Keeping nurses engaged and involved in their work is one of the best ways to improve retention and work satisfaction. Almost all nurses are the happiest and most productive when they are given opportunities to learn, improve their skills, and advance their careers. Whether you’re just getting started in your career or looking for a change, there are continuous opportunities for lifelong learning for nurses.
Related: Compassion Fatigue Primer for Our Current Work Environment
Consequences of disengagement
Managers should keep a close eye out for nurses who seem disinterested in their work, start to withdraw socially, and fail to meet expectations on the unit. While it might be easy to label them as “lazy” employees, the more likely reason is that they feel disengaged from their job.
Disengaged employees are the most likely to cut corners on patient care and safety, have excessive absences, mistreat other coworkers, and participate in only the “bare minimum” while at work. These employees are likely to seek jobs elsewhere and can dampen the morale of an entire unit or organization.
Leaders must help their staff maintain a balance of feeling challenged without pushing too hard. The best way to handle this is to simply ask nurses whether or not they might be interested in upskilling, more responsibilities, or advancement opportunities. Giving a staff member something to work towards might get them back on track.
Upskilling opportunities and lifelong learning for nurses
Nurses who feel stagnant in their careers often start to disengage and lose interest in their jobs. Finding upskilling opportunities can help them find a renewed passion in their work.
Some advanced skills that nurses may be able to learn include:
- PICC line placement
- Advanced wound care
- NJ placement
- Intubation
- Chemotherapy administration
- Mechanical circulatory support devices such as:
- LVAD
- Impella
- ECMO
- IABP
- TandemHeart
Advancement opportunities
Nurses looking for advancement opportunities may feel as though they have to leave the bedside. However, many hospitals offer hybrid roles that allow nurses to stay at the bedside while taking on leadership positions within their unit. Some of these positions may include:
- Charge nurse
- Resource nurse
- Assistant manager
- Quality improvement chair
- Head of staff engagement
- Infection prevention
- Supply chain management
- Staff educator
- New employee coach
- Staff mentor
Many of these positions allow nurses to work patient care shifts while having more influence over their home unit. These types of advancement opportunities also offload nursing managers, allowing them to focus on things like budgeting and unit improvement initiatives.
Related podcast: The Role of Nurse Navigators in Healthcare
Advanced certifications
In addition to advanced skills and adding responsibilities, offering an incentive for earning advanced certifications is a great way for leaders to encourage learning and growth. The ANCC has many advanced certification exams available, including:
- Critical care registered nurse (CCRN)
- Certified emergency nurse (CEN)
- Nurse educator (CNE)
- Family nurse practitioner (FNP)
- Progressive care nursing (PCCN)
- Nurse executive (NE-BC)
- Oncology certified nurse (OCN)
- Certified perioperative nurse (CNOR)
- Certified medical-surgical registered nurse (CMSRN)
- Certified wound care nurse (CWCN)
- Stroke certified registered nurse (SCRN)
- Certified pediatric nurse (CPN)
- Inpatient obstetric nursing certification (RNC-OB)
- Cardiac-vascular nursing certification (CV-BC)
- Orthopedic nurse certification (ONC)
- Certified dialysis nurse (CDN)
- Legal nurse consultant certified (LNCC)
- Certified infection control nurse (CIC)
- Hospice and palliative care nurse (CHPN)
- Sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE)
- Informatics nursing certification (NI-BC)
- Ambulatory care nursing certification (AMB-BC)
- Advanced diabetes management (ADM-BC)
- Board-certified holistic nurse (HN-BC)
Looking to specialize? Prepare for your Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN) Exam with our 20-hour self-paced prep course.
Lifelong learning for nurses
Nurses who are not interested in advanced certifications or upskilling should still be encouraged to participate in lifelong learning. Healthcare is always changing. Researchers are making new discoveries each day, and providers continue to make changes to best-practice recommendations. What we now consider the best way to care for a patient will look very different in 10 years, and healthcare will continue to change. Nurses must keep up with these changes and be willing to change their practice as new evidence or information emerges.
A wonderful way to promote continued learning is to encourage communication and teamwork between specialties. This requires the entire organization to have a culture of learning, psychological safety, and teamwork. Each person working in healthcare has a unique education, experience, and perspective that can add value and knowledge to the care team.
Advanced practice providers must be willing to answer nurses’ questions and explain the reasoning behind the treatments they order. Nurses should provide clear instructions to their technicians and be willing to walk them through a task they don’t quite understand. Each member of the care team, from the surgeon to the CNA, should feel comfortable asking questions and being open to learning.
In addition, managers can encourage everyone to continue their learning by making new information readily available to their staff. Managers can do this by:
- Leaving journal articles in the breakroom
- Publishing a monthly newsletter
- Inviting nurses to conferences
- Inviting physicians to nursing staff meetings
- Encouraging nurses to speak up
- Having regular skills pass-offs
- Frequent check-ins with employees
