How to Prepare for the Job (Nursing)

00:01 Anna was a sophomore in high school, and she knew she wanted to be a doctor.

00:06 Ever since she had spent endless days and nights in the hospital when she became sick.

00:12 She knew she wanted to be like the people who helped her become healthy again. She had a goal.

00:20 Now, how could she prepare for her desired future? She knew she was going to have to earn her undergraduate degree, go to medical school, complete her residency and pass her boards.

00:34 But that was all in the future.

00:37 What could she do now, to prepare for her career? You might be in a situation like Anna.

00:45 Perhaps you know where you want to go in your career.

00:50 Perhaps you don't have a clear picture only an inkling.

00:54 Perhaps you don't know where to begin.

00:58 You can begin with a single step.

01:02 One way that you can hone in your skills, gain experience, and increase your understanding is through volunteering at your local health care system, community events, and health community.

01:15 There are plenty of opportunities to give back and increase your experience, understanding, and network.

01:23 If you are preparing for a career in healthcare, service is a critical part of the job.

01:30 You should consider volunteer opportunities to prepare for your career.

01:36 Another way that you can improve is through internships and externships.

01:42 Highly desirable units such as labor and delivery, hire almost exclusively new nurses that have already engaged in an internship, externship, nurse's aide, or volunteer opportunity prior to taking boards.

01:58 Through internships and externships, you have an opportunity to discover your comfort with the floor, build relationships with other nurses, and their hiring managers, and build your experience for your resume.

02:14 Before you have the official title of RN, Consider externships and internships.

02:23 Another option that you should consider is assistant positions.

02:28 If you want to be an excellent nurse one day, I strongly, adamantly, insistently encourage you to consider a nurse assistant position while you are in school.

02:42 With little exception, nurses that have nurse assistant or equivalent experience prior to boards have improved empathy, understanding teamwork, communication, and overall collaboration on the unit.

02:58 Time as a clinical nurse assistant allows students to test units, gain experience and knowledge of daily practice.

03:07 Discover if nursing is the right fit position for them, and can help prepare and equip students for nursing school.

03:16 This is a crucial learning experience that will impact your collaboration on the unit, which can impact overall patient care.

03:27 In addition to the patient care benefits, many times nurse assistants can receive some type of tuition assistance from the health care system towards earning a nursing degree.

03:40 Sometimes healthcare systems will also give internship or externship preference to nurse assistants that are already employed in the organization.

03:52 Furthermore, the cycle time of moving from a nurse assistant to a nurse could be a shorter timespan because you will not have to complete the organizational application process onboarding and orientation.

04:08 If you are already a part of the healthcare system as a nurse assistant, you will simply transfer or promote to your new position.

04:18 You will already know the charting system, organizational policies, and unit nuances if you are staying in the same unit.

04:26 For logistical, practical, relational, and experiential reasons, I highly suggest you look into nurse assistant positions as you are preparing for your career.

04:38 Experience in an assistant position is a game changer.

04:44 Lastly, be intentional to build your network by seeking job shadow opportunities, working with a mentor, and finding opportunities to ask questions with those in the industry.

04:58 Healthcare is a multi-dimensional, multi-layered complex ever changing field.

05:04 You cannot possibly know everything in healthcare. You never will.

05:10 Begin building your network of people now.

05:15 Experience through internships and assistant positions are really important.

05:20 The knowledge and ideas of best practices is also critical.

05:25 Attend events.

05:26 Ask your local healthcare system for job shadowing opportunities.

05:30 Reach out to people that are in a unit.

05:33 Practice or position that you are striving for it today and ask them about their challenges, the rewarding parts of their day.

05:42 How they would recommend that you prepare for a specific field of practice.

05:47 Ask questions and listen intently to gain specific insight into and to how you can best prepare for the future.

05:56 For Anna, she spent her high school years volunteering at the local hospital, studying Latin, and served in a local retirement home to increase her experience in patient care.

06:09 Later, she continued with volunteer experience, networking, internships, entry level and assistant positions and setting to set herself up for success.

06:20 Today, Anna is a doctor, serving patients in her community.

06:26 Medical school was a part of her journey.

06:30 In addition, to the hours and hours of other preparation that she took to be an excellent doctor in her field.

06:41 So, here's what I want you to do, especially if you are not yet in your ideal career.

06:49 I want you to look around and ask, Where can I volunteer to make an impact now? What internship or externship opportunities can I take advantage of now? Who can I meet with to job shadow or speak with today? And what entry level positions can I take advantage of today to prepare me for my dream position tomorrow?