, practice and emulate skills that senior nurses do in a real life situation, it will help you to fast track your nursing skills, and put you on a road running path to success in nursing. You learn by having bedside skills that are hands on and that will stick with you for life.
Watch Your Seniors like A Hawk
When your seniors are going about the rounds and visiting patients on the ward, make sure that you go with them. Show to doctors that you are willing to learn, and that you want to learn more. Show enthusiasm and never give up, offer help to seniors and staff that are more qualified than you. Making long lasting relationships with colleagues will help you immensely. No one wants to recommend someone that is obnoxious and doesn’t listen, or show enthusiasm. Even if you are not in the mood for leaning, or mimicking those that are more senior to you, do not show it. Ask, show enthusiasm to learn and you will go far.
Leave Your Personal Issues At Home
If your boyfriend has left you, your kids are ill and you have a lack of childcare- don’t share these issues with your colleagues. No one wants to be in the presence of a sour puss!
Practise good hygiene skills, offer help when your colleagues are performing procedures that you are not allowed to do. Watch carefully and learn. When the doctor or senior nurse is draining the puss out of an old man’s wound, watch, offer help and pass the utensils to them. Ask questions if you do not know about the procedure and take notes about what has just taken place.
Study More- Take Online Courses
There are a lot of online courses that you can take that can better your nursing skills and put you on the fast track to a higher position in the work place. Read up about them and take them. IT skills are always a must when working in a clinical environment, as are other skills like customer service (interacting with patients) skills like talking to patients, and being a good listener are also great life skills that can help you to be recognised.
Participating in refreshing courses that take place- show enthusiasm and ask people where you work about courses that they have taken, or if your workplace in fact offers courses that you can take part in to better the skills that you already have.
Smile- Be Friendly And Cheer Up Patients! Respect Is Key to Success
Respecting the patients that you deal with and treating each one as an individual will help you a lot in the medical profession. When seniors sit down and talk one of the things that they will discuss is your skills when it comes to interaction with patients. It is one thing knowing the human anatomy on paper, but being able to practise medical procedures on real life patients that are awake and know about your presence is another. When you can do this and keep a smile then you will go far.
Good luck, being a nurse is such a rewarding career, one that allows you to give a lot back to society. In any career you have to love what you are doing. If you have a passion to become a nurse, then with determination and perseverance you will be able to excel yourself to the top. Just by following the tips listed in this article you will be able to significantly improve yourself.