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Dear Donna

Donna Cardillo, RN, well-known career guru and president of Cardillo & Associates, is a speaker, entrepreneur, humorist, and master of the career universe. She uses her expertise to help you polish your rough edges and shine in your career.

"Experience is not enough in today's fast-paced, competitive world," notes Cardillo. "You must look good, speak well, appear confident, have the ability to perform with increasing daily demands on your time, and through it all maintain a positive, upbeat attitude."

Cardillo brings more than 20 years of clinical, management, and business experience to her new role. She is the top-rated speaker at Nursing Spectrum Career Fairs and takes a down-to-earth approach to career advice. Cardillo has appeared on television and radio and written many articles on career and professional development topics. Most recently, Cardillo was a career consultant with monster.com, but she left that position to assume her exclusive Dear Donna! relationship with Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek.

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Are there any jobs in 'education' for BSN nurses?
Thursday November 20, 2008
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Question:

Dear Donna,

Are there any jobs in “education” for BSN nurses? I have only been a nurse for 16 months, and it appears that education and community are my only interests in nursing.

Sandy



Dear Donna replies:

Dear Sandy,

With 16 months of experience, you’ve barely scraped the surface in nursing. So while education and community nursing are your “only interests” to date, there are many other options for you. I wish you would have mentioned what you’ve done since graduation so I could better advise you. Some nurses start out in med/surg because they think they have to and base their decisions about nursing on that specialty, which is different from many of the others. Also 16 months is not long enough to become truly competent in nursing.

Yes, there are some positions in education with a BSN, but experience is also important if you want to teach. If you wish to do some teaching, I would suggest that you continue in a direct care role for a little longer — even is it’s outside of the hospital. Additionally, look for any teaching experience you can get, including being a preceptor to new hires, delivering department in-service, doing community education, etc. Also consider volunteering (or getting paid) to do some teaching for a social service agency, such as the American Heart Association.

Please read my books, Your First Year as a Nurse and The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses. Have you been getting out to local chapter meetings of your state nurses association? You should be, even as a guest. You cannot stay isolated in nursing. You must immerse yourself in the community of nursing for many reasons. One reason is that you will meet many nurses who work in various specialties and practice settings and get a better idea of the bigger picture of nursing. You’ll also build support systems, have others in the profession to use as a sounding board, and find role models and mentors. Besides, networking is a great way to find and get a job.

Talk this over with a few trusted colleagues in and out of nursing, including former instructors and fellow students. Get out to Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek Career Fairs <http://events.nursingspectrum.com/expo> to explore your options and make valuable contacts. Do some informational interviewing with nurses who work in other specialties, especially those you are interested in. Start gathering more information, meeting new people, and talking about and journaling about, your future. You’ll figure it all out if you use all the resources and support systems available to you.

Sending positive nursing vibes your way!
Donna



Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek’s “Dear Donna” and author of Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional and The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career. Information about the books is available at www.nurse.com/CE/7010 and www.nurse.com/CE/7250, respectively. To ask Donna your question, go to www.nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna. Find a “Dear Donna” seminar near you: Call (800) 866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.



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