Planning Your Career Progression

Claire shares her tips on progressing in your nursing career, drawing on her journey as a Healthcare Assistant to a university lecturer, from doing what you love to staying motivated.

Hi, everyone. Welcome back to another video.

My name is Claire Carmichael. I am a Registered Nurse, and today we're going to be talking all about career progression and planning.

So, first thing, if you don't want to progress in your career, if you want to stay as a Band 5 Staff Nurse, that is absolutely fine. And when I'm talking about career progression, I'm thinking about progressing up the bands up to Band 6, 7, progressing to a different department, progressing to a different career path completely, those sorts of things.

Secondly, your career progression and planning will more than likely possibly potentially change as you go.

From Healthcare Assistant To Assistant Lecturer

So as some of you may know, if anyone knows me by my background and things like that, I started off as a Healthcare Assistant.

My plan when I went to university was to become a Sexual Health Nurse because I worked in sexual health for nearly six years and I really, really loved it and I still love it. I absolutely love sexual health and it's hopefully what I'm going to be teaching. But yeah, so my career progression has changed massively since then. So, I was going to go back and be a Sexual Health Nurse.

As I went through university, I had my GP placement. I fell absolutely in love with GP, and I went on to become a GP Nurse when I qualified instead of going back to sexual health. However, in my GP role, I could do sexual health and contraception and stuff like that, so I was still doing what I love, just in a completely different role, in a different way.

And now, if anyone doesn't know yet, if anyone's on my socials, you might already know this, I've just got a new job as an assistant lecturer at university. I know, I'm so excited and I never expected I would ever become a lecturer.

And it's not because I don't enjoy it. I really love teaching and education, and this is why I do vlogs and things like that, because I love helping people. I love, you know, if I've learned something along the way, an easier way of doing something, for example, or a little tip that I've got along the way, I'll vlog all about it because nursing is tough, and if we can help each other out, why not?

We should be helping each other out. You know, it's already as tough as it is out there. If we can just create that little bit of ease for somebody, why not?

Anyway, so my passion for teaching grew, again, as a Student Nurse. I did a lot of education stuff, I helped out with some student talks, I was invited to speak at a conference, which was absolutely terrifying. It's where I realized I had a massive fear of public speaking. People that don't know me personally in my personal life always think that I'm this big, extroverted person, and I'm the complete opposite. I'm, believe it or not, I'm a massive introvert.

And if you think about these videos, all my vlogs and things like that, usually I'm sat in the comfort of my own home with my camera, or, as in my student days, I was walking around university. It was where I was comfortable, it's where I knew, it's where I was familiar. Get me out of that comfort zone into a room full of strangers peering at me and I could see the whites of the eyes, is what I was trying to say, it absolutely terrifies me.

So, I never thought that I could ever be a lecturer, but I knew I loved education, and the more I did at university the more I realized I'm going to be coming back to university because I love it so much and I want to teach, and I want to do all these amazing things.

So here I am. I applied this year a couple of months back and I got the job, and it was actually my first week this week. I know. But that's for a different vlog. But yeah, it is, it's just my way of saying, you know, I've been qualified for nearly three years now.

Expect The Unexpected

My progression is completely different to when I first started. I was just going to go back and be, not just, sexual health is amazing. I was going to be a Band 5 Nurse. I would've learned so much. I would've been in a job that I really, really loved, but there's just been a plot twist along the way and now I'm doing something different.

But some of the stuff I'm going to be teaching relates back to sexual health because there is a sexual health element and there is a little case study and things like that that I'm going to be hopefully getting involved in and doing some teaching around sexual health and transgender healthcare and things like that.

So, I'm still going to be doing what I love and passing on some information and wisdom and things like that. It's just in a different way. So, expect the unexpected, everybody.

However, upon saying that, I know that people just have the goal, and you are going to beeline for that goal, and you are going to go for it, and you're going to be there for years and years and years because you absolutely love it, and that is great. That is amazing.

Doing What You Love

The main thing about this is, make sure you're doing what you love. If you are doing what you love and you are happy every single day in your life, it doesn't matter what you're doing. It doesn't matter what job you're doing, what role you're doing, as long as you're happy and you're doing what you love. Because we're at work 24/7 of our lives.

Especially now with the climate, the crisis that's going on, we're working even more than ever right now to get the pennies in the bank. So, we are at work. Our colleagues become our family. We have to love what we do, because if we don't, we're going to end up really, really miserable, so make sure you're doing what you love, no matter what it is. So that is my mini–TED Talk over.

Experience Different Areas If You’ve Got Spare Days

So just some little tips for career progression and planning. So, some people might not know where they want to go. That's the other thing actually in all of this. If you don't know where you want to go, where you're going to fit in, there are many people out there with that thought, that's okay, too. Just experience it.

If you're a Student Nurse, experience different areas. Ask to see different things. As a student, I booked into so many extra things because I wanted to know more. People thought I was a little weirdo because I was so motivated and dedicated.

I would do everything possible. I'd do all the social activities, I'd be out and about raising money for charity, I'd be doing my nursing, I'd be doing my work, I'd be doing this, I'd be doing that. On top of all of that, I was looking for more things to do.

I went to sit with the package of care teams, for example, because I wanted to know how that worked. As a nurse on the wards, in the community, I always heard about package of care and we were waiting for patients to be settled with package of care to go home with, and I had no clue what that meant. I wanted to know what it meant for the patient. I wanted to know the ins and outs so that I can give my best care to my patient.

So, I rang up the package of care team and I went with them for a day, and I learned so much. Like, there is way more to package of care than you will ever imagine. I could pass on that information to other nurses as well, and as a result, hopefully the patients are set up with the right package of care and discharged safely as a result.

Not only that, but I really wanted to go with the safeguarding teams as well, because safeguarding's really, really important. It's all about patient safety for me and giving the best care to patients, so I wanted to know more from the safeguarding teams and the things that they do, the things that they could help me with if I was to discover any safeguarding problems and things like that, and that was amazing as well. So, I really, really loved going with them for the day.

I also went with a dementia charity because I wanted, again, best care for the patients, safely, things like that, how I can support families and things. So, I went with a really nice dementia charity and volunteered there as well.

So, I really went above and beyond to do extra things. So, if you've got spare days, if they give you a week at university to do your own thing, please, do these things. Do extra things, what you want to know about, what would increase your knowledge.

And if you have got a progression, a goal, whatever, in mind, arrange those activities around that goal so it's going to be a little steppingstone to give you more insight and more knowledge into your goal, if that makes sense. However, these little things give you really, really good insights if you don't know where you want to go in life. Because in nursing there's so many different roles, so many different things that you can do.

It's amazing, so book yourself in to shadow with the nurses and things as well, was where I was getting with all that as well. It just gives you more experience and more variety to get you thinking and seeing where you want to be in the world.

Especially now with the climate, the crisis that's going on, we're working more than ever… Our colleagues become our family. We must love what we do, because if we don't, we're going to end up miserable, so make sure you're doing what you love, no matter what it is.

When You Already Have A Goal In Mind

So, tips for the people that have their goal, have their dream in mind. You know exactly where you want to be. This is for you.

So firstly, how do you even begin to process how to get there? You know you want a certain job, but you don't know how to get there from student nurse to qualifying to getting in that place.

The first thing you need to do is do your research. I always say this to people, do your research around the role, any qualifications you might need, any extracurricular activities you might have to complete and that sort of thing to get you to that role.

Have a little look at jobs in this area that you want to go to as well. So, if you can have a look at the job specification, for example, the person specs, so you can get an idea of what's required to be able to apply. So, if they require a year's experience, for example, in A&E, or if they expect certain qualifications or masters, that sort of thing.

Some jobs are very, very specific in what they want. Some of them want a master's, some of them want extracurricular activities and that sort of thing and extra years’ experience or whatever in certain areas, and so have a look at that, jot them down in a notepad and then you can start planning around that and how long it's going to take you to get to your goal.

So, for example, in my role, my assistant lecturer role at university, I needed a Level 7/master's sort of course to be able to apply. I also needed to undertake some extra teaching and guest lecturing, any kind of teaching activities as well as experience to help me apply for that role.

And very, very fortunately, I've been very, very proactive, and as a Student Nurse, I did some extra bits at university to help out with lectures and things like that. I've been doing webinars, I've been visiting different universities as well to do like little case study sessions for Student Nurses, deliver little teaching sessions and things like that, just to give me that experience and get some hands-on work experience to be able to put into my application and show that actually I'm really proactive and this is what I've done, and this is the experience I've got.

Not only that, as a GP Nurse, I was very, very fortunate. Again, I did my Level 7, which is the equivalent to a master's, in the foundations of general practice nursing, which included asthma, COPD, it included a whole range of different things, so that looked really, really good as well on my application because I had that extra sort of academic side as well. And that's exactly what you need to do. Have a look at what's required.

If you need a master's, okay, what do I need to get in my master's? What sort of a masters? Have a think about the area that you want to work into. If it's sexual health, if it's GP, if it's wherever, look at the type of master's that'll be really good for that area you're going to be applying to.

If they want you to get experience like mine in teaching or that sort of thing, set up little projects for yourself. Ask universities if you can do some guest lecturing because they love nurses to come in and do little case study sessions and help out with skill sessions and things like that. You can get really, really, really involved without being there full-time or part-time or whatever. It's a really, really good thing to do.

If it's not lecturing, if it's different areas you need to get more experience in, contact the places. Ask if you can shadow the nurses and things like that. Ask if they need anybody on the bank, extra sort of hands-on, any part-time work or anything like that that you can do, anything extra you can pick up in your spare time to sort of get that experience, get that knowledge and get that more, so the work experience to put into your application when you apply.

Visualising Your Progression And Staying Motivated

It's all about setting yourself SMART goals, breaking it down, like I said, look at the person's spec, what is required of you? Get your subheadings onto paper and how you're going to achieve those. That is the best starting point, I think.

And how long, set a timeline for yourself, how long is it going to take you to achieve those before you can apply for your goal? Because that's going to get you really, really motivated because you are seeing those milestones being ticked off as you go and it's that one step closer to your goal. It is an amazing feeling actually to do that and it keeps you motivated, it keeps you on target to achieve your dream and achieve your goal.

Another thing that I find really, really helpful, it's not for everybody, I love a really good vision board.

So, I have Pinterest, it's an app on your phone, and I download all sorts of things. I've got a positive sort of board for positive quotes and things like that to keep me happy, to keep me motivated every single day. I've got boards for wedding planning and stuff like that.

But having a vision board of your goal helps you really visualize it. It's what they call the law of attraction, if anybody's into that sort of thing. The law of attraction, you want to welcome that into your life as if you've already got it.

So, you're putting the idea out there, you're seeing it, put pictures, create yourself like a little memo board or something like that in your bedroom or office, wherever. Putting pictures of your goal, of your dream, and visualizing, this is where I'm going to be, this is going to happen, and just smash it.

For me personally, I find that really, really helpful. It's helped me throughout my whole nursing career so far. It really, really works for me. It keeps me motivated, it keeps me on top of things, and it really does help me achieve.

So, I really hope that those little tips will help you as well and help you keep on target and just achieve whatever progression you want to do.

When You’re Not Sure How You Want To Progress

Another little tip for people that don't have that goal in mind, you don't know where you want to be, you could be a Student Nurse and you're not too sure where you fit in, you don’t know what area you want to work in, have a look for when you qualify at rotational posts.

That can be really, really useful because you'll do so many months in different areas and they'll rotate you to different areas so you can get a look into all these different specialties and things like that. And that might just give you a bit more insight and a bit more help in where you want to go and where you want to be.

Also, ask around, ask social media and things like that. Find out where other people work. Are they happy in their teams? How long have they worked there? If you've got a team where everyone's been there for a really long time, they're really happy, they're really positive, you're going to know that that's going to be hopefully a happy, positive team and it's a good place to start maybe.

Make Sure You’ve Got Support

Also, you want somewhere that's going to support you throughout any progression that you might foresee in the future, any goals you want to achieve, things like that. If you don't know where you want to be, make sure you've got a supportive workplace.

You are going to, especially as a new nurse, newly qualified nurse, you need that support because it is a little bit of a sink or swim sort of situation when, not to scare anybody, but that transition from student nurse to newly qualified nurse is the hardest part of your whole journey. It was definitely my hardest part, and I had a number of tears and all sorts when I first started as a qualified nurse because I didn't fully have that support that I needed, and I didn't realize I didn't have that support.

So, my biggest tip is if you're being interviewed by someone, your question at the end has to be, how are you going to support my transition into nurse? Because you want to make sure that you've got a supportive team and everybody's there to help you.

And if you've got that really good supportive, amazing team, you're going to really thrive as a nurse because they're going to encourage you to be your best self. You're going to be happy; you're going to be motivated to do more and hopefully work better as a team as a result.

Give Yourself Time To Adjust

And there's no real timeframe on when you should progress in life or whether you should move up the bands or whether you should move on in a job or anything like that. Take it day-by-day, step-by-step and how confident you feel, how competent you are at your role.

Do you have everything you need if you're applying to a new job, if you're applying for a promotion or something like that or a different area completely. Do you have everything they need for the role?

And if it's with timeframes and things like that, I was just thinking back to when I first qualified, I gave it about 10 months in my first job before I left because when it came to the 10 months, one, I just, I couldn't do it anymore. I realized I wasn't getting the support that I needed. I didn't feel safe, and nothing was going to be done about it. The second reason was the travel. It was an hour and a half to two hours there and back, and I was doing long days, eight till six and it was hard. It was really, really tough. I just couldn't do it anymore, and I found a new GP practice that was literally walking distance from my house, and it was an amazing practice.

I was so overjoyed that I made the move, and I changed practices because the support I got was unreal. I learned more in the first months than I had my whole 10 months of the other place. I was doing baby immunizations; I was learning about screening. I was doing way more than I was before and having that proper training and support and mentoring and things like that. So, I was really, really happy with my move.

So obviously give it, like I say, give it a few months, at least six months in any new place to settle in, get the support, ask for support if you're not getting support. If you're continuing to ask and you're not getting it and you're really, really miserable and you can't take anymore, move on.

Please don't feel guilty for starting a new job, because you should be given the support. You should be given the help to thrive as a newly qualified nurse. So please, please just don't feel guilty. Move on. Find someone who is going to support you and appreciate you and value you.

And finally, career progression, it doesn't have to, like I was saying at the start briefly, it doesn't have to be about going up the bands, becoming management, leadership roles, that sort of thing, although everyone should be a leader because we're nurses, but do you know what I mean? It doesn't have to be about more money, more pay, more management responsibilities, that sort of thing.

Progression is very personal, I think, and it could be something as simple as, okay, what am I going to do next to gain more knowledge to give the best care to my patient? That's the way I see progression.

… Always question things because that makes you a safe nurse… if you're always questioning things, always seeking out new information, education, updates, things like that. That's going to make you the best nurse possible.

Learning Throughout Your Career

I'm always trying to absorb more knowledge, more education. because nursing is lifelong learning. I'm sure you've heard this all the time and I'm about to remind you of it today. We are always learning, we are always training, and if you get to a point where you think you know it all, nursing's probably not for you anymore because nobody knows it all.

Nobody can physically possibly know it all because nursing is so varied, so wide. Things change every single day. Guidelines change, policies change, the world is changing daily, the population is changing daily at the minute. There's always something to learn, so never think that you know it all.

Even if you are in one particular area and you feel like you might know it all, but realistically you probably don't. There's probably a new guideline, policy, something like that that's come out that you need to look into. It's just not possible.

And I remember when I went to my dentist, I know this is very bizarre. I was a student nurse, I was going through exams, I was grinding my teeth, I was going through stress, and I was really worrying about failing my exam.

And the one thing my dentist said to me, which I still remember to this day and I tell other people, he said to me, "The day that you think that you know it all, is the day that you're an unsafe nurse, because if you are going around thinking that you know it all and things like that, you're going to get bad practice, bad behaviours, things like that happening."

So, he was trying to say basically it's really good to always question things, always question things because that makes you safe nurse. So, if you're always questioning things, always seeking out new information, education. updates, things like that. That's going to make you the best nurse possible.

I hope that makes sense. In my head it makes sense, and I really loved that comment and I think it's just so, so true. There's always something that we can learn from each other.

So, I hope that's given you a little bit of food for thought on career progression and planning. Hopefully I've given you something in this to help you sort of get to where you want to be or what you want to do in life, that sort of thing.

And a huge, huge, good luck to you. If I can be any more of assistance, if you need any help or anything like that, please put a comment below and I'll try and help as best as I can.

But for now, thank you, everybody, and I should see you next time.