How Returning to School Enhances Your Nursing Practice
Back in 1997, the AORN Journal published an editorial entitled, “Returning to school is an excellent way to counteract the glacial cold of a stalled career and rekindle your passion for nursing.” Although nursing education has come a long way since the 1990s, the comments made in the editorial by nurses who had returned to school are just as apt today.
For example, AORN Journal Editorial Board member Lesley Henderson, RN, BSN, CNOR, said, “In the years since I finished my associate degree program, I had come to think of myself as being limited by my chosen perioperative nursing specialty. I wondered if my skills were equal to those of nurses in other areas of nursing. Through discussions with my BSN classmates, I learned that this feeling of isolation is common. I now believe that my skills may be different, but not inferior. I feel like the BSN program gave me back my career.”
Are you too feeling isolated or limited? Signing up for a continuing education class or pursuing an advanced degree can connect you with your peers and invigorate your career ambitions. One current student who is pursuing her Masters of Science in Nursing said, “Working in a small rural clinic, it’s easy to lose touch with the big picture. Now that I can chat with my classmates on the online forums night or day, I feel a lot more connected to the nursing community, and more like what I do here really matters.”
Education for practicing nurses can also increase confidence, as Henderson shared in the 1997 editorial: “Returning to school has increased my self-confidence. I learn more if I receive regular feedback about my work, and in class, I receive immediate feedback.”
The current nursing manager at The Grange, a Colorado nursing home, agrees. He said that out of a staff of ten nurses, three are currently in school pursuing advanced degrees. “Those three…have shown a gradual increase in confidence compared to the others, especially when they do well on an exam or have the chance to put their new skills into practice. I feel like I trust them to continue pushing themselves and looking for the learning opportunities along the way.”
Do you think you’re too busy or burned out to handle school along with work? You might be surprised to find that attending classes actually increases your ability to focus and persevere. Henderson remarked, “I am less burned out than when I started the BSN program. My blood pressure has dropped 20 points, I can sleep at night, and I no longer need cervical traction to see over my shoulder. My BSN classmates and I became a ‘care’ group, and we plan to continue as a support group. The faculty members in my BSN program argued with us, encouraged us, empowered us, and in some cases, healed us.”
Educational opportunities are even more abundant now than they were ten or fifteen years ago. Not only can you explore popular emerging specialties like emergency management and forensic nursing, but you can also take advantage of time-tested online programs that offer high-quality education at a reasonable cost. Online programs are the perfect answer for bored yet busy nurses looking to enhance their nursing practice. And since you can study at your own pace, once you develop a routine you’ll find it effortless to balance work and school.
And of course, in addition to enhancing the day-to-day aspects of your nursing practice, going back to school also has concrete benefits, such as wider career horizons and attractive payscale shifts. You may be pleased to find that the education you pursued as an enhancement to your professional role opens new doors you didn’t know existed. For modern nurses who want to enhance their nursing practice, going back to school is just as good a solution today as it was in the 90s.
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