Being a Well-Resourced Nurse
Guest post by Keith Carlson
As a nurse, keeping an open mind, expanding your worldview and branching out personally and professionally can be very empowering. We can all get stuck sometimes, but being what I call “ a well-resourced” nurse means that you’re open to new experiences and willing to grow in every way.
Whether it’s online resources for advancing your career, emotional support for the hard times, knowing where to turn for clinical advice, having new experiences, networking authentically or seeking like-minded nurses with whom you can share ideas, it’s a big world out there.
So, what are some ways to become a well-resourced nurse?
The Online World
There’s no question that the Internet is the go-to place for people looking for the answer to a question. Whether it’s researching nursing programs, finding a coach, seeking support from other nurses or watching videos about a new technique for dressing wounds, the Internet offers a vast array of information from which you can choose.
Personally, I find social media one of the most useful tools on the Internet in terms of connecting with other nurses and healthcare professionals. I take full advantage of the power of Linked In, Facebook, Google+, Twitter and other platforms in order to stay connected, meet like-minded nurses, increase my knowledge, and build a robust professional network of colleagues throughout the world.
As a well-resourced nurse, you can harness the power of the Internet for your own personal and professional growth, bearing in mind that there are natural limitations to online friendships and networks.
Networking “In Real Life”
As much as I love networking with other nurses online, I also love connecting with nurses face to face, on the phone and on Skype.
Locally, I go out of my way to find nurses in my area with whom I feel an authentic connection. Once I identify a nurse I’d like to know, I reach out to them and make a date so we can get to know one another. These relationships can lead to all manner of collaboration and mutual support, and I cherish my local network of colleagues.
When connections live far away, I do my best to move those relationships from being solely based on email and social media, connecting with those individuals by phone or Skype. Of course, I don’t have time to do this with everyone, but it’s a nice thing to do when you have the time and inspiration to pursue deeper connections with people you admire and respect.
Networking meetings, seminars and conferences are a great way to build your network, meet colleagues, and advance your knowledge and expertise. These experiences are wonderful for your professional development.
Expanding Your Knowledge Base
Another aspect of being a well-resourced nurse is constant learning and knowledge expansion. Whether through CEUs, independent study or simply watching videos or reading articles, a well-resourced nurse is always learning and growing.
Remember, “well-resourced” can also mean “well-rounded”, so all of your learning doesn’t have to be directly related to nursing. Maybe you like watching “TED Talks” about robotics or music. Perhaps you take a drawing class once a year at the local community college, volunteer with the local organization that provides food for the homeless, or you study meditation at the local yoga center. It’s all good, and it all helps you to grow, both personally and professionally.
Every experience can increase your knowledge base in some way, and the well-resourced nurse doesn’t just seek information about nursing—he or she seeks learning everywhere.
Seeing Far Afield
Being a well-resourced nurse means that you see far beyond the confines of nursing. Just as you might take the aforementioned classes in meditation or drawing, you might also look beyond your professional goals towards your larger aspirations as a person.
Seeing far afield, you allow your mind to be expansive, curious and nimble, and that curiosity leads you to new places, new resources and new experiences. It might mean volunteering for a medical mission in South America, learning a new language, or attempting to build a website. It doesn’t matter what you do. It’s all about how you do it and why.
Nimbleness of mind will improve your effectiveness as a nurse because it fuels your ability to think creatively. I’m sure you’ve heard of thinking outside of the box. What if you chose to not even see the box in the first place?
The Resources Are Endless
The resources for your personal and professional growth are endless, and they are there for the taking. There’s always the low-hanging fruit—the things you know are there—and then there are the things that are more outside your usual ken, the things that currently seem foreign or strange.
The well-resourced nurse always wants to learn and grow, and that learning and growth will no doubt inform the care that such a nurse provides. Knowledge, experience, curiosity and willingness to learn are all aspects of the well-resourced nurse.
Are you a well-resourced nurse? If not, what are you waiting for?
