Getting experience

[newnurseintown]

I work in med surg but I would like to have experience in other areas. When I apply in other areas like ED, L&D, ICU, hemodialysis, or any where else they want experience. How are you suppose to get experience when they are not giving you a chance to get the experience. It is also not fair when you only can get hired because of who you know. How can I work everywhere else.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

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How are you suppose to get experience when they are not giving you a chance to get the experience?

How to get experience: by INVESTING in yourself!

1. Join a professional nursing organization.   Choose one that focuses on a specialty that you are interested in to transition your career, has local chapter meetings where one can NETWORK and has continuing education courses to broaden your nursing knowledge. 

2.  Attend local or national conferences:  one of the best is  American Association of Critical-Care Nurses National Teaching Institute  offers 30+ continuing education (CE) contact hours, outstanding and diverse learning opportunities along with inspirational speakers and gatherings to re-ignite one's career.  I've attended > 10 of their conferences always learning something new and coming away refreshed.

3. Join workplace committees to gain knowledge,  learn inner workings of your facility, make yourself known to others outside your unit --make a good impression by participating!     

Working at a Philadelphia  innercity teaching hospital in 80's, joined education  committee to update nursing policies with sister suburban medical center.  Members were surprised how much more advanced our hospital was; my Respiratory Telemetry unit did nursing teaching rounds with interns + learned how to interpret CXR's, unheard of at that time.  It helped me land a position as Hospice RN consultant across the health system 10 years later after attending a Hospice course at Fox Chase Cancer Center as so many of my patients had end stage COPD, Sarcoidosis and Lung Cancer  wanting to learn how to make their final days more comfortable.

Hope these ideas help you achieve your goals.

[Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN]

NRSKaren did a fantastic job at highlighting what you can do as a bedside nurse to build yourself up and make your resume pop; remember your resume is a marketing tool!

Below are some of the things that I have done to advance my career:

-joined the ICU practice council and work on several quality initiatives throughout the years
-joined and actively participated as a volunteer with the AACN
-attained CCRN certification
-volunteered as a subject matter expert for Epic during our Go-Live
-joined the system-wide professional development committee

It's imperative that you get out there and meet people in other departments, word of mouth travels fast! 

[mdsRN2005, ASN, BSN, RN]

While the ideas mentioned above are all good ones, I somehow doubt that an employer who is advertising for very specific specialty experience would waive it if you tell them you went to a conference or took CE classes etc.  (Although these are great ideas that do otherwise boost your resume!)  However, if they're asking for experience in that specialty, I expect it's because they want someone who can hit the ground running.  And unfortunately no conference, CE class or committee - while great ideas - can prepare you to dive into a specialty you've not worked before with little or no orientation (which I suspect will be the case).  Look at the bright side.  There's probably a reason they don't have enough time to train a new nurse - likely high turnover or a sudden exodus, which are signs of a bigger problem.  Alternately they may just not be a very good learning environment.  Either way, you may be better off.  That said, don't give up on your dreams of working in these specialties.  Look at smaller rural hospitals (especially community access).  They are typically more likely to waive these type requirements, and they can be good places to learn.  If you can find one that will hire you, work there for a year or so before going back to a bigger hospital - although you may like it and decide not to!  Just avoid giving any impression you don't want to stay long, as that would be an additional reason not to hire you.  Good luck!  

[LubbDubb77, BSN, RN]

Are you applying for the standard RN jobs in those departments or are you applying for the job listings that state "Fellowship RN" for that specific unit? The RN positions/job listings in specialty areas will typically always require experience in that area. You shouldn't need experience in those speciality units if you apply for a fellowship program. Unless, maybe you live in an area where it is pretty tough to get into a specialty unit. Also, I would go down to that unit and talk to the manager to see what you need or what they are looking for. Show your face, shake their hand and that will go a long way.

However, like other posters have stated - it will help you to bolster your resume if you add some pertinent things to it. You should go shadow nurses on those units (add that to your resume). Shadowing will show the hiring manager that you know what you are getting yourself into. Go get some certifications (ACLS, PALS, TNCC, ENPC, NRP, etc) or join speciality organizations (ENA). 

 

Good luck to you! Hope everything works out!