Five Important Lessons Worth Sharing with the New Nurses in Your Life

It’s almost graduation season again. Pretty soon we will have new graduates joining the workforce. And you…Yes, YOU! You are a new nurse! Congratulations!

*For those who prefer to listen to this content via a podcast, here is the link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ldoFlBk0qWuC4tfkAycBJ?si=4ebbf1dcd92a4992

You made it despite juggling between your clinicals and academics. Heck, you may even have had to budget your time between your schoolwork, a part-time working gig, and your personal life. Looking back, you’ve been through all the challenges and emerged victoriously. Hence, the accolades you are receiving now are well deserved. Enjoy them!

With my Facebook Memories reminding me that this week is the anniversary of my grad school graduation (in the era of Covid 19, if I may add), I can’t help but look back at that oftentimes not easy professional journey! Knowing what I know now, these are some of the advice I want to give my younger self when, just like you are now, I was a new nurse.

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Lesson No. 1: Have a (Flexible) Career Plan

Early on, I already had a timeline. I was an impatient new nurse who was planning the next phase of my career while I was just at the starting point. Because of that, I easily got irritated if and when my plans were not achieved to a T.

During the first two years after nursing school, I worked as an emergency room nurse, an infectious disease nurse, and a clinical instructor. On the weekends, I attended my graduate school classes. I was a person with a purpose but was still unsure of what direction to really pursue.

Because of how busy I was, I really didn’t foster good and collegial relationships with my then colleagues. I wasn’t focused on cultivating my clinical skills because my brain was on overdrive thinking about the next exam I needed to pass or the lesson plan I had to complete.

While I don’t suggest that you should be as rigidly anal as I was, it’s not wise to never have a plan either.

What I want to point out is for you to have a loose idea of your potential career trajectory. And while you may be starting out as a newbie Medical-Surgical nurse in a small rural hospital perhaps, enjoy that process. You should be a sponge and learn as much as you can. Observe what the experienced nurses do. Collaborate with the other members of the health care team. Who knows, those learnings may come in handy in one of your future jobs!

Finally, keep a mental note of where you see yourself by next year or maybe 10 years down the road. Even if you do not really get there, aim to at least be as close to those goals as possible.

Lesson No. 2: Set Realistic Goals and Reevaluate them Periodically

It is important to define your own personal and professional goals. They guide each new nurse on what next steps to take.

Is being a charge nurse part of your goal? Inquire on how to get that orientation or training. Do you want to learn other skills? Ask if there is a possibility to be cross-trained to another unit.

If you are a nurse from our generation, then it may be challenging for you to seek out those opportunities. However, there is no better advocate for your own professional growth than yourself.

Maybe another thing that I will add here is:

Proceed cautiously!

You have to be discerning on how to carefully meet small milestones that contribute to achieving your overall goal/s. Utilize the nursing process and make adjustments if one approach is not good enough. You should be brave enough to venture through new roles or settings to enrich yourself. Believe it or not, the journey is just as, if not more, important than meeting the goal/s.

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Lesson No. 3: Identify a Professional Mentor and Never Miss Out on Opportunities to Learn

As you are starting out, find someone whom you want to emulate. That person will be your inspiration. You will want to be a nurse like him or her someday. That nurse may even become your mentor!

Even if it may not be your admired person, it is significant to identify mentor/s. A mentor is someone who is willing to take you under his or her wing. He or she may share inputs, make suggestions, and even encourage you to take on career steps that you may be hesitant to take all on your own. Reach out and keep an open line of communication with them. You may learn a thing or two from them and vice versa. A mentor-mentee relationship doesn’t only benefit the mentee. Without you knowing it, you may be able to impart something new to your mentor as well.

Personally speaking, what I sincerely appreciate about my mentors is that they all encourage me to pursue learning opportunities. Whether it is formal schooling, online webinars, or vendor-sponsored educational sessions, my mentors are always willing to give me their take on the pros and cons.

Learning also can come through exposure in other areas of the workplace, for example. Honing a new nurse’s skills through a rotation in a specialized area such as the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is an opportunity that shouldn’t be passed up. That may even open a new door for you if you eventually see yourself as a future Nurse Practitioner or a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist?

Or volunteer yourself to be a superuser whenever your organization introduces a new health information technology tool. You might find it equally stimulating and challenging. I should know because that is the pathway I took to land in my latest informatics role.

Lesson No. 4: Don’t Define Your Success Through the Lenses of Other Nurses

Ever heard of the saying “keeping up with the Joneses?” No?

Okay, I’ll make it easier for you:

Ever find yourself secretly wishing you also bought the same high end brand of purse or car as your colleague? Do you work 60 hours a week between two jobs because your goal is to make six figures annually? Is your newly bought house bigger and has all sorts of smart appliances compared to that of your fellow nurse in the unit?

It is never good to keep on competing with others and measuring up your success from those metrics. While those successes and material possessions may keep you happy for a while, that feeling is just fleeting. Live for yourself and by your own rules! 

As a family, define what success means to all of you. It may mean something as simple as keeping everyone healthy or kids doing great in school. Professionally, it could be not making a mistake during your shift or managing the unit well as a Charge Nurse.

Sure, money will always be a part of that conversation. If I can tell my younger self a lesson about this, I will say:

Make it a habit to list down your assets and liabilities no matter how mentally taxing it could be. Learn the “fine prints” and nuances of credit cards, loans, interests, and the importance of financial literacy.

Woe me that I didn’t take my mother’s words to heart. She sure did know what she was talking to me about back when I was in high school. I guess her Banking and Finance degree had something to do with it.

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Lesson 5: Pay It Forward

While we are on the topic of money, some nurses share a part of their earnings with the church or other charitable institutions. If you are a Filipino like me, then you help out by sending your younger siblings to school.

Paying it forward doesn’t necessarily mean monetary contribution though. Some of my friends volunteer their time in manning soup kitchens, for example. Me? I pay it forward by sharing my knowledge. I present career-related materials to my fellow nurses. Sometimes, I mentor young new nurses who are aspiring to interview for a job in the United States.

There is a myriad of ways to pay it forward. The most important thing to remember is that whatever little you impart to the universe, it will always find its way back to bless you a hundredfold.

Parting Words

Luke 12:48 states:

To whom much is given, much is expected.

As nurses, we are truly blessed. Day in and day out, we are given the opportunity to touch and leave an indelible mark in a person’s life. The very least that we can do as nursing colleagues is to inspire and support each other as we continue to navigate the challenging post-Covid 19 healthcare milieu.

If you are able to add, what lesson will you share with a new nurse and why?