THE GOAL OF THIS PROGRAM is to help nurses transition from one specialty to another more effectively. After studying the information presented here, you will be able to:


Identify three steps to managing a specialty change Describe how to research a potential specialty Discuss how to prepare to make a career change By Cynthia Saver, MS, RN, and Sheila J. Leis, MS, RN-BC


1 2 3


Karen has been working on medical/surgical units for the past 10 years, ever since she graduated from nursing school. Karen has always enjoyed her work, but lately, she has been restless, feeling like she needs a change. Karen likes settings where there is a rapid turnover of patients and where she has the opportunity to regular- ly use cutting-edge technology — she has always been interested in new devices designed to improve patient care and make nursing care delivery more efficient. Karen’s coworker, who used to work in the OR, suggests she switch to perioperative nursing. At first, Karen is excited as she realizes how much she enjoys caring for surgical patients and would like to enhance her knowledge about what happens during an operation. But then, her excitement cools as she tells herself she has no experience that would be applicable in the OR. Or does she? On further reflection, Karen identifies crossover skills, researches the specialty and lands a job in the OR of a hospital closer to her home. A year later, Karen is happily working in her new specialty.


H


ave you ever considered changing your nursing specialty but were intimidated by the process? You may have felt you didn’t have the skills you needed to change or perhaps


didn’t know how to attempt to make the switch. Maybe, like Karen, you wanted to make what at first glance appeared to be an insurmountable change: from med/surg to the OR. Or maybe you wanted a change but weren’t sure which specialty to choose. You are not alone. Although no data seem to exist as to how


many and how often nurses change specialties,most of us either know nurses who have changed or we have done so ourselves. In a 2013 survey completed by AMN healthcare, among 3,413 respondents, more than 30% of RNs in OR, critical care, med/ surg, ER and telemetry indicated they intend on leaving their current job in the next year.1


Perhaps the original specialtywasn’t


a good fit. For example, one nurse this author worked with who was unfulfilled in the cardiac care unit found her niche in dialysis. At times, a nurse’s professional goals evolve with experience.Or a nurse may stumble into a new specialty by accident by taking a job for other reasons, such as expanding his or her employability by moving into a specialty where there is high demand or the need to relocate. The good news is that nursing provides a wealth of opportu-


nities, and you can tap into those opportunities by purposefully transitioning from one specialty to another. All it takes is a research, planning and allowing yourself time to adjust to your new role. But first, you need to ask yourself a question.


Do you really need a change? Before deciding you want to switch specialties, first examine your motivation for making a change. Do you really want


to explore another specialty, or is it simply that you dislike your current manager or are tired of your long commute? To answer this question, separate the job itself from environmental factors such as managers, coworkers, hours worked, commute and mission of the organization. If you decide you like the specialty, but not your current job, you’ll need to try to adapt your environment (for example, perhaps you can transfer from one med/surg unit to another) or seek a new job elsewhere, but in the same specialty. Let’s say you, like Karen, decide you’d like a change. Here are


three steps to get you there: Choose the specialty, prepare for the change and manage the transition.


Choose the specialty The first step in transitioning into a new specialty is to determine which one is the best fit for you. That involves a two-step process: completing a self-inventory and conducting research. Self-inventory: taking stock. Richard Bolles, author of the


classic book“What Color Is Your Parachute: A PracticalManual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers,”writes that doing a self-in- ventory is the most successful way to land a job.2


For general


job hunters, it has an 86% success rate (meaning that out of 100 people who seek a job, 86 will find one) compared with, for example, a mere 7% success rate for mailing or posting your resume. Bolles believes the analysis enables you to better target what you are looking for, more accurately describe to otherswhat you are seeking and help you shine in interviews. To begin your inventory, deepen your understanding of your


values and strengths. Values are our foundation, the principles we live by; your job must be congruent with your values for you to feel successful. Examples of values include fairness, wisdom, tolerance and openness. Strengths are our attributes—we are able to perform them


consistently well. Your strengths, or talents, are unique to you, and the greatest room for growth is in the area of your greatest strengths.3


strengths, reinforce them with practice and learning, and then find a role that draws on those strengths every day.3


Yet too often


we focus on our weaknesses instead of our strengths. Fortunate- ly, you can identify your strengths through free online testing (such as at www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu [look under “Engagement Questionnaires” for the “VIA Survey of Character Strengths”] and at http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/counseling/ index.php) and self-reflection (see sidebar).4,5 Now you are ready to identify your transferable skills—skills


you can apply in any nursing specialty. Transferable skills are sometimes categorized as “hard” and “soft.”8,9


Hard skills are


those that stay the same from job to job and that you can be “trained” to do. For instance, the abilities to start an IV or suction a patient are hard skills. Unlike hard skills, soft skills — sometimes called “people” skills — change according to circumstances. For example, effective communicators will vary how they approach people depending on the situation and who is involved.8


Other examples of soft skills include patience and


the abilities to persuade, negotiate and organize. A customer focus, collaboration and emotional intelligence are highly valued soft skills for nurses.


2016 • Visit us at NURSE.com 33 It’s been said that the secret of success is to find your


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46