0:05

Welcome to the Ambitions Nurse podcast

0:07

, where I provide tips , tools

0:09

and resources for the experienced nurse

0:12

to put in your career bag to

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help you be a better person , a better

0:16

leader , a better professional and

0:18

, most of all , a better nurse . I'm

0:21

your host , bonnie Meadows , a career

0:23

coach and a clinical nurse specialist

0:25

with over 18 years of experience

0:28

in health care and nursing . It's

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my passion to help experienced

0:33

nurses develop their careers to

0:35

impact health care and their communities

0:37

. Hello

0:42

and welcome back to the Ambitions

0:44

Nurse podcast . So

0:46

glad to have you back with me on today

0:49

as I discuss a

0:51

new topic , bring forth a new topic

0:53

. It's honestly a continuation

0:55

of what I've been talking about

0:57

regarding getting over

1:00

perfectionism or really

1:03

just taking messy

1:05

action I kind of put

1:07

those two in the same category

1:09

and taking

1:12

that next step to

1:14

move forward in your career . But in

1:16

order to take that next step , I

1:18

believe you need some guidance in

1:20

how to make that decision . We

1:23

get stuck in knowing

1:25

what decision to make . I

1:28

want to relieve you of some pressure

1:30

. There's never one

1:33

100% right decision

1:36

when you're

1:38

contemplating . Sometimes

1:41

you need to take a step in

1:43

order to find out what

1:46

is the right answer . If

1:48

you stay where you are , you

1:51

may not know the next

1:53

step or it will not become clear to

1:55

you . So

1:57

I want to encourage you to

2:00

take that next step through

2:02

what I discussed today and that's how to

2:05

make effective career decisions

2:07

. How do I make a decision on what the next

2:10

step is ? I

2:13

had a young lady to reach out to me because she

2:15

had a question about her

2:17

degree choice . She had

2:21

a bachelor's degree and she was

2:23

looking to move forward

2:25

to the nurse practitioner

2:27

route in her career path . She'd

2:30

already been accepted to

2:32

a family nurse practitioner program but

2:36

she questioned if she should also

2:38

get a psych mental health nurse

2:40

practitioner or not

2:42

even an . Also if she should pivot

2:44

and do psych mental health instead of

2:46

family nurse practitioner . And

2:49

honestly , that's a question that has come

2:51

across my desk several

2:54

times recently

2:56

, because the psych mental health nurse

2:59

practitioner degree is

3:01

up and coming . It is

3:03

very , it

3:06

is very lucrative and

3:09

it is also it's

3:12

within reach . It is one

3:15

of those things that's exciting , especially

3:17

if you don't have a

3:19

problem with that

3:21

particular area . And I know

3:24

it looks different from

3:26

a nursing standpoint , being a bedside

3:28

nurse in psych mental health versus being

3:30

working as a nurse practitioner in psych

3:33

mental health or using those skills

3:35

in your work . But

3:38

she had this , had

3:41

this question , and

3:43

I asked , I asked her in

3:45

order to help her to make this decision . I asked

3:47

, I asked her what did

3:50

she feel like ? What was going

3:52

on that she felt like she needed more exposure

3:55

to the area , and

3:58

so she said that she was

4:00

going in the route of wanting

4:03

to develop eventually like a

4:05

holistic health for women . Awesome

4:07

, I think that is a great

4:09

idea . I told her

4:12

one thing to keep in mind is

4:14

that the clinical experience is going to be

4:16

different . So

4:18

we go with it , go into it

4:20

with one thing in mind of

4:23

here's what our end goal is . But

4:25

when you're going into a psych , mental health nurse

4:27

practitioner program

4:29

, you're going to get the gamut

4:31

of everything . Remember it's their , their

4:33

. They prepare you just like all

4:36

other , all other areas , prepare

4:38

you for just

4:40

that general . What do we expect

4:43

them to see ? How do we expect them

4:45

to operate , knowing that you

4:47

will gain more skills once you're done ? And

4:50

so I reminded her that

4:53

you know the clinicals are going to be

4:56

very psych , mental health

4:58

, ish focused . So

5:01

if that was an area that she had a passion

5:03

for , then go for it . Then go

5:05

for that first

5:07

. But if

5:09

that's nothing , if that's something that

5:11

she doesn't have a strong passion for

5:14

, then go the family nurse

5:16

practitioner route and then

5:18

later on , if she

5:20

feels like she needs those extra skills

5:23

, then go back and

5:25

get a postmaster

5:28

certificate as psych

5:30

, mental health nurse practitioner and

5:34

I believe that there are a lot of people who

5:36

are doing that . If you think about it

5:38

, the family nurse practitioner

5:40

it gives you the options , it

5:42

provides kind of like that baseline

5:45

of here's where we

5:47

are , and I know in the state in

5:49

which I practice , you

5:51

can't practice outside of that scope

5:53

. You either have to , you have to add

5:55

on , like you can't have a family

5:58

nurse practitioner and then work in an

6:00

acute care setting , and

6:03

so that's

6:05

something that you have to consider . So

6:08

it's better to look

6:10

at it like a funnel and

6:13

keep your options wide . When you're

6:16

starting out in your career

6:18

path , get

6:20

into something where your option can be wide

6:22

and then , when you're ready to narrow and

6:24

specify then

6:27

whatever certification you

6:29

want to go back for or whatever

6:31

the second

6:33

degree you want to get , then

6:35

do that . But

6:38

just make sure that you

6:40

keep your options wide . So

6:42

you start with the family nurse practitioner and then

6:45

you go with the psych and mental health , and so

6:47

that's that's pretty much how I led her

6:49

down that decision making process . So

6:53

these are some of the things that

6:56

I want to talk with you about

6:58

on today . So when

7:01

you walk away from this episode , you will have

7:03

some good tips

7:05

as to what you need to do

7:08

in order to make an effective career

7:10

decision , a good career decision , to

7:13

take the next step . So

7:15

I'm going to start . First start off with one

7:17

you need to do your research . You

7:20

have a lot of ideas in your head . You may have

7:22

already done the research but

7:25

and you may be overwhelmed with

7:27

the research . So

7:30

take all of that . Do your research for

7:32

whatever job or whatever

7:34

degree that you have

7:36

. So you've been hearing about family

7:38

nurse practitioner or acute care nurse

7:40

practitioner or Psych

7:42

, mental health nurse practitioner . But have you

7:45

done your due diligence and looking

7:47

into what does ? What does their

7:49

day-to-day look like ? Or

7:52

you're trying to make a decision between

7:54

do I do leadership or do I do education

7:57

or do I do ? Well , what are the options

7:59

in that space and what

8:01

is your end goal ? Be

8:05

strategic in your search . Same

8:07

thing with jobs . If

8:10

you're seeing several jobs out there

8:12

, well , what is your end goal Right

8:16

now . It's time to also , in

8:18

this research , tap into yourself

8:20

awareness , do a good self-assessment

8:22

to figure out what

8:25

brings you joy in your career

8:27

, what are those things that

8:29

you know . This is an absolute

8:32

for me or this is a , this

8:34

is a no . I can't do that Right

8:37

now in my career , and I will tap into that

8:39

just a little bit more . Do

8:42

you want to stay clinical ? Are you ready to move away

8:44

from patient care ? What

8:46

do you see yourself doing in the long term ? And Then

8:49

, from there , look at what jobs will allow

8:51

you to gain skills in the areas

8:53

where you have opportunities to learn

8:55

. Look within your company

8:58

first and then

9:00

, after you searched From

9:02

a job standpoint and you don't find what you're

9:04

looking for , then look outside of your company

9:06

to see if there's something out there

9:08

that peaks your interest . So

9:12

my first tip do that research

9:15

From a jobs perspective

9:17

and from a degree perspective

9:19

. Don't pigeonhole yourself

9:22

into what everyone else is talking

9:24

about . Do your

9:26

own due diligence . Look

9:28

at all , look at all of the pieces

9:30

. Once you have gotten

9:33

, I say about maybe about

9:35

five , three to five jobs that

9:37

you're like okay , these three to five

9:39

jobs , they

9:42

look like what I could do

9:44

, or I've narrowed my search down to

9:46

at least these one or two degrees In

9:50

which I feel like I could , I

9:52

could go back to school for this or that . That

9:56

will help to decrease the overwhelm in your decision

9:58

. Narrowing

10:00

, narrow down your list To

10:03

help reduce the overwhelm so

10:06

that you're just not looking at it every day , all day and

10:08

asking 50 million people Well

10:11

, what do you think I should do ? Well , I'm thinking about

10:13

doing this and I'm thinking about doing that , and it's okay

10:15

to ask questions , but there are

10:18

so many jobs that

10:20

out there that you really just need to focus on Preparation

10:25

for about three to five , so

10:28

that you don't wear yourself out and water down

10:30

your message on what is it that you would like to do

10:32

. Look

10:35

at those jobs , see how

10:37

they match with your own self-assessment

10:39

, how many of those jobs closely

10:42

line up with what you would like to do or gain skills in , and

10:47

then make those jobs your your top priority

10:50

as to what you will move

10:52

forward in . Just narrow the list down . Narrow it down . Let's

10:54

not have FOMO about Missing

10:57

out on something . Narrow the list

11:00

down . You can only work Well , you can't work

11:03

more than one job , but when you're looking to develop

11:05

your career . You

11:08

want to try to make sure you're getting in a space where you can

11:10

get a job . You want to try to make sure you're

11:12

getting in a space where you can hone those

11:15

skills that you need . So

11:18

now we're at number three . So

11:20

you've done your research , you've

11:22

narrowed down your choices , understand

11:26

your negotiables and your non negotiables

11:28

. So when you're looking

11:30

at these programs because even

11:32

in an aspect of choosing

11:35

which school to go to for

11:38

a program , for example

11:40

, the format that

11:42

someone else , that one school

11:44

, provides might

11:47

not be the best format for you and

11:49

where you are in life so then you

11:51

need to change , switch and change

11:53

and go a different route . I

11:57

had someone whom

11:59

was actually a friend of mine and

12:02

this was very early on in my career and I was

12:04

helping her to make a decision on whether she

12:06

should be a nurse practitioner or go back to school

12:08

for to be a CRNA , and

12:13

what it really came down to was her life

12:15

and her support system didn't

12:18

allow for her to go back to

12:20

. To be a CRNA Like

12:23

the really , really the only reason why she was pulled towards

12:25

it because of the money . But

12:27

then , even when she looked at it further and further

12:29

. She's like well , I

12:32

like this about the nurse practitioner

12:34

role and I like this about the nurse practitioner role and

12:36

I like this , and so that helped to

12:38

make your decision . Sometimes your negotiables

12:41

and your non-negotiables help you

12:43

to make your career decision . Now

12:46

, I'm not saying that those negotiables

12:49

and non-negotiables tell you to stay where

12:51

you are , because a lot of times

12:53

there's a way to work around those things

12:55

. What I'm saying is

12:57

decide if you want to work five days

12:59

a week . Decide if you can be

13:02

a nocturnal NP , if that

13:04

works well for your schedule . Decide

13:07

if working

13:09

in person and going in person

13:11

to a job versus

13:13

working remotely will work

13:15

for you . Make those decisions

13:18

. What is your priority

13:20

right now ? Because

13:23

even if your priority

13:25

right now is a little bit more restrictive than

13:27

you want it to be , there

13:30

is opportunity in the future for

13:33

you to branch out and do what you want to do . But

13:37

maybe take those opportunities to

13:39

where you can learn and grow

13:41

in smaller steps

13:44

so that when

13:46

the opportunity and your capacity opens

13:48

up , you can then move

13:51

in the direction in which you

13:53

want to grow faster . So

13:56

evaluate that home life . Know

13:59

and understand and evaluate

14:01

what your life situation

14:03

is . There's a book that's

14:05

called 168 Hours . You

14:08

have more time than you think . It

14:10

is a life changing book . It helped

14:12

me to think about time in a totally different

14:14

way , and some of you may have remembered

14:17

me telling you about this , but

14:21

this

14:24

particular author . She helps

14:26

women to really see how

14:28

we limit ourselves with

14:32

saying that we don't have the time

14:34

, when , in actual reality , we do have the time

14:37

to do those things that we're uniquely created

14:39

to do , or

14:42

to do those things that are our core competencies

14:45

, those things that are our gifts , but

14:48

we allow just

14:50

life in and of itself to

14:53

not , not or

14:55

to keep us from doing

14:57

those things . But if we really

14:59

evaluated our time , really thought

15:01

about what do we really have

15:03

to do versus what do we not have

15:05

to do , if we really do

15:08

this thing that she calls plan

15:10

neglect , then we

15:12

can make time for those things that

15:14

really fill our cup in just

15:16

small increments of the day . So

15:19

just think about that . And

15:22

whether that be taking care of kids

15:24

, whether that be taking care of siblings

15:27

, whether that be taking care of parents

15:30

, same same scenario , same

15:33

scenario of understanding

15:35

your negotiables and your non-negotiables

15:37

, and where you are in life , whether it be where

15:40

you are with your health right now . That's

15:43

a negotiable and a non-negotiable of

15:46

maybe you know you need . You're in

15:48

a different season with your health right now

15:50

. So

15:52

just some things to consider . I

15:55

say this again over

15:57

and over and I will probably be a broken record

15:59

but just never underestimate

16:01

the power of your self-awareness

16:03

and understanding your strengths , your

16:06

opportunities that

16:09

you bring to the table your core beliefs

16:11

, your

16:14

beliefs , your values , and

16:17

those play a major part

16:19

in what your career path

16:22

looks like . And

16:24

if you are not , if you go

16:26

into a job where you are not

16:28

provided the opportunity to

16:31

exercise those gifts , then

16:35

that's just a miserable situation for you

16:37

and them . So

16:39

take a pause as you're looking at these

16:41

jobs , as you've done this research , as

16:43

you've now understood your negotiables

16:46

and your non-negotiables at this time in your

16:48

life , take a pause and just do

16:50

a relook at what brings you

16:52

joy and those things that

16:54

you do like to do in your career . What

16:58

are those skills and those opportunities in

17:00

which you want to develop ? Because

17:02

, just because you look at the job and you're

17:05

like , oh , I don't have this , I don't have this , I don't have this

17:07

, sometimes you need to

17:09

sit down with someone and

17:11

have them to talk with

17:13

you about . Okay , well , you're

17:15

looking to get into this job and

17:17

you want to go in this arena , but

17:20

you don't have these skills

17:23

. But here's how you can . You

17:26

don't have these specific skills or

17:28

they may be looking for this specific thing

17:30

, but you've

17:33

done this over here and that translates

17:36

. So start

17:38

to think about what are those things that translate

17:40

into those

17:42

positions that you're looking for or

17:45

even into the degree that you

17:47

want to do . You want to go for

17:49

Number five . It's

17:51

just letting go

17:53

and knowing that you

17:55

are collecting data along

17:58

the way . You're collecting

18:00

data in what you do , especially

18:03

if you're new to leaving the bedside . Sometimes

18:06

you just need to make a pit

18:08

stop in certain roles

18:11

to even understand

18:13

and know how to operate

18:16

outside of working at the bedside

18:18

. Know that there

18:20

is a gap between where you are

18:22

and where you want to go . But

18:25

that's the exciting part You're

18:27

collecting data to

18:30

know you have

18:32

an idea . Like when I left the bedside

18:34

, I had an idea of what I liked to

18:36

do , but it has evolved

18:38

as time has gone on . It's

18:41

evolved . It's

18:43

still I , still my personal branding

18:45

is still in place and there are still pieces

18:47

and parts that I love

18:49

, and so that really hasn't changed

18:52

. But what

18:54

I was looking for when I left the bedside

18:56

is not what I'm looking for now , and

19:00

I can tell you that

19:03

it's still in the same area . So what I was looking

19:05

for was hospital operations . I

19:07

was looking to be a hospital administrator not

19:09

that I will . I'm never

19:11

saying never , never saying never . However

19:14

, what I do love

19:17

to do , like that's not necessarily what

19:19

I do now , but

19:21

I also love to mentor nurses and that's what

19:23

I get to do now , and

19:26

I also am finding

19:29

other ways to

19:31

make an impact on nursing

19:34

practice and on healthcare within

19:37

my roles within my professional

19:39

organization and

19:43

even within my role within my work . So

19:45

there are just ways for

19:48

you to go into

19:50

different areas and collect data

19:52

on . I like this , or

19:54

I'm picking up this skill , or I want

19:56

to pick up this skill let's see how that

19:58

works or I'm just going to dabble

20:00

here like someone might be in school

20:03

right now and you just need to slot

20:05

yourself in a good job that

20:07

just kind of holds you where you are . You're

20:09

still using your skills of where

20:12

you are , but you are on the horizon

20:14

and you're looking for what is your next

20:16

and you might not necessarily

20:18

know what is your next , but you need to . Right

20:21

now you're in a holding place so you can't move

20:23

because you need to finish your degree

20:26

. But then , once you finished your degree , then

20:29

it's the okay . Well , what do I do next

20:31

? And then from there you

20:34

go forth and you

20:36

make you collect data

20:38

again . Like this whole data collection

20:40

doesn't change because your

20:42

thoughts change . The way you

20:44

view healthcare changes , the way you

20:46

view nursing changes . I'm trying

20:49

to change , change the way you view things

20:51

so that you can be making

20:53

these , these decisions , earlier versus

20:55

later , so that you can make a

20:57

comfortable decision , so that you can be

20:59

comfortable in your decision making and

21:01

moving forward , knowing

21:03

that where you are you , you're

21:06

not making a decision for a long term

21:08

. You're saying , huh , this is

21:10

something I can do for at least the next year or

21:12

two , or because

21:15

, lord knows , I've gotten into positions

21:17

. I'm like , oh yeah , I'll be here for the next five

21:20

years . I'm good Cause

21:22

. I know I'm more than likely

21:24

, depending on what's going on in

21:26

life . You

21:28

got me for probably about a good four

21:31

, three to five years and

21:34

then I'm more than likely moving on to the next opportunity

21:37

. Now that might change depending on the role

21:39

, depending on what I have going on

21:41

outside of work and

21:44

what does my growth , my career growth , look

21:46

like outside of the four walls of where

21:48

I work ? But you're

21:50

collecting data . So don't be

21:52

afraid to just , you know , see those

21:54

three to five positions and say

21:57

, okay , I

21:59

want to , um , I'm gonna

22:01

apply for this one , and then , if you get it , say

22:04

, okay , all right , now . Don't

22:06

just go job hopping here and there

22:08

and just be like , oh well , I'm and I've

22:10

said this before I'm testing the waters . No

22:12

, definitely , make sure that you're going

22:15

into something where you feel like I

22:17

want to grow in these skills and

22:20

then collect data . Collect

22:22

data as you go . When you're collecting

22:24

data . Here's some questions that you should ask yourself

22:26

. When you're in a role where

22:30

you're trying to figure out if this is this where I

22:32

want to be or not , think

22:35

about what will it take to achieve where

22:37

you want to go ? You're

22:40

like Bonnie I don't really know where I want to

22:42

go . You

22:44

have an idea of what

22:46

you want to impact , you

22:49

have an idea for what is your

22:51

passion , and

22:53

if you really don't know where you

22:55

want to go , then

22:58

you need to book a call with me so

23:00

we can talk about helping

23:03

you to figure out where you

23:05

want to go . That's

23:07

what I do . I help people to pull those pieces

23:09

together . What

23:12

will it take to accomplish that goal ? So , if you

23:14

know where you want to go , where

23:17

you want to finally end up , what

23:19

do you want to finally end up doing , then

23:21

what will it take to accomplish that goal ? And

23:23

then , who do you need to meet

23:25

in

23:27

order to move forward in that goal ? And

23:30

it doesn't have to be the president or CEO or

23:32

whatever , but it's like who's right

23:34

in front of you that you need

23:36

to meet in order to have

23:38

conversations with them about

23:41

what does the next step look like

23:44

? Number six seek

23:47

help from wise

23:50

counsel . And God

23:53

, you're high , you're powerful

23:56

, and I say both because

23:58

we just we can't make decisions

24:00

in a silo and

24:02

, more than likely , when we

24:05

have said that prayer

24:07

over trying to make a decision

24:09

and then we have sought

24:11

wise counsel from friends , from

24:14

mentors , from

24:16

career coaches I'm a career

24:18

coach , someone whom you can come

24:20

and seek wise counsel Then

24:23

that's when you that helps you to make your

24:25

decisions . It gives you some tools

24:27

in your toolbox to

24:29

know . Okay

24:32

, well , this is the next right step for

24:34

me . I've

24:37

, you know this is the next right

24:39

step for me . So , just you

24:42

know , ask

24:44

for wisdom in your decision making and

24:46

then find that mentor that's sponsored

24:48

, or career coach , and

24:51

that's what I help people to walk through . Again

24:54

, making a decision on , I've

24:57

got this choice , this choice and this choice

24:59

, and then

25:01

you move forward from there and

25:04

then , once you've done that , make

25:06

a decision . Many

25:08

times we know all of these things but we're

25:10

too afraid to step out and make a decision

25:13

on what we want because we

25:15

want to . We want the decision

25:17

to be perfect . It will not

25:20

be , but as long

25:22

as you're headed in the direction that you want

25:24

to go and you're focused on the task

25:26

that will get you there , you'll be all right

25:28

. There's much to

25:30

be learned in

25:33

taking the journey . Take

25:35

the next logical step . You

25:38

will only get clarity

25:40

as you move forward . I

25:42

cannot say that enough . Taking

25:45

action brings clarity . So

25:49

apply . Sometimes

25:51

we get stuck and we don't even apply . Apply

25:54

to the job . Applying

25:57

for the job only means that you've put out

25:59

your intention and you've put your name

26:01

in the hat . It doesn't mean you

26:03

already have the interview for the job If

26:06

the job is what you really want

26:09

, and you already know

26:11

the manager in that particular job reach

26:13

out and see if they will have a conversation

26:15

with you about that particular position

26:18

. What I want you to

26:20

do is take these principles

26:22

and make the

26:24

next move so

26:27

that you're not stuck . It

26:30

will not be perfect , but

26:32

at least you know you've tried

26:34

. What we don't want you

26:36

to do is be miserable . That's

26:38

what we don't want you to do . I

26:41

got a bonus point for you While you wait

26:43

for your next move , lean

26:45

into those current things at

26:47

work that bring you joy , whether

26:50

it's I love the people that I work

26:53

with and so

26:55

I'm going to enjoy going to work with them , whatever

27:01

it may be . Lean into those

27:03

things that bring you joy while

27:06

you're waiting , while you're making that

27:08

next move , so

27:10

that it's not miserable in the waiting

27:12

Until

27:15

next time . I

27:44

hope you enjoyed this video . If

27:47

you did , please like , share and subscribe to my channel . I'm

27:49

going to be back with more videos like this next

27:51

time . I'll

28:07

see you next time .