I was recently asked to speak to a group of nurses about professional development. I asked how much time I would have with them, hoping it would be an 8-hour day. But I was told I would have only one hour.
Yikes! How could I possibly talk about professional development in only one hour? It was a challenge but I pulled it off. After much thought, I realized that professional development requires two things: knowledge and professional presence. Knowledge will open the doors of opportunity, but it is professional presence that will permit you through.
But how do we earn that knowledge? If we all had an endless bucket of money, no other responsibilities, and loads of extra time, we would all be doctorate-prepared and experts in our specialties. The reality is that for many of us, time, money, and competing demands prevent us from achieving all this. However, patients, your colleagues, and the public expect nurses to be knowledgeable and competent. As members of the nursing profession, it is our ethical responsibility to comply.
What to do? If you find yourself struggling with the pressure to learn, you can climb the ladder of nursing knowledge by doing the following steps:
Table of Contents
Read
Journals, electronic newsletters, blogs, reputable websites, and even textbooks can provide up-to-date information to keep you in the “know” at no cost. Most organizations have online libraries with access to these publications. Access them regularly. But be careful—you can get overwhelmed with the amount of information out there!
Tip: Electronic newsletters. I created an email folder with the title “Read me.” During the day, I scan each newsletter for relevant information. If I find nothing, I delete. If there is an article I want to read, I move it to my “read me” folder. Every Sunday, I spend a chunk of time reading through my folder.
Learn
Take the next step by attending in-services, workshops, seminars, and conventions. There may be a cost for joining these, but some are inexpensive. As an added bonus, many offer contact hours. Enriching your knowledge through organized educational activities not only allows you to learn from an expert. They are also opportunities for you to network with other nurses. There is a plethora of these types of opportunities. All you have to do is look for them!
Get involved
Join a professional nursing organization, council, or committee at work. Then ACTIVELY participate. Disseminate what you’ve learned with your colleagues—don’t be a knowledge Ogre! This provides you with knowledge AND gets you recognized by others as a leader, somebody committed to their role as a professional nurse. Getting involved looks great on a resume too!
Get certified
I know, it can be a scary thing to sit for a certification exam. When I sat for the AMSN certification exam, I was a nervous wreck!
Many nurses allow their fear to prevent them from achieving certification and may miss out on other opportunities. I have also heard nurses downplay certification saying that they don’t NEED a certification to identify himself or herself as a competent nurse. That may be true for an individual.
But as a profession, getting your nursing certification validates our competence and credibility to patients, other colleagues, and the general public.
Advance your degree
This is the Mac Daddy of knowledge: getting an advanced nursing degree. If you have a diploma or associates degree, get your BSN. If you have your BSN, go on for your masters or doctoral degree. If you already have your doctoral degree, consider a certificate.
The key is to always be on the path. For some of us, tuition assistance is available through your employer. Use it. Even if it’s just taking one course a semester, get on the path. You will be thrilled you did!
As part of the nursing profession, we need to demonstrate the knowledge, competence, credibility and confidence as clinicians. Continuous learning is a part of our professional growth and development. The rewards are great not only for our patients, but also for us as individuals. Climb the ladder now!