Pursuing Professional Development in Nursing and Healthcare
Achieving career success or pushing yourself up the career ladder is much easier to do when you focus on professional development. Yes, self-development is also important, however, professional development will give you the skillset, the knowledge and the awareness to make a tangible difference. Professional development brings out the best in you and ensures that you achieve your true and full potential.
Why Progression is Essential
No professional is perfect and no healthcare environment is perfect either. Training and professional development are therefore required to make improvements and to make positive changes. When you focus on progression, you focus on building a sustainable future and you also focus on building a future full of change and opportunity. If you do not focus on progression, there is a risk that you may end up being stagnant in your career. Being stagnant in the healthcare and nursing industry is not beneficial to anyone. When you are stagnant, you struggle to see positive ways forward and you struggle to see what changes and developments have to be made.
What Direction Are You Headed In?
Before you embark on a new journey of discovery and development, you must first know what direction you are headed in. If you do not know what you want to achieve, then you will struggle to achieve career success and this can then leave you feeling frustrated. So, are you looking towards becoming a nurse leader? Are you looking to take a step away from the wards, and instead head to the classroom – perhaps to become a scholar? Everyone’s direction will be different and personal, and you must establish what direction is driving you and your future. When you can establish this, you can then have more clarity moving forwards.
Future Plans and Opportunities
To make the most out of professional development, and to steer your career in the right direction, you need a plan in place. You have to be sure to focus on your plans and opportunities. When you can tie in your development and your progression, you can then be sure that you are on the right track. So, to make your next career move a reality, what do you have to focus on? When you are constructing a future plan, you need to start by working backwards. For example, where do you see yourself in the next 5 years, and what do you need to do or know to make this happen?
The Right Program Matters
Enhancing your education is important, especially when it comes to professional development. However, it is important to remember that not all programs are created equally. For example, there will be online nursing PhD programs that are hugely beneficial and more relevant to you, and certainly more beneficial to your career. However, it is also important to note that there will also be short programs that may not be as beneficial or as useful as you previously had hoped. The right programs for professional development are essential and weighing up the pros and cons on offer will ensure you make the right choice, both for you and your career.
Choosing an Educational Provider
To ensure you pursue professional development programs the right way, you have to choose the right providers. When it comes to looking at providers, you have to see what they are providing and offering you. For example, if you are learning online, are they offering you an interactive and supportive environment? The right provider can make all the difference to your progression and development, and you mustn’t rush a decision.
Having a Sustainable and Workable Balance
Going full steam and focusing on professional development at all times can leave you feeling stressed, tired and ready for burnout. Any role or career in nursing and healthcare is tiring both physically and mentally. Ensuring that you maintain a sustainable and workable balance is what you need to be focusing on. If you do not establish a balance then you will not be able to push forwards, and once again you will remain stagnant. This of course is no good for professional or personal development.
Enhancing Your Skillset
Even though you are focusing on professional development, it does not mean that personal development should take a backseat. The skillset that you have on offer will help to shape and define your career and future. If your skillset is not looking as strong or as defined as you would like it to, then you need to start taking decisive action. To take action, you have to look at how you are handling decisions. You also have to look at what you are doing on a daily basis. If you do not seek to make improvements, you will struggle to offer more to the industry. Improving both your soft skills and your hard skills will help to make you an all-round better nursing and healthcare professional.
Listening to Feedback
As you focus on pushing forwards, and on moving forwards with your career, it is important to listen to feedback. Constructive feedback can help to build a successful career and it can help you to see where you need further work or improvement. If you are not prepared to listen to feedback, then you are not prepared to change. The nursing and healthcare industry needs to have individuals on board that are receptive to change. If you struggle to accept feedback, or if you end up taking it personally, you could end up hindering your own progression and professional development.
Professional development is essential at any stage of your nursing and healthcare career, and it is something that should always be embraced. When you embrace continuous learning and development, you then shift your focus onto performing your roles, duties and responsibilities as well as you can. Shifting your mindset and seeing professional development as a constant within your working life will ensure that you get the most out of yourself and the most out of your career.
