Which RN positions boost resume for MSN in Leadership?

[brittanybordoli]

Hi all!

I am currently working to obtain my MSN with a concentration in Executive Leadership and I want to start making moves now to increase my management experience. I want to do as much as I can now to boost my resume for when I graduate. Ideally I would like to be a Manager on a unit after I graduate and work my way up the career ladder from there. I have an opportunity to transition into an RN Case Management position and was wondering if this would help my resume or if I should be seeking out other positions or just stay put? Below I have listed my past and present experience:

1. Adult Medical ICU (1 year)

2. Adult Neuroscience ICU (1 year)

3. Pediatric Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (current employment and have been here for 2.5 years with occasional charge nurse responsibilities)

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Brittany

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

In my experience, it is much more common for nurse leaders to arise from the more intense/challenging areas rather than from Case Management, Quality, Infection Control, etc.

Rather than seeking other employment, I encourage you to seek opportunities in your current job to demonstrate your "leadership". Get involved with joint governance activities. Increase your visibility by volunteering for a task force or committee. Offer to help your manager with a burdensome task such as organizing annual competency validation schedules or double-checking core measures data. It's very important to move into a Charge Nurse role also. This not only gives you a chance to build your 'people' skills, but also provides you with opportunities to learn about the operational issues and functions for which nurse managers are responsible.

Find a management mentor. This could be your own manager or someone else in the organization who can not only provide advice, but also help you make the right connections. Become active in your professional association. Join your local AONE chapter - there are student memberships for graduate students in the management track.

Wishing you the absolute best of luck. We need more young talented nurse leaders.

[brittanybordoli]

Thank you so much for your feedback! I am already on a Diabetic Resource Nurse Committee for my unit and would love the opportunity to take the Charge RN position full time but my manager will not consider anyone currently employed on our unit. I recently applied, and interviewed, for an adult PACU charge RN role but unfortunately I did not get offered the position. I just want to make sure I stand out among other master's prepared nurses and I want to continue to develop my skills. I'm just not sure my current position will assist me with meeting my goals. Not sure if the Case Management position will either though.

[Misskala]

I agree with HouTx. The work you history you posted shows 1-year stints on several different units. I would suggest staying on a unit for longer, like 2-4 years, and develop from there a track history of leadership-type activities and involvements. IE Sticking with one committee over 2-3 years on the unit will teach you a lot about the purpose of the committee, and give you a chance to see outcomes of any interventions you implemented. Likewise, the longer you stay on a unit, the more you master within that one specialty area, and can function as a resource for the rest of the hospital/organization. Looking for opportunities to "be more" to your immediate surroundings is always a recipe for growth, like HouTx suggested, these are great leadership tasks to learn and master. Best wishes!

[brittanybordoli]

Thanks for the advice! I've been on the Diabetes Resource Nurse Committee for my unit for two years and have served on sub-committees when an opportunity arises. I am reaching out to some in the quality/safety/innovation department to see if I can find a mentor/work an a process improvement project before I begin my practicing next year. This way I show I am willing to seek out additional responsibilities and work on process improvement projects that affect the whole institution.

My first job was in Missouri and then I moved to Wisconsin and took my second nursing position but realized that wasn't the area for me. The good news is I haven't moved to three different positions within the same facility (I think that would look bad).

[RNNPICU, BSN, RN]

Actually you may want to have a few jobs within the same facility, moving from one location to another for very short periods of time can also not look so great. Several positions within the same facility, especially if you are moving up, can look good. It will show that the facility likes you and has faith in your abilities. Also, it will help you know your facility and make a name for yourself. You would also get to know people throughout the organization and make potential contacts.

If you want management, especially as a manager of a unit, you will need charge experience, the case manager is more patient focused as you are working on discharges and setting up home supplies, orders, etc. It is great you are on the Diabetes Resource Nurse Committee, see if you can become a leader in some of the hospital based committees. Ask your manager or some other leader you are comfortable with to be a mentor.

It is great you want to take on the leadership ladder of nursing.

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

Speaking as a current case manager who moved from a unit educator position to this position with the hopes of building up my resume for a management gig, I will say this -- don't do it! My case management experience isn't viewed favorably at all by those interviewing for management jobs. Unfortunately, most nurses don't really have a good understanding of what case management actually does so they can't wrap their heads around how the job applies to leadership. All of my interviews have just focused on my unit-based leadership/management experience.

So, now, I'm looking to ditch case management and move into an assistant nurse manager/fixed charge nurse type of position to pad the resume in preparation for graduating with my MSN this fall.

[brittanybordoli]

I act as charge RN 1-2 times a week. Currently we are rotating three people through the position while we hire a charge nurse. Unfortunately my manager will not consider a current staff nurse for the charge position or else I would take it. Not being considered for the permanent charge nurse role was my main motivator to find other positions to help boost my resume.

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

Unfortunately my manager will not consider a current staff nurse for the charge position or else I would take it.

I would definitely look to another area for a full-time charge position. If your unit is like many units, your rotating charge nurses are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the unit, but not much in the way of administrative duties (leadership rounding on patients, scheduling/payroll, disciplinary process). Your full-time charge position probably has some of those responsibilities, which is what interviewers are looking for in a manager candidate.

Although it may not be your first choice given your experience, I would consider taking a full-time charge in a Stepdown or Med/Surg unit.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

I would find it disconcerting if I worked there and they wouldn't consider any current staff eligible for the charge position. If I were you, I would go ahead and fill out an application for the position to document that you did want it. Fight for what you want!

In the current nursing world, no one is going to hand you anything. If you want to get anywhere, opportunities like this are perfect to advance. Just don't take no for an answer. Be proactive...

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

I would find it disconcerting if I worked there and they wouldn't consider any current staff eligible for the charge position.

I was thinking the same thing. Definitely not a unit I would want to work on.

[elkpark]

I would find it disconcerting if I worked there and they wouldn't consider any current staff eligible for the charge position. If I were you, I would go ahead and fill out an application for the position to document that you did want it. Fight for what you want!

Some healthcare employers have policies that they don't promote people to be the "boss" of people with whom they used to be equals. You can get promoted to permanent charge nurse, NM, etc., on a different unit, but not on the unit you've been working on all this time. A lot of people in business in general consider it a bad idea (and setting the person up for failure) to put people in the position of supervising people with whom they used to be peers. I've seen a lot of people get burned by that (getting promoted to be the boss of their former coworkers). IMO, your manager is showing good judgment.

OP, are you keeping an eye out for charge nurse positions on other units? Have you talked with your manager (or other higher level people in the organization you feel comfortable talking to) about your goals and how you might be working toward them within that organization?