Your Professional Growth as a Graduate Nurse Starts Now!
In this Graduate Nurses Summer Series, we will feature a weekly post that highlights topics of interest to the Graduate Nurse. Included will be interviews with actual Nurse Residents at AdventHealth hospitals.
Congratulations! You have graduated, passed the NCLEX and are ready to begin your professional nursing career. Nursing can provide you with limitless opportunities to use your education, skills and compassion to holistically care for others. Choosing the right work environment will empower you to build and support your professional development.
Professional Development refers to growth in knowledge and skill. Nursing practice is evidenced-based and as the evidence changes, our practice changes to align with providing our patients the best care leading to the best outcomes.
It becomes a personal responsibility to remain up to date on the latest laws, regulations and changes in clinical practice. Nursing requires a commitment to life-long learning. This is not a new concept. Florence Nightingale said,
Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses. We must be learning all of our lives.”
You will be making important decisions about applying for your first position as a graduate registered nurse. Preparing and gathering information ahead of time will decrease your stress level.
You cannot practice Nursing in the United States without a license. Licenses are regulated by the Board of Nursing and each state has their own — with different rules and regulations. If you are planning on relocating to another state, check if they participate in the Enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact. This allows nurses to have one license but the ability to practice in other states that are part of the agreement.
Currently, about 34 states participate in the Nursing Licensure Compact. Most states require continuing education on a cyclic basis to maintain your license as a Registered Nurse. It is important that you understand the requirements for the state you want to practice in. A great practice tip is to create either an electronic or paper system to track your state requirements and your certificate of successful continuing-education completions.
AdventHealth as a system continues to grow and has close to 50 hospitals in 8 different states. The highlighted states are part of the Enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact. You can visit the Board of Nursing websites for each state to find out more about their requirements. And, nurses can sign up for free, automated license status updates.
After you are licensed, you are ready to start working. Your success as a graduate nurse will be enhanced if you start with a well-planned nurse residency program.
According to the American Nurse Credentialing Center:
Nurse residency programs increase and improve newly licensed registered nurse job satisfaction, retention and performance."
AdventHealth has a nurse residency program at all of our hospitals. You can visit our website for additional information here.
AdventHealth supports the development and professional growth of nurses from novice to expert. During your career, you will be interested in growing into different roles. Some examples you might not have thought of include Leadership, Nursing Education, Advanced Practice, Research and Informatics. These are roles that require minimum levels of education ranging from Bachelor to Doctorate level degrees. Working for a large health system like AdventHealth, provides you with opportunities to progress into these roles and advance your nursing career. Your continued professional growth supports excellence in patient care.
AdventHealth also supports Specialty Certification by connecting this achievement to positive growth on a Clinical Ladder where nursing expertise is recognized. Achieving a specialty certification will increase your confidence and elevate your practice. There are many different types of certifications, such as Oncology, ICU, Emergency Nursing, Obstetrics, Nursing Leadership and Patient Experience.
At AdventHealth, we’re here to support your professional growth. We hope this information will help empower you to build and support your professional development. Welcome to the profession of nursing. We Are Up to Any Challenge.