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4 Tips For Improving Your Nursing Salary
As with other professional careers, nursing allows individuals to advance in the field in several ways. These opportunities to continue growing professionally are available for those who seek a higher salary. Some growth opportunities involve taking on management roles, returning to school for advanced study, joining professional organizations or seeking out difficult to fill shifts in medical institutions.
Apply for Management Positions
In nursing, there are several options for management positions that offer a higher salary without advanced degrees. But management positions in nursing do require strong leadership abilities which include strong interpersonal skills; so, the best course of action for successfully obtaining a management position involves advancing leadership skills through formal training, improving and applying strong interpersonal skills and seeking out open positions, in this order.
Seek out courses in leadership through the current place of employment, local colleges or other organizations that offer courses on leadership and management. Also, dedicate personal time to reading information on improving communication skills and apply what is learned. Also, keep updated on positions that may be available or become available in the current place of employment and take time to search out other job opportunities in management. Once these areas are covered, nurses are prepared to take the final action step of applying for open management positions they are interested in.
Increase Professional Knowledge through Advanced Degrees and Certifications
Another option for nurses seeking to improve their salaries, but who choose not to obtain a management position, may consider returning to school for an advanced degree or specialized training in a specific area. By doing this, not only may a nurse’s current place of employment adjust his or her salary based on degrees and certifications earned, but the nurse’s career options are expanded. He or she may be identified for promotions that require the specific training or certifications obtained.
You can undertake many nursing courses online around your current commitments to help you either retrain in a new specialty or to gain additional specific qualifications that can boost your career. Extra training and studying such as an rn to bsn online degree can be a lot to manage around your exciting employment or training but in the long run, pursuing higher career goals will benefit you and allow you to access a larger salary and better career options.
Enroll and Participate in Professional Organizations
Depending on the place of employment, in addition to degrees, certifications and work experience, some institutions may acknowledge participation in professional organizations outside the current place of employment. Participating in meetings, serving on committees and dedicating time to meeting goals of a nursing organization shows dedication and commitment to the field of nursing. These are characteristics that reveal the employee’s professional commitment; employers will take notice.
Find Difficult to Fill Shifts
If a nurse seeks a higher salary but does desire a management position, or does not have the time to dedicate for specialized training or for participating in professional organizations, there is the option of seeking out employment that offers a higher, per hour pay. Difficult to fill shifts, according to an articles on Nursing Resume Pros, may pay as much as much as ten dollars more per hour than a shift that requires less effort to fill.
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Laura Schults is an ER nurse and guest author at Accelerated-BSN.net, where she contributed to the guide to the Best Top 10 Online Accelerated BSN Programs.
