Recently, the BSN put out a study asking nurses what they thought of the educational levels required to get into the field. The study was prompted by the fact that the educational requirements have changed recently, making it easier for nurses to gain entry at the bottom. The results of the survey were mixed, but everybody could agree on the fact that continued personal development was essential.

It seems, therefore, that nursing has become like most other careers: to do well requires not only learning about the job before you go into full-time employment but also maintaining your skills throughout your term. Things like CE credits nursing training is becoming more common, thanks to changing technologies and working practices. Then there are all the emotional demands of the job: things that can’t readily be learned in a formal setting. Thanks to cuts and increasing numbers of patients, stress in the workplace is continuing to climb. So what can medical professional do to remain at their best and stay at the top of their game?

Connect With Coworkers

Friendships are the foundation of what medical professionals do. Fundamentally the job is about caring, and in the future, thanks to technologies like Watson, this will become their primary role. That means that all the relationships we have with our colleagues and our patients will be where we add our value. It’ll be on the basis of these interactions that people will make the decision whether to use one clinic over another. To progress, medics should be asking themselves things like, “am I ready to extend a smile to a patient in need, even though I feel stressed?” and “am I positive to my colleagues, or do I criticize too quickly?” Lifting up the people around you will cement your position as a team leader and make you ripe for promotion.

Understand Your Limitations

Stress affects different people in different ways. But some people are in denial about the stress that they feel. You’ve probably heard people say things like “it’s just water off a duck’s back” when things go wrong. When people say things like this, usually it’s because they don’t face to face up to the stress that they are feeling and process it. But these stressors can bubble away under the surface until they start to get out of control and you snap.

Medics, therefore, need to be honest about the stress that they are feeling. This will help to make them more cognizant of their irritability so that their frustrations don’t build and they don’t end up in an uncontrollable rage.

Know What You Want Out Of Nursing

Cynthia Howard, a coach and resilience expert, says that nurses have to have a goal for their careers and understand what they want from the outset. There’s no use, she says, hurling yourself into a job without a plan on how you’re going to progress.

Her advice is to start with small goals. Things like “I won’t be angry today” or “I’m only going to see the positives in my coworkers, rather than the negatives” can have a big impact over the long run.

This post has been contributed by Ryan Gatt, it may contain affiliate links.