Setting professional goals for nurses is essential to climb up the ladder of success and go to higher ranks. Realizing your potential and setting up objectives is the first thing you need in your practical life.
Similarly, professional goals for nurses are important for current as well as aspiring nurses. Whether you are still in nursing school or you are practicing this profession in a hospital, nursing goals will provide you a specific, realistic, and career-oriented path. In this article, we will suggest you must have professional nursing goals.
These 10 professional goals for Nurses will enhance your skill and will create more promising opportunities for you as a Nurse:
Table of Contents
01. Improve your Technology Skills
Technology assists health care professionals with diagnosis as well as treatment of the patients. The nursing profession involves the use of technology and electronic devices. Among other Professional goals for nurses, it is one of the advanced nursing goals that nurses must be perfect in.
Furthermore, the use of different technology-based systems in hospitals is always increasing. Nurses maintain health care records and update them. These records are kept and updated on systems largely based on modern science and technology. Therefore, it is important for a nurse to be skillful in technology as well where requires in Nursing.
Familiarizing yourself with these technologies and services is one of the goals in the nursing profession. It is still better to go a step further and become a pro in the use of technology. You should be able to troubleshoot and solve problems related to proficient use of technology used in the nursing profession.
02. Get different Nursing Certifications
Career guide professionals say that you waste that year in which you do not add a new certificate or degree to your resume. There is a wide range of certifications to go for in nursing.
Different nursing organizations and hospitals offer certifications for different fields. Therefore, you can choose a certificate that shows a specific set of abilities like clinical research or first aid. Going for a certificate like oncology, pediatrics and oncology helps in a specific unit in a hospital and increases the number of opportunities for you.
Getting certificates is one of the goals in the nursing profession you must have and it is trendy as well as it stands as one of the top professional goals for nurses now-a-days.
03. Become Efficient
Efficiency is the soul of all professions and nursing is no exception. Try to be efficient in your responsibilities. Work in health care facilities often gets hectic. As a nurse has to perform multiple duties in a hospital you must be efficient in fulfilling your shift duties along with providing the best care to patients.
04. Enhance your Communication Skills
Communication skills are extremely important but often less emphasized objective among goals for nursing. A nurse collaborates with doctors and patients in verbal and written form. Have something to say or write and say it as clearly as possible. Work on your communication skills to communicate effectively.
Non-verbal communication makes up to 80% of the total communication. Pay attention to the body language and gestures of the physicians and patients. If you see a patient tensing his shoulders, ask him whether he is comfortable or not. Read the facial expressions of your patients and understand their emotional needs.
05. Find a good Mentor
A mentor can speed up your progress in finding and traversing the right path in your nursing career. You will be able to set professionals nursing goals that are realistic, specific, and according to your aptitude with the help of a mentor. Some hospitals and health care units offer mentorship programs for their nurses.
You can join a formal program or you can ask a senior nurse to be your mentor. Having a mentor who is more experienced and seasoned than you help you set more realistic and achievable nursing goals.
06. Enroll in an Advanced Degree
Aspirants with a higher degree are more likely to get hired in any setup. Sit in an advanced Nursing degree program and increase your chances of getting hired. It will increase your skills and abilities and will also increase your earning potential.
If you have an associate degree, go for a bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s degree in nursing will create your chances of being a shift in charge, a unit manager, or advance in administrative roles.
If you have already qualified for your bachelor’s degree in nursing, go for MSN i.e. master of science in nursing. MSN enables you to get an APRN license. Furthermore, you can diagnose, and plan treatment for your patients if you have the license. You can also be a nurse educator or a clinical nurse specialist when you are holding an MSN degree.
Master in the science of nursing brings many other advanced nursing opportunities as well. Hence, some states even allow you to practice.
07. Become a master of some Tasks
A jack of all trades but master of none stays at low levels of earning ladder. As a nurse, you are a jack of all trades. A nurse performs varied responsibilities like the diagnosis of the disease, treatment plan, execution of prescription, maintenance of health records, and many other duties.
Build your expertise to pro-level in some of the tasks you daily perform. To be a master of some trades in your day-to-day life is an important goal in the nursing profession.
08. Offer Mentorship
Offering mentorship is another advanced professional goals for nurses. If you have experience in nursing then offer mentorship to newer nurses. You can simply join a mentorship program at some institution or you can let the nurses know to come to you for career advice and mentorship.
Teaching others will increase your knowledge and expertise. It is mandatory to go through the mentorship training program first to offer mentorship in some countries.
09. Get specialized in a specific field
Specialization is the demand of the modern era. Choose a specific area keeping in view your interests and abilities. You have a whole range of fields to choose from like children’s health care, oncology, dialysis, neuroscience, and many more. Therefore, choosing a specific field as a professional goal for nursing is highly recommended.
Set up specific and realistic goals for your nursing profession and work hard to achieve them. These goals for Nurses serve as a path to the destination of a successful career.
10. Exhibit best caring behaviors as a Nurse
Caring behaviors are the heart of nursing care. Nurses must demonstrate caring behaviors to their patients in order to be effective caregivers. Exhibit Caring Behaviors as a Nurse is an article written by Dr. Reed Meehan for medical professionals, nurses, and other healthcare providers who need insights into exhibiting caring behavior while providing patient care.
As a nurse, you have the privilege of caring for patients in need. Exhibit caring behaviors such as empathy and compassion when performing your job duties by following these six steps:
01) Communicate effectively with all team members to ensure that everyone has an understanding of what needs to be done.
02) Perform thorough assessments on the patient's status and document accordingly.
03) Use evidence-based practices and procedures in order to provide quality care while minimizing potential risks or complications.
04) Exhibit empathy and compassion when assessing patient's condition, communicating plan of care with them, educating them on their condition/medications, etc…
05) Exhibit patience when interacting with patients who may not understand what is
Nursing Career goals that are archiveable
Nursing is a profession in which you can always grow and learn. There are many nursing careers that do not require an RN degree, but who doesn’t want to be an RN? One of the most common goals for nurses is to become nurse practitioners – either because they have been working as a registered nurse for years or because they have completed their Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree.
Examples of nursing career goals that are achievable include becoming certified as a Certified Nurse Midwife, Certified Physician Assistant Nurse, or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. You may also want to consider taking on leadership roles such as being the head nurse at your hospital or clinic.
When it comes to your nursing career, you want to make sure that you are pursuing something that is achievable. That doesn’t mean easy- but not too hard either. The best way to do this is by setting goals for yourself and then working towards them. In this blog post, I’ll be going over a few examples of nursing career goals that are achievable in the long term!
- Advance and upgrage your degree
- Get a management position to be successful
- Obtain advanced Nursing certifications
- Enhance your skills and become a super nurse
- Start providing nusring services to rural areas
Smart Nursing goals Examples
Nursing smart goals examples are a powerful tool for nurses to use in their clinical practice. It is important to remember that smart nursing goals should be achievable, measurable, realistic, and time-bound. Here go through some smart nursing goal examples, nursing goals and objectives that can help you create your own smart goals!
As SMART in “examples of SMART goals for nursing” stands as an acronym of these five:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
Nursing professional goals statement
Here is an example of a nursing professional goals statement that you can adopt as well for setting your goals and objectives in the nursing field