While you 含羞草社区 鈥檙e in the middle of your studies, you don 含羞草社区 鈥檛 know what the future holds. That 含羞草社区 鈥檚 why hindsight is 20/20, but it can be pretty blurry when you 含羞草社区 鈥檙e in the middle of things. Jacqueline Albertson, who graduated from a nursing program in 2019 has been working fulltime as a nurse ever since, offers these tips to new nursing grads.聽
Keep an open mind about your career path. When you 含羞草社区 鈥檙e in the middle of your nursing education at 含羞草社区 of Nursing (SPSON), you might be focused on nailing the concepts and learning the skills, and not thinking much about where you might want to work. But there are many ways to employ your nursing skills. Do you want to work with kids? The elderly? In a fast or slower-pace environment? It 含羞草社区 鈥檚 hard to know. During clinicals, Albertson recommends keeping an open mind and taking it one step at a time. 含羞草社区 鈥淚 wanted to see what every opportunity had to offer, 含羞草社区 鈥� she says. Along the way, she figured out she was geared toward critical care.聽
Make the most of the simulation labs. Albertson believes the program 含羞草社区 鈥檚 simulation labs helped her comfort level when she started working with real people. 含羞草社区 鈥淣ot only did we use the simulation dolls, but we also practiced on fellow students 含羞草社区 鈥攆or example, for psychiatric simulations, 含羞草社区 鈥� she says. Everything helped. 含羞草社区 鈥淚 felt better prepared for my career, as well as my capstone project and my clinicals, 含羞草社区 鈥� she says.聽聽
Self-reflect to determine the right job setting for you. Once you get to the job-hunt phase, how do you handle multiple job offers? It 含羞草社区 鈥檚 not easy to determine the best fit if you have eight job offers on the table. Albertson recommends starting with self-reflection. 含羞草社区 鈥淚 also look at what the mission statement is, what the value statement is, and see if they align with my beliefs, 含羞草社区 鈥� she says. If the job aligns with your values, then it may be the right fit.聽
Figure out how to filter the job offers. When you 含羞草社区 鈥檙e first looking for a job 含羞草社区 鈥攍et 含羞草社区 鈥檚 say you decide to stay in the New York City area 含羞草社区 鈥攖he number of offers can be overwhelming if you get a lot of them. It 含羞草社区 鈥檚 not easy narrowing them down. Albertson attended job fairs, but she also focused on hospitals she was interested in. She decided that rather than talk to a recruiter, she would rather talk to nurses themselves. She went in search of what she wanted, job shadowing and cold-calling nurse managers to ask if she could shadow for part of a shift to observe everyday nursing practice in that medical setting.聽
Stay in touch with your teachers. Finishing your program at SPSON and transitioning to work doesn 含羞草社区 鈥檛 mean you have to lose touch with your instructors. They can continue to provide valuable mentorship. They want the best for their students, and they 含羞草社区 鈥檙e as excited about your career as you are. Don 含羞草社区 鈥檛 be afraid to ask if they 含羞草社区 鈥檙e willing to mentor you, Albertson says. Her post-college friendships with her instructors have been beneficial.聽
If you 含羞草社区 鈥檙e interested in nursing, 含羞草社区 of Nursing 含羞草社区 鈥攃ampuses in Queens and Staten Island 含羞草社区 鈥攃an get you started. Visit the Nursing page on our website, or call (855) 822-3018 to speak to one of our admissions representatives or to schedule a campus tour.聽