There are plenty of great reasons to want to become a nurse. Looking after people’s health is advantageous – and there will always be demand for nursing support across the country and overseas. Therefore, it’s an enjoyable challenge that opens many different paths and niches!
But what if you already have a career in a different industry? What if you’re new to healthcare and are still determining the steps to take when becoming a nurse for the first time?
Thankfully, there are clear steps you can take to ensure you’re mentally prepared and have the best education behind you to climb into a rewarding and fascinating nursing career. Let’s explore some of the most valuable steps below.
Decide if Nursing Is Right For You
For all you might be interested in a nursing career and feel it complements your skills and personality, it’s worth thinking carefully about whether it’s a path that’s right for you. For example, nursing presents varied daily challenges – is this a working setup that appeals to you?
Think about your interpersonal or soft skills, too. Nurses are brilliant communicators and love working with others. They’re always happy to talk with patients and dive deep into problem-solving, often working with several departments and specialists to support cases.
If you’re a creative and unique thinker who’s always ready to look outside the box, nursing is likely an excellent move for you. Above all, however, you need to be empathetic and compassionate. It would help if you ideally matched this with the ability to think critically and adapt well in a crisis.
Once you’ve researched what nursing entails and are positive you have the key skills, interests, and personality traits to build a healthcare career, it’s time to start looking into development.
Address your Skill Gaps
If you’ve decided nursing is suitable for you but still find gaps in your skill set, it’s a good idea to look into ways to develop these necessary traits before starting your new career journey.
Most nursing degree courses will help you develop the technical and soft skills needed for a nursing career. However, doing a little homework along the way can be good.
For example, if you’re concerned about your critical thinking skills, try to keep a journal of the most significant decisions you make on any given day. Then, at the end of the day, you could evaluate whether you were mainly making emotional or logical decisions and look for patterns in your behavior.
You could then set a goal to make fewer emotional decisions and learn to harness your critical thinking ability. You could even practice using role play and consider how you’d work in an emergency or how you’d approach a patient or case with specific needs.
Think about your interpersonal skills, too. Try to practice active listening – when you next meet with friends, family, or colleagues, try to pay attention to what they have to say. Ask questions, ask them to elaborate, and even give advice where appropriate.
You should also set yourself organizational and timetable tasks. Even if you have a few household or everyday demands to work with, set a clear timetable and set goals to stick to. Don’t get downhearted if you’re not perfect right away – but feel optimistic that you’re building self-organization skills that are highly transferable in nursing careers in the future.
Gain the Right Qualifications
On paper, the best way to break into a nursing career is to gain the right qualifications to allow entry into your first hospital or clinic. However, as this is your second career, you likely already have some commitments – meaning online or distance learning may suit you better, allowing you to fit your study around other demands.
Ideally, nurses entering the workforce should have a BSN or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which gives you the entry skills you need to start caring for patients, developing care plans, and building up technical and soft skills to go far in a nursing career. Of course, you should also consider if there is a niche in nursing you’d like to explore. For instance, you might explore gerontology if you’d like to care for older people.
To start, it’s a great idea to scope out remote degree courses that are flexible enough to fit your needs and timetables. For example, there’s the Online Accelerated BSN Program at Rockhurst University, which can get you up to speed as a fully-trained nurse in 16 months.
Rockhurst’s program is 100% online about coursework, but there’s also a 10-day residency at Saint Luke’s College of Nursing, where you get the chance to explore physical nursing skills in simulation settings.
Look for courses that give you this balance of online flexibility and the opportunities to try out nursing skills in mock scenarios. Acquiring your BSN is a great start, and after graduation, you can start thinking about different niches and paths to follow as you progress.
Ask Experienced Nurses For Advice And Guidance
Remember, you don’t have to go it alone! Nursing as a profession is varied and exciting – meaning experienced personnel often have lots of interesting stories to tell.
On your route to becoming a nurse through a second career, try and reach out to experienced nurses for advice on how to get started. What challenges did they face when they started out on their nursing degrees? What advice would they give to anyone heading to a hospital setting for the first time?
Building your skills is one thing – but gaining support and advice from experienced nurses is another important route you should prioritize. Learn from the best – and try to apply their guidance through your education and into the working world.
Taking on a new career as a nurse might seem scary at first, but there are lots of great opportunities and support avenues out there to help you on your way.
