Achieving Salary and Career Satisfaction

Achieving Salary and Career Satisfaction

Romeatrius Moss, RN, MSN, APHN-BC, DNP, doesn’t mince words when she advises other nurses about advancing their careers. “If you aren’t geared and ready and have everything in your toolbox, you are going to be left behind,” says Moss, the executive director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Black Nurse Association. “Getting an advanced degree is extremely important. It pushes our profession forward.”

As more minority nurses advance, they are positioned to assume leadership roles and increase the diversity of nurse leaders, all of which reflects the patient population.

Moss’s outlook mirrors one that is hotly debated in nursing. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) garnered attention with its 2010 report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, which calls for a highly educated nursing workforce to keep pace with the changing demands of both the health care environment and the patients who are served. An 80% goal of nurses with BSN degrees and a doubling of nurses with doctorates are imperative for the nursing community, the report stated.

“It’s good for the professions, but equally good and equally more important for the people who are coming into the health care system who deserve an educated workforce,” says Jane Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN, president of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). “The bottom line is about patient safety and providing health care that is high quality, efficient, and cost effective.”

In light of the study and others like it, nurses—who build careers on change—are debating the best and most reasonable ways to achieve career satisfaction and advancement. A nursing career includes different options, and one work day is never like another. To achieve maximum career success and optimize your salary potential, learn to embrace the changing atmosphere, says Janice Phillips, PhD, MS, RN, FAAN, director of government and regulatory affairs at Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools International, an authenticity credentialing service of foreign-educated nurses.

Advancing Your Education

The 2010 IOM report brings the issue of higher nursing degrees into sharp focus, causing some nurses to reevaluate their goals and some hospitals to implement new minimum requirements for employment. “Whether it is an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s-prepared nurse, the reality is that nursing requires lifelong learning,” says Kirschling.

Nurses have choices about how to advance, but a degree appeals to many organizations. “A minimum of a bachelor’s in nursing will open doors when you are competing for a job, and it shows a level of commitment,” says Marie-Elena Barry, a senior practice and policy analyst at the American Nurses Association. And even Kirschling says that an associate’s degree is often considered a point of entry into nursing now, not the final point.

Nurses are taking notice. Results from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) “2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses” showed that half of registered nurses hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, and just over a third hold an associate’s. The rest have a diploma in nursing. Most nurses initially receive an associate’s degree, but about a third start out with a BSN. And for those who eventually earn higher degrees, the study showed approximately half of nurses with master’s degrees work in hospitals while the rest work in academia or in an ambulatory care setting.

According to a May 2012 occupational employment and wages report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an RN can expect to earn a mean annual wage of $67,930. Furthermore, the 2008 HRSA study revealed that RNs with graduate degrees earned an average of at least $20,000 more than RNs with other levels of education. Nurses who graduate with a degree also get into the workforce faster. Data from an August 2013 survey by the AACN revealed that nursing graduates of BSN or master’s programs are much more likely to have a job offer at graduation than graduates in other fields.

And while the higher salary is great, nurses are finding they need a bachelor’s to even get a job. The AACN study showed that 43.7% of hospitals and other health care settings require the degree and that 78.6% of employers prefer to see the BSN on a resume even if they don’t require it.

When you consider how to advance both your professional goals and your personal goals, keep in mind how each job will help you get to where you want to be. “Lots of nurses get a degree and go to work and don’t think about career development and learning how to grow your career,” says Barry. As a new nurse, you must ask yourself whether you are gaining valuable experience that you can put on a resume. And if you have been in nursing for years and are considering a move to academia, you should consider whether a teaching position will offer you needed benefits and retirement.

A Balancing Act

Working and going to school isn’t easy, and adding other obligations, like family, often makes the task overwhelming. But as the demand for nurses with a bachelor’s degree increases, schools are making it easier by offering accessible classes and accelerated degree programs. And Moss advises nurses not to be discouraged by the commitment. “This is a train,” she says. “Jump in when you can.”

In the meantime, anything you can do to make yourself more valuable to an organization will help increase your salary, and often a new degree raises your pay as well. “Provide evidence of how you made a difference,” advises Phillips.

Kirschling suggests talking with your employer about wanting to build on your skill set or your desire to continue your education. “Employers want to retain nurses and create career mobility within the organization,” she adds.

Keep Your Options Open

“People believe the continuing mantra that nurses need to work in traditional venues like hospitals and doctors’ offices,” says Carmen Kosicek, RN, MSN, author of Nurses, Jobs, and Money: A Guide to Advancing Your Nursing Career and Salary. But the pay for those positions doesn’t always match the financial outlay needed to practice there, she continues.

Instead, Kosicek advises nurses, especially those just graduating from nursing school, to look for other opportunities that offer both professional experience and gainful employment. “It’s not all about the money,” says Kosicek, “but they all have bills.”

According to Kosicek, many graduates are not hired for 4 to 18 months, and many of them are competing for med/surg jobs to gain broad experience. She suggests considering other options where you will use all your skills. A position as a school nurse, for example, where you handle hundreds of varied and often complex cases is an excellent way to use your skills and learn new ones. When you apply for a new grad residency program, you are already starting above the rest of the pack, she says.

If you are unsure what your next move should be, Kirschling recommends checking out  www.discovernursing.com to explore opportunities.

Approach Your Career as a Business

When you view your career as a business, you give yourself permission to look impersonally at your experience and your credentials. And you treat any potential job offer, salary increase, or career move with the same consideration as you would a major life change.

Just as you would negotiate the price of a house you are buying, you also must learn to negotiate salary offers, argues Kosicek. “It’s not always about your base pay of dollars,” she says. “You can negotiate other ways of compensation.” For example, you can ask for more vacation days, a higher match of your 401(k) plan, or tuition reimbursement for classes.

“No one is teaching that,” says Kosicek, but it is a valuable skill because it will get you closer to your goals. Negotiating shows you are confident and know your worth. “It is a totally different language,” she adds.

Act Like a Leader

Even if you haven’t reached your ultimate career goal, you can act like you have. “You can’t do a BSN [program] and expect to be a manager,” says Barry. “There are lots of little steps.”

Be a leader in your nursing community and make your presence known. One way to help increase your salary potential is to get involved within your state or with national organizations, says Barry. Don’t just become a member. Begin to make a difference by giving your input, showing up at events and meeting others, or volunteering on your state board of nursing, advises Barry. “It increases your ability to network and puts your face out there.”

Don’t overlook the importance of your workplace as well. Barry recommends getting involved with unit-based activities. Join a shared governance committee or work on a quality improvement project. Then give thoughtful input and work hard for the team.

Be More than Just Another Resume

Your resume might be your only shot at a job you want, so make it perfect. Just as nurses need negotiating skills to get ahead, they need a resume that is detailed and exact because it could mean the difference between the slush pile and a job offer.

“Nurses are not going to get in with traditional nursing resumes or traditional interviewing skills,” says Kosicek. “They have to show they are business wise.”

Barry agrees. Your experience, commitment, and education all combine into one package to an employer, but they have to be able to see it. You can do your part with a detailed resume that lists your education and any current classes along with your qualifications.

Become a recognizable name through your professional and appropriate exposure on social media and your networking efforts that bring you in touch with various health care professionals, suggests Barry.

Other Benefits

Of course, taking on a new degree doesn’t work for everyone. You have to consider the financial return on your investment, so you aren’t trading more education for insurmountable debt.

Chart the financial impact of furthering your education. If you want a degree but can’t imagine how you will pay for it, become a sleuth for scholarships or take an alternative path. If your company doesn’t reimburse for tuition, see if your professional organization membership gives you access to scholarships or grants. Can you take one class at a time to chip away at the degree?

A less tangible benefit of continuing your learning is confidence. “It gets you excited and keeps you informed and learning outside your unit,” says Barry. “Certification is important. It shows your commitment to your profession. It also shows your professional role modeling.” When you are learning and advancing by taking classes, even if it’s one at a time, you are demonstrating to your employer that you are actively engaged in your profession, she says.

Phillips knows firsthand the benefits of doing the unexpected. She recently left a faculty job at Rush University and the comforts of family and friends for her current job in a new city. Although the prospect gave her nervous butterflies, Phillips says the job fit perfectly with her career plan, filling a gap in policy experience that Phillips wanted to have. “Sometimes you just have to do it,” she says. “I didn’t want to sit around and not take some risk. Most people who have a well-rounded professional life have taken some risk.”

Have a Plan

Your career will stagnate if you don’t have a solid and ambitious plan to follow. Decide where you want to go and write a plan of action to get there. Put yourself in position to get where you want to be. Do you respect a nurse in a leadership position? Notice how she acts and ask about her volunteer work or about any organizations of which she is a member. “Part of the learning process is going through and collecting along the way,” says Barry. “As you are getting a degree, you are exposed to all those other areas.”

Even if you are not looking for a job, keep accurate records of your career successes, advises Phillips. “We don’t document our outcomes,” she says, so when the time comes to tell potential employees about them, it’s hard to remember the details. Keep a file—“call it a happy file,” suggests Phillips—where you record accurate outcomes and contributions from your job successes. Pay particular attention to relevant numbers and dates, so you can retrieve them when necessary. “Nurses have to be prepared,” she says. “You never know when an opportunity will present itself.”

Does an Advanced Degree Equal Respect?

Like it or not, an advanced degree is the first step toward a leadership position. “It’s very important for nurses to get a nursing degree,” says Barry. For nursing as a profession to advance with respect, getting a degree—particularly a BSN—will also bring more nurses into position to take over as future leaders. “Nursing education has a lot to do with where you go,” says Barry.

Starting with a BSN is the most important goal because it keeps you competitive, argues Barry. But as Kosicek points out, you will have to find your place in the market and actively seek out nursing roles that both pay your bills and satisfy your professional goals. Sometimes, a career move is your chance to advance professionally and personally and will lead to greater rewards, but you have to be willing to take the leap.

“The risk is that we have to be open and willing to leave our comfort zone to experience all nursing has to offer,” says Phillips. “And it’s scary. But I don’t believe anyone should be burned out. You need to find a new perspective.”

Just as each nurse is unique, so is each successful career path, says Phillips. “I’ve been a nurse for 37 years, and I am just as excited today as the day I graduated because I see the possibilities,” she says. “At the end of the day, how do you want to feel about what you want to do and what makes you proud of your profession?”

Julia Quinn-Szcesuil is a freelance writer based in Bolton, Massachusetts. 

 

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