A Strong Start in Nursing Begins Long Before the First Day on the Job

Nurses are among the hardest-working people in the healthcare world. Nursing school is difficult, and this difficulty serves as a form of quality control. Only those who work hard and truly care about helping others can make it as nurses.

That said, much of what makes a great nurse can’t be learned from a textbook. Future nurses can prepare themselves for great careers by collaborating with their peers and trusting their mentors. Follow along as we explore how nurses can set themselves up for success long before starting their careers.

Nurses Must Build Key Skills Before Starting Their Careers

Every nurse’s journey starts in nursing school, where nurses build the foundation for their career. As long as you meet the prerequisites, you can begin your nursing journey after high school. However, solely relying on what you learn from a textbook won’t prepare you to start your career. You can ensure a smooth start to a long career if you take several key things from your journey with you, including:

1. Strong Academic Background

Countless patients rely on nurses to exemplify excellence in healthcare, which requires a lot of knowledge. This knowledge not only prepares nurses for their careers, but it also helps keep patients safe. Fast-paced and intense, nursing school covers many complex aspects of healthcare, from medical knowledge to patient care.

The physiology and anatomy curriculum are just as important as the patient care and clinical skills you learn. Initially, this curriculum is academically foundational, but it eventually integrates with practical clinical experience. Combining lessons learned from books with real-world experiences can solidify a young nurse’s knowledge and reaffirm their passion.

Academic knowledge alone isn’t enough to prepare a nurse for a great career. However, without it, you’ll lack the context and expertise needed to ensure patient safety. Whether you get a four-year nursing degree or an accelerated degree, your academic foundation is invaluable.

2. Collaboration Skills

Collaboration is a huge part of nursing, whether you work in the ER or in a pediatrician’s office. Nurses work closely with their peers, physicians, technicians, pharmacists, and social workers, among others. They must also regularly communicate with patients in the most efficient way possible, which requires lots of practice.

Collaboration and communication skills are ingrained in nurses from the time they start nursing school. Nursing students must work closely with one another, and in doing so, they learn essential soft skills. Nurse leaders and hospital administrators can often determine whether or not a nurse can work well with others.

You’re more likely to get your first nursing job if you exhibit strong communication and collaboration skills. Not only will this help you get hired, but these skills will also ensure you enjoy a long career.

3. Emotional Intelligence

Nurses often work with distressed patients who are either nervous or going through difficult times. If you lack emotional intelligence, you can’t easily comfort your patients or process your own emotions. Empathy and emotional intelligence are closely related, but they aren’t necessarily the same thing.

You can be empathetic without knowing how to comfort others and make them feel heard. However, your experience throughout nursing school and clinical studies should help you build emotional intelligence. Even during your first clinical studies, you can learn a lot about how people feel and act while awaiting medical treatment.

While it takes time, you can eventually learn to read someone’s emotions and shape your interactions accordingly. Doing so keeps patients comfortable and ensures you can provide the best possible care. Displaying empathy and emotional intelligence can help you land your first nursing job.

4. Critical Thinking

Textbooks and teachers can’t necessarily prepare you for every situation you’ll encounter on the job. However, the critical thinking skills you learn throughout nursing school will make your early career much easier. You can learn the importance of critical thinking skills during clinical studies in nursing school.

During clinical studies, nursing students shadow and work alongside experienced nurses. Shadowing experienced nurses can help you understand that each patient interaction is unique. Nurses must constantly adapt to unique, often stressful situations that require special care.

Of course, your critical thinking skills will naturally improve after weeks, months, and years on the job. However, honing these skills throughout nursing school can help prepare you for your career.

5. Meaningful Connections

Building connections is one of the most important parts of a young nurse’s journey. For many, this starts during nursing school, when aspiring nurses network with one another. However, you can set yourself up for a great career if you network with nurses beyond your closest circle.

For example, it’s a great idea to apply to shadow nurses at local hospitals and clinics. This will provide more clinical experience beyond what is required in nursing school. Volunteering or shadowing working nurses can also help you build connections with people who may one day become your peers.

Not only can you learn from these connections, but they can also help you get a job. Even if your mentors can’t get you a job, the experience will at least look great on a resume.

A Nurse is Only as Great as Their Foundation

As an aspiring nurse, you can prepare yourself for your career by collaborating closely with your peers and mentors. These mentors can include your teachers and nurses whom you shadow throughout clinical studies and internships. Internships can help provide more practical experience and make your resume look better.

Every bit of experience can help build emotional intelligence and critical thinking skills that you’ll carry until you retire. During job interviews, your future employer will see these soft skills and recognize how much you care.