KEITH CARLSON BSN, RN, NC-BS
W
hen one year of your nursing career ends and the next year begins, a golden opportunity is at your door. On episode 37 of my podcast, The Nurse Keith Show, I discussed setting goals and why thoughtful goal setting is so important to forward movement in your nursing career. I also covered the notion of performing an annual life
review, and I shared links to a great article and downloadable spreadsheet in the show notes for that episode. As a new year begins, many of us are quick to make resolutions—promises to ourselves that this year will be different.
We may promise to exercise more, lose weight or work harder, but resolutions are so very readily broken. To be more effective, we can instead focus on setting intentions, creating a framework for moving into the new year with measurable, achievable goals that will position us for success as we take steps in an inspired direction.
In some circles, goal setting is all about so-called “SMART” goals. The acronym can be a handy guide for creating both personal and professionals goals. It’s based on five basic tenets you can follow as you create your goals and the prac- tical steps that will carry you toward success. According to these tenets, your goals should be:
Follow the 5
• S = Specific: Goals need to be specific, not amorphous. Your original goal might be finding a new job, but a more specific goal could be getting hired by an ambulatory surgical center within 50 miles of your home.
• M= Measurable: Goals also need to bemeasur- able in some way. In terms of a new surgical center position, a measurable goal might be submitting an application to six facilities.
• A = Achievable: Setting your sights on achiev- able goals is certainlymore likely to result in success. Finding a job at a surgical center may feel achievable, as well as applying to six specific centers.
• R = Realistic: Realistic goals are generally more achievable; gaining employment at a local surgical center may seem like a realistic goal.
• T = Time-bound: Goals that are time-bound are more achievable, since you will act according to set time parameters, not some day. Setting a goal of applying to six surgical centers by a particular date would be a perfect time-bound goal.
28 Visit us at
NURSE.com • 2016
Ambiguity vs. specificity
Setting goals in specific categories of your life is prudent and important. Without goals, we flounder in ambiguity; with goals, we move forward in a positive direction with specific outcomes in mind. And if we reevaluate our goals and need to change course, so be it. Assess your nursing career, setSMART goals that speak to
your aspirations, andmove in a specific, inspired direction as a nursing professional. •
Keith Carlson, BSN, RN, NC-BC,
Nurse.com’s career advice colum- nist, is the board-certified nurse coach behind
NurseKeith.com.
TO ACCESS CARLSON’S PODCAST, visit
http://bit.ly/NurseKeithShow37.
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