Are you thinking about making a nursing specialty switch?
You aren’t the only one if you are. It’s completely natural to arrive at a point in your career that has you wondering, “What’s next?” Sure, some people find their niche and work in that area their entire lives, but just because that may not be the case for you doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong.
It’s never too late to find your ideal career path. Learn how to change specialties as a registered nurse (RN) with these six tips.
6 Tips for a Nursing Specialty Switch
Many people find themselves trapped in the “sunk cost fallacy,” where they stick with something because they’ve already invested what feels like too much of their time, energy, and finances to let go. This is especially understandable from a nursing point of view, as any of you reading this can attest to the investment you’ve made to get yourselves to this point in your careers. Others have trouble sticking with a job or specialty long enough to give it a chance. How do you know what the case is in your situation?
1. Practice Self Reflection
Self-reflection may be the most challenging part when considering a switch; it may seem easier to just dive into the transition process, but this step is essential. Explore why you want to leave your specialty by asking these questions:
- Why did you choose your current nursing specialty? Rethink the factors that guided you to choose your current specialty. Do they still apply? What has changed?
- Are you bored? On its own, boredom may not be the best reason to switch specialties. What could you do—without switching—that could help with boredom?
- Do you feel limited? Are you ambitious and feel restricted in advancement opportunities? Or perhaps you feel limited because your specialty doesn’t encounter a variety of populations and conditions?
- Is your work not what you imagined it would be? Maybe the work you do every shift simply doesn’t match your expectations. Can you reset your expectations to be more realistic and find satisfaction that way?
- Are you being challenged enough? Certain nurses need to feel challenged in their work; they need to feel the pressure of facing new or unexpected situations.
- Are you being challenged too much? Alternatively, is your day-to-day work challenging you so much that anxiety, stress, and lack of confidence are making you unhappy? You deserve to have happiness in your career.
- Are you burnt out? Is the issue your specialty itself, or are you experiencing burnout as a nurse? If it’s burnout, a specialty swap may help for a while but may rear its ugly head again later. Address the burnout directly before making a transition, perhaps by doing any of the following:some text
- 1) Use your paid time off, pick up a hobby, or start exercising.
- 2) Practice mindfulness, which helps to reduce stress and anxiety.
- 3) Seek treatment such as individual therapy and consult your physician about medications if you have depression or anxiety.
- Is your work environment not supportive? Is the specialty itself the issue, or is your workplace the problem? Imagine a job in your current specialty but with a supportive work environment. Would you still want to switch?
- Do you want a higher salary? There is absolutely no shame in wanting to earn a higher salary. The truth is certain nursing specialties earn more than others, and some of the highest-paying nursing specialties are experiencing even more growth than the RN profession as a whole.
2. Explore Different Specialties with PRN Nursing Jobs
Consider your current specialty skills and experience and where they may crossover into other specialties. Dip your toe into the proverbial pool of another specialty as a transition nurse by picking up PRN shifts in a unit or department that your skills and experience already complement. Not all specialties have crossover, so this may not be an option for you; nevertheless, it’s worth exploring. Examples of specialty crossovers include the following:
- Long-Term Care or Skilled Nursing RNs can work in Hospice or Home Health.
- Intensive Care Unit nurses can work in Progressive Care, Step Down, or Medical-Surgical units.
3. Set SMART Goals
Treat this significant life step as you would any other impactful life decision and set goals for yourself. Hopefully, self-reflection will help you identify paths to explore and changes you can implement. Put those into action by setting SMART goals. They should be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
4. Set Yourself Up for Success with Research
Even if you already know the specialty you want to transition to, research should be on your list of things to do. This research can include any (or all) of the following:
- Ask permission to shadow nurses at your facility in other units to observe their work in action and experience the atmosphere.
- Reach out to nurses you know in other specialties and ask them to share their thoughts and experiences.
- Spread your net wider. Maybe there are nurses in your building or neighborhood, your church, your gym, or your child’s class (parents that you see in scrubs at pick up or drop off). Not every nurse you run into will be willing to have a sit down over a cuppa; however, you won’t know if you don’t ask.
- Check out the job market for specialties. Registered nursing jobs, in general, are in high demand, but it’s logical to investigate what the market looks like for specializations that you’re interested in. Currently, Nursa is experiencing high demand in the following:some text
- Don’t let your research be anecdotal only. Review published online journals and take note of what themes are being studied. These themes may include studies evaluating nurse happiness and burnout in different settings, processes and frameworks implemented in specialty settings, and technological advancements.
- Research what certifications or further education may be required for specific specializations, which may lead you down the path of researching master’s or doctoral programs.
5. Switch Your Identity from Expert to Learner
You may be an expert in your current specialty, and with that identity comes a host of positive qualities that aid you every day in the workplace. Perhaps most importantly, identifying as an expert brings you confidence—confidence that has been earned and is deserved. Making a specialty swap means leaving that expert identity behind (for a bit, at least) and taking on the identity of a person with much to learn.
Confidence has allowed you to mentor others, answer questions, ask questions (yes, experts ask questions, too, but they have confidence backing them up), make quick decisions, and think critically. You will earn that confidence again; it will come back to you, but prepare yourself to experience many of the less comfortable feelings you might have had when you were a new graduate. If you’re prepared to have those feelings again, hopefully, you’ll be able to lean into the learning by asking questions, studying, shifting your perspective, and adapting.
6. Ground Yourself with Your Specialty Organization
In a time of transition, it’s easy for anyone to feel a bit adrift. Ground yourself by meeting your contemporaries, both those who are new to the specialty and those who are experienced. Nurses are amazing at organizing and advocating—among many other things—and they carry out these tasks so well on a large scale. Specialty organizations usually provide members with learning opportunities, conferences, meetings, membership benefits, and more. Make sure you’re taking advantage of all these opportunities.
Change Specialties as a Nurse: Now You Know How
As is always the case, you are the decision-maker of your own path, which means you can transition, switch, crossover, or stay. If you decide to change to a different nursing specialty, we hope your experience is one of learning, acceptance, and satisfaction. If you decide that you’re bored or want to experience other work environments, picking up PRN shifts in another facility might be the change you’re looking for! Curious? Sign up with Nursa and browse the PRN shifts available near you.
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