Professional networking refers to the act of building relationships, developing rapport, making connections, and communicating in the work-related world for mutual assistance or support. It involves the exchange of services or information among groups, individuals as well as institutions. In every occupation, professional networking is crucial and nursing is not an exception. Nurses can greatly benefit in the various aspects of their work.
Professional networking for creation of opportunities and career advancement
According to a study by Upwardly Mobile, Inc., professional networking is considered the best manner to attain a professional position. Finding contacts and new job opportunities is enhanced through networking. Once in a job, you may be interested in advancing your career to some level.
For instance, moving from a medical unit to a more specialized unit such as the ICU. This process is referred to as career advancement and requires gaining some level of knowledge regarding the job you are advancing towards. Professional networking assists nurses in gaining the essential knowledge required for the next step.
As a nurse, establishing relationships with individuals in the desired field with the intent of gaining knowledge and skills about the different roles in the field helps advance carriers.
To find such connections, nurses should interact with individuals outside their scope of practice, attend nursing conferences, or join professional associations. The professional contact can serve as a lead to an actual job or also function as an invaluable resource for knowledge that can advance your nursing career.
According to a survey conducted by Connect Us Canada, people refer more willingly when they know about a person’s business persona and social capital. Moreover, a number of candidates are denied positions due to lack of solid professional references.
Reference checks in career advancement, especially in the healthcare industry, are crucial. Employers may require to prove due diligence to avoid lawsuits and also maintain the JCAHO (Joint Commission: Accreditation, Healthcare Certification) certification. To maintain references, nurses should develop strong relationships with managers and peers at their former or current jobs. To ensure the relationships stay relevant, maintaining some level of contact with the former coworkers is important to ensure that you can receive a positive professional reference when needed. Hospitals and healthcare organizations recruitment departments are majorly dependent on employee referrals. Employee referral programs tend to be aggressive as they offer generous incentives to the employees for their referrals.
Professional networking for advancement in nursing trends
Patient care protocols are constantly changing in the dynamic nursing field with different diseases across the globe. Medical advancements and new technologies are developing at an increasing rate. Technical details and information about patient care is shared and disseminated through professional networking which improves treatment process.
Given the nurse’s role in providing patient care, it is imperative to maintain current knowledge of the nursing trends and advancements. This is facilitated by attending professional conferences and utilizing the professional networking sites where relevant ideas and information are shared.
Professional networking for support
In the medical field, the larger your network, the stronger your support system. Nursing is highly demanding and can cause physical and mental stress. Hospital nurses report being dissatisfied with their job 4 times as much as the national average which serves as an indicator of nursing burnout. Having a support group of relatable professionals assists in relieving the stress that can lead to nurse burnout, as they offer advice and encouragement. This will help you gain the right perspective in times you feel conflicted.
Professional networking to influence healthcare systems
Global health issues affect health care practitioners worldwide. Nurses play a central role in patient care through monitoring and interacting with patients, collaborating with colleagues, and sharing expertise, knowledge, and resources to enhance patient’s care. As a result, they have a lot to offer in the development and implementation of the organizations processes and procedure. This is facilitated by a professional network which includes connection throughout the organization. As a result, patient care is more comprehensive, higher quality, and easily accessible.
Professional networking builds credibility
Professional networking efforts help showcase the nurse’s expertise at work. A nurse should be optimistic and excited while networking. A key feature in professional networking is to make you known and people tend to remember knowledgeable and experienced individuals. Leaving a positive impression while professionally networking sends message that you are competent and pleasant to work with.
Establish credibility as a nurse using a thoughtful bio, following up conversations that are relevant to the industry, and offering helpful insights and expertise where possible. Employees usually take notice of nurses who diligently shine at their work. Creating lasting impressions with individuals will help you acquire a life skill while building your credibility both as a professional and an individual.
Conclusion
Networking helps make connections and develop rapport that enhances your circle of influence. In nursing, professional networking is crucial as it provides access to countless opportunities, allows enhancement of nursing care, helps establish credibility, and enables nurses to influence the health care system. Different networking methods are used to achieve the desired result by nurses such as attending nursing conferences, to interacting with peers.
