Three ways to inject your nursing career with inspiration this year

Three ways to rekindle your nursing fire this year

BY KEITH CARLSON, BSN, RN, NC-BC

rekindle your nursing

Nursing is dynamic, but nurses can still feel stagnant in their careers, even as the profession continues to transform. 

Feeling stuck is a dis-empowering feeling, so taking inspired action is highly recommended for the nurse who wants to evolve.

For some nurses, acquiring new knowledge and skills is enough to keep things fresh and the mind engaged. For others, more is needed in order to feel empowered by actively moving in a positive direction.

Here are three methods for injecting your nursing career with inspiration and continuing to grow:

• Seek intellectual challenges

Attending nursing conferences and seminars can be a powerful way to accumulate knowledge and feel intellectually challenged. 

Conferences can offer a glimpse into a nursing specialty or novel approaches that upend ingrained ways of thinking.

When you attend a conference, you have the opportunity to meet like-minded colleagues, hear the latest news and views on a variety of topics, and find inspiration and motivation.

• Feed your mind and spirit

While volunteerism may not seem like a powerful career booster, it may provide more than meets the eye when you consider how such endeavors can positively affect your career. 

Volunteering looks good on your resume, but also boosts your nursing self-esteem and supplements your life experiences.

If you work in a facility that utilizes multidisciplinary committees to explore new protocols, investigate innovative technologies, advance the adoption of evidence-based care or otherwise improve outcomes or practice, volunteering for a committee can provide you with insights and eye-opening information that may inspire you professionally and also looks great on your resume.

Outside of work, volunteering for organizations related to health or healthcare can be inspiring and may provide a feeling of connection and involvement. 

Volunteerism is food for your mind and your spirit.

• Take time to teach

There’s an old adage that we learn most readily by teaching others what we know. We also feel good when others support us and when we support others.

Do you remember a colleague in the course of your education or career who took the time to teach you something important? How did it feel to have someone take interest in you? If that hasn’t happened for you, why not make it a reality for someone else?

There are specific training to help you become a consummate mentor; you also can learn to be a mentor by dint of just diving in and doing it.

Mentoring another nurse can help you reconnect with
 your passion

Mentoring another nurse can help you reconnect with your passion and love for nursing; it also can empower you by reminding you of the depth and breadth of your knowledge and expertise. 


Seeing the light bulb switch on for your mentee may just create some sparks for you, as well.

Rekindle the fire

If your career feels flaccid or uninspired, it’s time to rekindle the fire within you. Whether it’s mentoring, attending a conference, volunteering or another activity, your mindset and motivation can be your guide.

Be the nurse who looks for more; rekindle the fire, get inspired and move your career forward.

nurse.com