Nurses are invaluable members of the healthcare workforce, and when you’re proactively building a nursing career that you can fully embrace and be proud of, there are plenty of strategies and mindset hacks to consider.
One of the greatest assets you carry as a nurse is the many skills you’ve worked hard to acquire. So, if you want to boost your self-confidence and make the most of your nursing career, it’s wise to humbly take full ownership of the many things you know and the incredible skill sets that make you the outstanding nurse (and human being) you are.
Knowledge is Power
It’s been said since time immemorial that knowledge is power. The things you know — including how to leverage the soft and hard skills you have under your belt — are central to what makes your nursing mind tick, and articulating what those are is crucial.
In nursing school, you studied and read like a madperson, wrote care plans (sorry to bring that up), learned to apply the nursing process (you may be sorry I brought that up), and turned your non-nurses mind into a nurse’s mind. I bet there are things your professors said that you still hear in your head, and some of those may be helpful. “If it wasn’t documented, it never happened” was one truism I heard repeatedly during my nursing education, and I never forgot it. What sticks with you?
After the crazy nursing school journey, the rubber hits the proverbial road when you start working as a nurse out in the real world. Some skills and knowledge were entirely theoretical during school, of course. But when you’re working as a nurse and solely responsible for the care of your patients, you can bet that those wheels are turning, and the smoke is coming out of your ears as the pieces fall into your mind.
If you’re a generalist (e.g., med/surg, internal medicine, primary care), you may not delve deeply into cardiac arrhythmia, chemotherapy regimens, or other specialized areas of knowledge and practice. But you’ll need to know a little about everything since you never know what will walk through that door. A generalist may seem from the outside like a jack of all trades and master of none, but you can rest assured that these nurses know their stuff and have all sorts of knowledge that makes them amazing.
As for nurses who specialize in diabetes, stroke, cancer, labor and delivery, trauma, critical care, or other areas of hyper clinical focus, their knowledge is going to run deep about some very specialized concepts, treatment regimens, and diseases, and that knowledge is worth more than we can say.
Knowledge is power, so acknowledging and expressing what you know is a skill in and of itself. And if you’re job-hunting, being able to write and talk freely about why you’re fantastic is part of the sales pitch that will help you land the position of your dreams.
Your Multifaceted Skills
When we think of nursing skills, we often think of so-called hard skills like venipuncture, rhythm interpretation, wound debridement, or ventilator management. We also need to remember that the 21st-century nurse has computer skills, including using EMRs and other technologies.
In the interpersonal realm, there are skills related to communication, including emotional and relational intelligence, counseling, and active listening. We can also point to patient and family education or the education and training of other nurses (e.g., precepting or mentoring).
Meanwhile, we can’t forget all-important leadership skills, whether as a charge nurse, a director of nursing, or a chief nursing officer. Leadership can also be a skill we naturally demonstrate on the job, even if we don’t have a title beyond “staff nurse.”
You might also have skills in medical writing, grant writing, research, sales, case management, or other areas where you find yourself. Many nurses do important non-clinical work, and their knowledge and skills are equally valuable.
The list of skills and knowledge that a nurse’s mind holds is like an ever-expanding encyclopedia.
The Humble Brag
Whether you’re gunning for a promotion, interviewing for an awesome job, applying for a grant or fellowship, or being interviewed on a nursing podcast, your confidence comes from your ability to own what you know and what you can do, as well as the overall value of your “nurseness.”
If you’re feeling glum about your nursing career, pull out a sheet of paper and try to list every piece of helpful nursing and medical knowledge you have in your head. Chances are you’d need to fill page after page with every tidbit of knowledge you can claim as your own. And if you also included a list of your many skills, you’ll likely fill an entire notebook.
You can proclaim your value, assertively list your knowledge and skills, and still live and work in a place of humility. Being humble doesn’t mean you can’t take ownership of what makes you who you are. It means you don’t have to boast about it or lord it over others. The “humble brag” will serve you just fine: state it as a fact without emotion, and you can get your point across without fuss.
Rejoice in your nurse’s mind and everything it holds, and enjoy the clear knowledge of the value of your numerous skills. You’re a valuable member of the healthcare community, and owning your worth is a powerful place to be.
But pediatric nursing also offers opportunities to use cutting-edge data, equipment, and processes that advance her day-to-day nursing practices. Dr. Lewis, who is a member of the Society of Pediatric Nurses’Board of Directors, also finds pediatric nursing provides pathways to pursue her professional interests including pediatric hospital medicine, quality improvement, instructional design, and initiatives that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. She shared some of her thoughts about a career in pediatric nursing in time for the annual celebration of Pediatric Nurses Week which runs from October 2 to 6.
Please tell Minority Nurse a bit about yourself. I completed my undergraduate nursing studies at Gardner-Webb University in 2008 and earned my Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2015. Additionally, I completed post-graduate studies in pediatric acute care at the University of South Alabama and completed the Advanced Practice Provider fellowship offered by Seattle Children’s Hospital in 2019.
I have over 17 years of nursing experience and hold multiple national certifications in pediatric emergency, critical care, and mental health specialties as well as in nursing didactic and clinical education and vascular access. Personally, I enjoy reading, weightlifting, yin yoga, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
How did you find your career path to pediatric nursing and what makes it rewarding? I was drawn in by the ethical maxims and caring science of the nursing profession and by the opportunity that it offers to interface with children and their families in a way that makes a positive difference. It is most rewarding to see and know that your actions, as a pediatric nurse, have contributed to the healing of a patient and family. A career in pediatric nursing has also afforded me opportunities to work across the country and overseas; to learn and work with brilliant intra- and interdisciplinary colleagues; to advance professionally; and to grow personally.
You work with a fragile population and their families. What nursing skills do you rely on most heavily? I rely most heavily on my ability to assess patients and families, the process of gathering data using senses. Many of the patients I care for, due to developmental or health-related considerations or other barriers, are unable to communicate using words. Receptivity to and accurate processing of body language, paralanguage, and other signs and symptoms that patients and families consciously or unconsciously share are the foundational of most successful outcomes.
Why is it so essential to have a diverse representation of nurses in pediatric nursing? Person-centered care focuses on the individual within multiple interwoven and complicated contexts. Foundational to person-centered care is respect for diversity, differences, preferences, values, needs, resources, and the determinants of health unique to the individual. Inclusivity and representation are essential to providing person-centered care to increasingly diverse populations, care that requires seeking to understand the totality of the individual’s lived experiences and connections to others.
Diverse representation is the only means by which we can create healthcare systems that empower individuals to make informed decisions about health maintenance and illness and injury prevention behaviors within the context of their own cultures; systems that recognize and value the undeniable influence of culture on the biology, attitudes, beliefs, and practices of patient populations and healthcare delivery alike.
What kinds of technological or medical advances have you seen in your career and what do you expect will develop in the future? As advances in portable and wireless technologies have developed and expanded, so has the provision of home health and telehealth services. These advances have expanded the reach of healthcare providers and services, making some forms of care and treatment more accessible and conducive to improving the quality of life of patients and families. It will be interesting to witness the evolution of artificial intelligence and its application in the detection and diagnosis of disease, as well as its role in information generation and sharing.
What would you like readers to know about pediatric nursing? The nursing profession is facing some longstanding and unprecedented challenges; pediatric nursing is not immune to those challenges. Every challenge, however, presents an opportunity for growth. Child health is the foundation of health and well-being for societies. Pediatric nurses are uniquely poised to lead the charge in reshaping healthcare systems across all care settings and levels of impact.
Many nurses often decide to work in the profession due to their struggles in life, but few are willing to make a difference in their work based on their hardships.
Dr. Sharrica Miller, PhD, RN, has used her voice to speak up against injustice against Black nurses. She’s an assistant professor at Cal State Fullerton, where she serves as chair of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Student Engagement. Miller also owns her consulting firm and works with organizations to implement diversity initiatives.
Miller took the time to answer our questions about her nursing experience and how her beginnings as a foster child inspired her DEI work.
Can you give a brief introduction about yourself?
My life’s journey has been unique and full of challenges. After spending 12 tumultuous years in foster care and emancipating from my last placement in Compton, California, I went to Howard University, where I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Let me tell you, it was a struggle! I lacked the academic and social skills to thrive and was lost and overwhelmed when I arrived.
After graduating, I worked bedside for over a decade in various specialties, including pediatrics, critical care, and home health. During that time, I obtained my master’s degree in nursing and most recently graduated from UCLA with my PhD in 2017.
What made you decide to become involved in nursing? Did your upbringing influence your decision to become a nurse?
I needed to make money in foster care to pay for school expenses, so I became a certified nursing assistant at 16. I was still unsure about my future until a family tragedy changed the course of my life. My father was involved in a drive-by shooting my senior year, just a few weeks before I was set to leave for Howard. I’ll never forget the compassionate care the nurses provided to my dad and my family, and from that moment on, I knew that would be my path moving forward.
How does your experience in healthcare influence your roles as a DEI consultant and assistant professor at CSU advocating for inclusive nursing environments?
My first job was in Long Beach in a pediatric rehab center, and I worked with many adolescents who were gang-violent victims. I had the opportunity to work at UCLA as a new grad, but I wanted to be in my community caring for patients who looked like me.
What makes nursing special is that we look holistically at the person in front of us and consider all the circumstances that led them to our care. Thus, having firsthand experience working with diverse patient populations has made me a more experienced DEI strategist and consultant because I learned early on always to remember the person behind the patient.
How have you been able to give back to the foster community? How do you feel when you know you’ve helped them achieve their future goals despite barriers?
Sitting in foster homes as a child, I made big plans about what to do when I grew up and have tried to live up to those goals. My work in the child welfare system has centered on transitional-age foster youth. These young adults between 18 and 26 are emancipating from foster care.
The transition to adulthood is difficult for anyone, but foster youth especially need more skills and resources to navigate the world successfully. I give back to the community by facilitating workshops for child welfare professionals to teach them how to better engage with this population and also by serving as a mentor. It’s a full circle moment when I see my youth succeed. I hope the little girl who made all those plans is proud of me.
What do you value most about your work for diverse nurses?
I value the look on Black nurses’ faces when they finally feel seen. These nurses are on the frontline dealing with discrimination and retaliatory behavior in the workplace, and now they finally see someone calling it out.
What advice would you give younger adults struggling in nursing school or the workplace due to past trauma or microaggressions they’ve experienced?
I would tell them you are the most important person in your life’s journey. You have to affirm, support, and believe in yourself. We tend to go through life looking outward for the answers, but overcoming trauma means getting to know ourselves and building ourselves up.
Dealing with microaggressions requires a different skill set rooted in emotional intelligence. Sadly, many Black professionals, particularly Black women, have to decide if they will stay low or fight for what they believe in. Both have potentially adverse consequences; one hurts our souls, while the other hurts our careers.
My best advice is practical. Build your expertise in various areas and develop multiple income streams to handle a particular employment situation. If you find yourself stuck in a toxic workplace environment, be ready to pivot to the next opportunity.
To learn more about Miller’s work, read her book on the life lessons she learned in foster care or follow her on Instagram at DocMillerSpeaks.
As Vascular Nurses Week comes to a close, the impact of the work vascular nurses perform each day is clear. Vascular nurses work with patients who have vascular disease or who may be at high risk for vascular diseases including everything from blood clots to high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease to circulation problems.
Patients depend on nurses in this specialty to help them treat and manage their diseases and so will turn to them for education about how to recover from surgery from having a stent or how to manage high blood pressure or peripheral vascular disease. Vascular nurses are also excellent sources of information on how to live with chronic conditions such as varicose veins. For patients whose family history shows a strong genetic predisposition to vascular disease, a vascular nurse will work with the patient’s team to help educate them about medication and surgical options, lifestyle changes and choices, and even symptoms to be especially mindful of.
As a career, vascular nursing offers extensive options and nurses can find the career track that fits their interests, pace, and preferred schedule. Nurses who choose to work in this specialty will see a range of patient ages and conditions, and they have the ability to focus in on specific populations with the choice of work location and setting. Nurses can work in hospital settings where they may assist with surgery, lead patient preparation and recovery from procedures, and be on the medical team with emergency situations. Vascular nurses can also work in outpatient settings and clinics where they will see patients who are coming for routine blood work, post-surgical care, and scans to help diagnose or monitor any problems. Other options can include home care.
These nurses work with a complex network of veins and systems that can change quickly. They need to be current in all the latest evidence-based practices so they can treat patients with the most current knowledge and also let them know about potential treatment options that are on the horizon.
As with other nursing specialties, career choices such as membership in a professional association is especially beneficial. Nurses can look into all the resources the Society for Vascular Nursing offers including mentorship options, patient resources, and conferences. Many nurses use annual conferences as a way to connect with other nurses all across the country and to learn about new developments in their specialty. They can bring those ideas and the energy from the conference back to propose potential improvements in their own workplaces.
For continuing knowledge, obtaining certification is an excellent career move. the Society for Vascular Nursing (SVN) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) offer the Cardiac Vascular Nursing Certification (CV-BC) which gives nurses the professional knowledge and recognition of expertise in the field.
Vascular nursing requires nurses who are dedicated to patient care, lifelong learning, and who have a passion for helping patients live the healthiest lives possible. Rates of vascular diseases continue to rise and the industry needs more nurses in this specialty, so the job outlook remains strong.
Neonatal nursing provides care for the tiniest and most vulnerable infants, and the nurses in this specialty are celebrated this week by the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) and other organizations marking this year’s National Neonatal Nurses Week.
When she took some time off to raise her family, Williams decided she was happy with nursing, but not fulfilled with the med-surg role. She decided to try something entirely different and was honest about what would be best for her personally as well as professionally. Caring for a pediatric population was appealing, but Williams knew she would see her own children in her patients and wanted to maintain separation from that age bracket. Neonatal nursing was a good age bracket to alleviate that concerns.
Three months into orientation as a neonatal nurse, Williams was all in. “I thought, ‘This is it. This is where I need to be,'” she says. “It was a real ah-ha moment. I have never experienced that before.”
Williams, who has been a nurse for 24 years and a nurse practitioner for 10, says she grew up with her parents talking about nursing as a great career, but it wasn’t something originally on her radar. “Once I got into it, my passion, goals, and thoughts on it all changed.” Williams current role has her spending half of her time managing a team of 20 nurse practitioners and half of her time spent clinically managing patients. “That means I am responsible for developing a team and still responsible for the care of babies and their families.”
As a nurse, Williams says her goals have always focused on helping people attain success and self-fulfillment. In her neonatal nursing role, working with babies allows her to continue working toward to that goal. “Whenever I have a patient, my goal is to help that patient become the best version of themselves they can be and then we can reunite them with their family.”
Saying she feels constantly rejuvenated by her work in neonatal nursing, Williams feels a strong connection with the families she works with. “Mostly we think of childbirth and pregnancy as a joyous time, and we don’t know how complicated it can be,” she says.
When things don’t go as expected or as planned, the experience is difficult. “Being able to support someone around this process and give them the best version of their child is such a responsibility,” she says. Williams says she has learned how to meet the families and the babies where they are and help them feel comfortable when their child is in intensive care. And while nursing skills in the NICU must be excellent, Williams says the skills required to work with families aren’t necessary clinical but are heavily rooted in empathy.
“These infants are the future and the parents are so invested in these children,” Williams says. She helps them understand they have experienced a loss of their expectation of and hope for a perfect or even a typical pregnancy and birth and a shift is necessary. Very premature infants might require extra care and require extra vigilance, but that doesn’t mean the child will be unable to participate in life. “You just have to pivot,” she says.
And Williams is buoyed by the advances in neonatal care and in neonatal nursing. In addition to the technology and medical care advances, “the focus on the whole baby has improved so much,” she says. Even understanding the downstream impacts of how a baby in NICU is positioned gives the healthcare team a deeper understanding of the whole picture of care.
“I am always talking about how I love what I do,” says Williams. “Neonatal nursing is rewarding. It’s a rollercoaster but well worth it.”
Nephrology Nurses Week is marked during the second full week of September (this year from September 10-16) and honors nurses who specialize in the care and functions of the kidneys. For Nephrology Nurses Week, Faith Lynch DNP, RN, CNN and a national director of the American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA) talked with Minority Nurse about a nephrology nursing career path.
What issues are front and center for nurses in this specialty today? In nephrology nursing, the issues that are front and center are the lack of nephrology nurses going into the specialty. It is a very undiscussed specialty in nursing school which does a disservice to the patients in need. In nephrology nursing, especially dialysis, we are performing an invasive procedure that is life sustaining for patients with end-stage kidney disease. It is the only procedure that a physician orders and a nurse carries out. Bringing awareness to the nephrology nursing specialty is a huge priority for the American Nephrology Nurses Association.
How has technology changed nephrology nursing and approaches to treatment? Technology and innovation are changing nephrology nursing practice and approaches to treatment in so many ways. Dialysis machines are getting smaller and more compact instead of being large and bulky. You can monitor your patients with different technology to allow for better treatments and you are able to spot complications before they occur with the technology coming out.
What medical advances are most exciting and promising for nurses to see? I feel that nephrology nurses love the innovation that keeps coming out with all of these new devices. Dialysis is the same process as it was 40 years ago, but the devices are allowing nurses to use a more individualized patient-centered care approach. Safety on the machines has come a long way, which is great for nurses but most importantly the patients. A new smart patch that uses remote patient monitoring for patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney disease can read hemoglobin and hematocrit as well as potassium. This can be a game changer for the population we serve.
Why is nephrology nursing such a great career option? Nephrology nursing is such a great career option. It has brought me so much opportunity for growth in my career as well as challenges. Nurses do not realize that nephrology nursing is a broad term as there are so many different things you can do–you can work in dialysis (acute or chronic setting), a nephrology practice, transplant, education, administration, pediatrics, and more. You never get bored and feel complacent.
It is a nursing specialty that is unlike many as you develop such different relationships with your patients. It is the one thing that we, as nephrology nurses, cherish most. You make a difference in these patients’ lives as they see you more than they see their own families sometimes. It truly is the “work of heart.”
