How nurses in Bulawayo can advance their careers

As nursing continues to evolve and improve in Bulawayo, nurses who work locally must keep up with developments or risk getting left behind. As a nurse, you can also improve with focus and dedication on the pursuit of providing excellent patient care and becoming a better nurse over time.

Here are a few ways to advance your career step-by-step.

Start with the Best Intentions
In much the same way that doctors have the credo to "first, do no harm", it's useful for nurses to keep the idea of having good intentions, always. The fact is that the work day for nurses is long and arduous at times. There are so many needy cases, patient files to manage, and administration to handle all in a day's work. It's easy to get burned out.

In these busy times, bringing an uplifting attitude and a smile to your job is the hardest thing to do. However, being able to manage through difficult times and the long, tiring hours is all part of succeeding in the job. Senior nurses, doctors, and administration staff are all watching what you do to see how you cope. They're on the lookout for nurses who have the potential to do more and achieve greater things, as well as for nurses who are just going through the motions. Which are you?

Advancing Through Nursing Education
For nurses who have the MSN already, there are options to advance further to one of the doctor of nurse practitioner programs. These are doctoral level post-graduate nursing qualifications that are studied online at Regis College, which provide access to coursework to learn in your own time.

The focus of the course is either nursing leadership or nursing teaching with students able to choose the direction their career will take. For people who do well in a leadership role, then opting for becoming a better manager and role model makes the most sense. Where you have a knack for teaching other nurses how to perform their medical tasks well, then becoming a nursing teacher is a good route to take. The nurse practitioner doctorate degree is an ideal way to build up an existing graduate education, while still being able to work.

Having Respect for the Privacy of the Patient
Medical records are a common cause for concern for patients who worry that their privacy won't be respected. Nurses with loose lips who discuss their patient's diagnosis outside of a clinical setting or to medical personnel who aren't involved with their primary care is a big no-no. Information that the patient would consider personal to them must be respected and treated as completely confidential at all times. This also follows for not leaving patient files around carelessly too.

Assuming a Leading Role When Appropriate
While a leadership role may not be part of current work responsibilities, take the initiative to be helpful and demonstrate a readiness for more tasks. Helping new nurses with their tasks is considered a kindness, provides better patient care and supports the proper functioning of the ward overall. Try to see other nurses as part of the team and not competition for future advancement. An open and friendly attitude is likely to win more votes than a suspicious, unhelpful one when new job openings come up.

Advancing in a nursing career is partly about improving every day in how the job is performed, partly adding to the knowledge, and grasping opportunities to move up when they appear. It's important to be ready for the new job openings by being educated and getting rave reviews by direct reports ahead of time.