How to choose a speciality Cathy Taylor Careers Adviser RCN Member Support Services

What we will look at  Current context  Implications on nursing careers  Nursing career pathways  Career planning  Support from RCN

Context  Major health care re-structures from April 2013 – more providers  Focus on quality and leadership following Francis Report  Chief Nursing Officer’s 6 Cs –  Ageing population – long term conditions

Current context  Changing disease patterns – public health  Patients in hospital for shorter periods  Plan to move more jobs to community  Forthcoming A&E strategy to address shortages  Focus on development of health care assistants

Nursing career pathways  Children, family and public health  First contact, access and urgent care  Supporting long term conditions  Acute and critical care  Mental health and psychosocial care

Career progression Leadership Education Research Clinical

Modernising nursing careers Source: ‘Towards A Framework for Post- registration Nursing Careers’

Where nurses work Prisons Police stations Cruise ships Schools People’s homes The workplace Charities Hospices Blood transfusion services Developing countries Military Care homes GP surgeries Hospitals Call centres Walk in centres Pharmaceutical industry Immigration centres Children’s centres Universities Colleges Independently Oil rigs NHS Private sector Religious sector

Who am I Opportunity awareness Action planning Career planning

Career planning: know who you are –Your values - what is important to you? –Your interests – what do you enjoy doing? –Your abilities – what are you good at – where are the gaps – how can you fill those gaps?

Examples of values  Job security  Working alone  Working in a team  Being able to use practical skills  Being able to make a difference

Opportunity awareness  Networking:  Local events, colleagues, internet – eg:  Know your local job market:  (healthcare database)  Shadowing  Secondments  Job swops  Volunteering, including union activist role

Useful web sites  areersandwelfare areersandwelfare   archanddevelopment/career archanddevelopment/career

Where to look for jobs  All major nursing journals  National press – online  Job sites online eg:   -  Less obvious journals:  Eg specialist management journals, such as the Health Service Journal

Personal development planning  What is your ultimate career aim?  Set objectives to get there - SMART  Action plan - how will you get there?  Identify resources - people, time, money  Date to be achieved by  Date to review and evaluate

Sample objective  To change speciality –Action (medium term) analyse jobs in speciality identify deficits in skills/knowledge talk to manager (re support to): –gain qualification in x –gain experience in x –?secondment/shadowing

Tools and processes that help  Mentorship  Clinical supervision  Feedback from peers, patients and colleagues  Regular 1:1s with your manager  Appraisals  Making your portfolio work for you

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