Planning your Nursing Career

NURSING & MIDWIFERY MINI-GUIDE

Planning your nursing career LJMU CAREERS TEAM 0151 231 2048/3719 ❚ careers@ljmu.ac.uk

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Planning Your Nursing Career

Nursing…what next?

Once you have qualified, you will be able to apply for your first nursing post within your chosen branch or field of practice. Your first job will give you the chance to make the transition from a student to a qualified member of the team. With that transition you will take on a range of new responsibilities: supervision; delegation; management and training, as well as building on the skills and knowledge you have gained as a student. It is crucial to make the most of this job and use it as a stepping stone for the rest of your career.

A nursing qualification can be very flexible and can open up a wide range of career options. You could start your working life on a hospital ward, in the community or in a hostel for the homeless. You could start to specialise, take further qualifications and aim to become a nurse practitioner, school nurse or occupational health nurse. You could work overseas either with a voluntary organisation or in a country where your nurse qualification is recognised. Working in organisations outside the mainstream of health care is always an option, and it can give you a broader perspective to draw on if you return to the NHS. One of the first things you need to do is understand what you have to offer an employer, what skills and qualities do you possess and how you have demonstrated these? Typically a qualified nurse would have the ability to:            

Apply creative solutions to health care situations.

Confidently present information orally and in writing.

Use practical skills and knowledge with confidence and creativity.

Critically analyse and interpret data for care delivery and management.

Manage oneself, one’s practice and that of others in accordance with the Code of professional Conduct, and critically evaluate your own abilities and limitations.

Select and apply knowledge and skills to complex and unexpected situations.

Implement strategies to promote and evaluate partnership working.

Anticipate potential stressful situations and participate in minimising risk.

Demonstrate sound clinical judgement in a range of situations and evaluate the effectiveness of your judgement.

Participate in quality assurance and risk management strategies to create and maintain a safe environment.

Provide guidance, role modelling and support to others in health care delivery.

Critically analyse roles within the multi-professional team and propose ways to strengthen patient-centred care.

So, basically it means you will be able to:        

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Communicate with people, patients, families and other health professionals effectively.

Maintain accurate written information – patient records etc.

Solve problems should they arise or even anticipate potential problems before they become a problem.

Make decisions about patient care.

Evaluate your decisions – was it the right decision, would you do things the same or differently next time a similar situation arose?

Work effectively in the teams you are involved with both multi-disciplinary teams in a clinical setting and teams in university.

Review and evaluate your own performance and that of any teams you work in to continually strive to improve patient care.

Be supportive of those you work with, providing guidance and mentoring when appropriate.

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Planning Your Nursing Career 

Interpret and analyse information you have to provide safe and effective patient care.

Most newly qualified nurses choose to get their initial experience in a non-specialist area within their chosen branch: adult, child, learning disability or mental health. After a year or so in a non-specialist role you can then begin to consider your career options within clinical practice, education or management.

Future Development Newly qualified nurses can be unsure about the opportunities for their future development. Below are some examples of roles and career progression routes within the specified area of clinical practice.

Acute Hospital Environments Staff Nurse Ward Sister/ Charge Nurse Nurse Specialist/ Clinical Nurse Specialist Matron Consultant Nurse Nurse Manager/ General Manager Directorate Nurse Director of Nursing

Children Staff Nurse Sister/ Charge Nurse Nurse Specialist/ Clinical Nurse Specialist Matron Consultant Nurse Child Protection Nurse (Designated Nurse) Nurse Manager Nursery Nurse Director of Nursing Independent Sector Staff Nurse Ward Sister/ Charge Nurse Matrons Nurse Specialists Directors of Nursing

Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Staff Nurse Ward Sister/ Charge Nurse/ Ward Manager/ Team Leader Nurse Specialist/ Clinical Nurse Specialist Community Psychiatric Nurse/ Assertive Outreach Teams Matron Consultant Nurse Nurse Manager/ General Manager/ Locality Manager Director of Nursing Primary Care Practice Nurse School Nurse District Nurse (Staff Nurse)/ Team Leader Health Visitor Community Matrons Locality Nurse Manager Nurse Specialists Director of Nursing

The range of specialism’s you could consider is also vast and there are many opportunities open to you.

The Royal College of Nursing has useful ‘careers resources’ section with more information about different specialisms, managing your career, how to stand out during the recruitment process etc. https://www.rcn.org.uk/professional-development/your-career . There are also useful links and careers information on the NHS careers website: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/

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Planning Your Nursing Career Example Nursing Specialisms                      

Accident & Emergency Nursing Breast Care Nursing Blood Transfusion Nursing Children’s Nursing Dermatology Nursing District / Community Nursing Family Planning Nursing Fertility Nursing Forensic Nursing Gynaecology Nursing Haemophilia Nursing Health Visiting In Flight Nursing Intermediate Care Nursing Learning Disability Nursing Liaison & Discharge Planning Nursing Macmillan Nursing Mental Health Nursing Midwifery Multiple Sclerosis Nursing Nurse Educator Nursing Management

Example Nursing Specialisms                   

Nursing Older People – Continuing Care Occupational Health Nursing Pain Management Specialist Nursing Practice Nursing Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) Prison Nursing Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC) Queen Alexandra’s Royal Navy Nursing Corps (QARNNC) Queen Alexandra’s Royal Navy Nursing Service Reserve (QARNNS) (R) Rehabilitation Nursing Research Nursing Resuscitation Officer Rheumatology Nursing School Nursing Sexual Health Nursing Telephone, Advice & Consultation Nursing Territorial Army – Medical Service (AMS TA) Theatre Nursing Travel Health Nursing

Potential future employers The vast majority of nurses in the UK are employed by the NHS, but this is not the only option. In addition opportunities exist in the private and voluntary sectors. Below is a list to give you some idea of the range of employers you could consider:              

NHS Trusts and GP consortia Statutory bodies (NMC, RCN) Nursing agencies Private hospitals, nursing homes and residential care homes Schools Local authorities Occupational health departments for a range of employers Trade unions and professional organisations Medical Journals and publishers Charities/voluntary organisations Pharmaceutical/medical supplies companies The Blood Transfusion Service The Armed Forces Prisons

Within most of these organisations nurses operate at a range of levels. Experience of working in organisations which are not in the mainstream of health care often provides another perspective which may be invaluable in broadening horizons as part of your career development.

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© 2017. Liverpool John Moores University.

The content of this document is copyright material of Liverpool John Moores University. No part of this document may be reproduced or distributed without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Planning Your Nursing Career

Nursing opportunities outside of the NHS In healthcare, the independent sector refers to private and voluntary providers, and includes not-forprofit service providers, such as social enterprises. The number of independent sector healthcare providers delivering NHS-commissioned services has widened dramatically in recent years. This is due, in part, to changes in commissioning that allow non-NHS providers to compete for NHS service contracts.

Just a few examples of job roles in the independent sector include:    

Admiral nurses – registered mental health nurses who have additional experience in working with dementia In-flight nurses – who oversee the safe repatriation of patients via airline travel MacMillan nurses – who provide expert information, advice and support to improve the lives of people with cancer Nurse Advisors in the pharmaceutical industry

There are opportunities for nurses to work within the independent sector in the following areas:         

acute hospitals mental health hospitals hospices maternity hospitals termination of pregnancy services in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) services dialysis services endoscopy services laser services/intense pulsed light source services

Skills for Health have produced a very useful free guide to working in the independent sector called: ‘Careers in Healthcare: A guide to working in the Independent Healthcare Sector’.

It has been produced for people who want to start or progress their career in the independent healthcare sector. The guide contains very useful information including facts about the independent healthcare sector, individual case studies showcasing personal stories of career advancement, organisational case studies detailing career development opportunities and links to further information. The guide contains examples of what working in the independent sector is like, and details how you can progress your career, taking advantage of learning and development opportunities.

You can access a copy here: http://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/images/resource-section/careersinformation-advice-and-guidance/IAG_Independent_11-09.pdf

Getting started: Skills Audit When you start applying for jobs you will need to record, reflect and provide evidence to prove you can do the job. Have a job description and person specification for a relevant job to refer to.

In order to help you in the preparation process the following table identifies key essential and desirable criteria from job descriptions and person specifications for typical nursing posts. By auditing your clinical,

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© 2017. Liverpool John Moores University.

The content of this document is copyright material of Liverpool John Moores University. No part of this document may be reproduced or distributed without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Planning Your Nursing Career academic and life experiences you will be able to show the evidence and describe examples needed to satisfy what the employer wants.

Nursing Skills Analysis Skills

Use the following grid to detail evidence of your skills, referring to clinical placements; academic study and experiences; previous work before your nursing career and the range of life skills you have developed.

Match these to what an employer wants: Examples/evidence of:

Communication: Interpersonal skills, Team skills, Documentation, Assertiveness, Conflict resolution, Managing stress, Delegation Clinical skills: Clinical skills development, Assessing & planning, Providing treatments, Improving Health, Enabling others, Reviewing Care Team work: Team working, What kind of team player are you?

Multi-professional teams, Roles & contributions, Networking, Collaboration Safe Practice: Clinical Governance, Managing risk, Audit, Complaints, Clinical supervision, Accountability Research for practice: Why research?

Evidence based Practice

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The content of this document is copyright material of Liverpool John Moores University. No part of this document may be reproduced or distributed without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Planning Your Nursing Career Equality & diversity: Diversity, Patient autonomy, Legislation, Cultural Competence Policy: Context, Understanding policy, Consultation, Influencing policy Reflective Practice: Reflection, Self-awareness, Engaging in reflective practice

Professional Development: Lifelong learning, C.P.D, Portfolio, Developing others, Career Pathways: Reasons, Exploring options, Future aspirations

Other notes in preparation for approaching employers:

Further guides you may find useful produced by the Careers Team include:   

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Nursing: Job Hunting Tips and Useful Websites Nursing: Tackling Application Forms Preparing for your Nursing Interview

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© 2017. Liverpool John Moores University.

The content of this document is copyright material of Liverpool John Moores University. No part of this document may be reproduced or distributed without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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