By Colter Lee
Advanced qualifications can help nurses navigate complexities at healthcare facilities in many ways. Simply put, the more you know, the better you are at taking on challenges calmly and professionally.
Gaining qualifications may mean getting an advanced degree. It can also mean taking part in seminars, training sessions, certificate programs, or even volunteering in other departments at a hospital or medical facility.
How can nurses benefit from having advanced skills?
Here are a few ways that nurses can benefit from possessing advancing skills.
Specialization
Advanced qualifications enable nurses to specialize in an area of medicine they are most passionate about. Specialization combined with advanced education results in a higher salary than just holding an RN license.
Specializations include Certified Nurse Anesthetist, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Midwife and Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Of course, there are other areas that are possible to specialize in that may be less common. Degree or certification programs can vary a lot in what they have to offer.
Policy changes
Taking advanced classes and continuing your education can help you be up to date on the latest medical policies that are relevant to the facility in which you work. Knowing what is going on regarding healthcare policy makes it easier to continue offering a high level of care while implementing changes throughout medical practice.
Nursing professionals can help other staff and workers learn to work with any major policy changes and procedures that affect them directly.
Leadership
There is a major demand for nurses who are willing to take on a leadership role. An advanced degree can help working medical professionals gain better leadership skills that they can apply in the workplace. When medical facilities have strong leadership, everything runs more smoothly. Strong nursing leaders keep things organized, always look for improvements, and provide mentorship and training to other staff.
Advanced qualifications help keep up morale
A lot of medical facilities need help finding healthcare workers to meet their staffing needs. This means that it can be incredibly difficult during busy times to keep up morale in the workplace. Nursing leaders are great at encouraging their teams and keeping them going strong. Good organization and an excellent support system in place help keep up morale at any medical facility.
Advanced courses can help nurses learn new skills that make them more confident in leadership. DNP-prepared nurses are in a position to take on leadership roles and offer advanced nursing skills. Baylor University offers an online DNP degree that can nurses can complete while working. A DNP program prepares nurses for advancement into many different roles, and enables them to navigate healthcare complexities with an advanced level of knowledge and leadership skills.
Better conflict resolution
In an ideal world, there would be no conflict in a medical setting, but in the real world, conflicts will inevitably arise in all areas. Conflicts between staff or staff and administration should be handled as quickly as possible to prevent the situation from escalating. All medical facilities should have a system in place for dealing with conflict that ensures that both sides are treated with fairness and compassion.
Leadership skills enable nursing professionals to handle conflicts better and help them find ways to prevent conflicts from happening.
When there is less conflict, there is less wasted time, which in turn means lower healthcare costs.
Improved patient outcomes
The more skills that a nursing professional has, the better the odds are of positive patient outcomes. When nurses know about the latest treatment plans, they can help facilities implement them.
More skilled nurses prevent medical mistakes from happening. When facilities are better organized, and there are clear guidelines for procedures and patient records, there is less likely to be a mistake. Nursing leaders can help set a standard for other healthcare workers to strive for.
Staying up to date in the medical world is important for offering a high level of care
The world of medicine is very complicated, and there is always something new to learn. Nursing professionals learn a lot in advanced classes that allow them to share the latest treatment plans, what new medications are available for common chronic illnesses, and what policy changes are likely to happen soon.
Staying up to date means that patients have access to the latest medical knowledge and treatments sooner rather than later. This ensures that a medical facility doesn’t fall behind.
Better staff retention rates
With so many medical facilities in need of healthcare workers, it is important to keep workers happy and content in the workplace. Nursing professionals who gain advanced qualifications can help lead the way at a medical facility. Good leadership and management mean less frustration on a daily basis.
No matter how experienced a healthcare worker is, it costs time and money to orient and train new employees, so it is in the best interests of a medical facility to have leaders in place who can ensure that workers have the best possible working environment.
Increased cultural awareness
With communities becoming more diverse, it is important for all medical staff to be culturally aware. This means being aware of religious customs that influence healthcare decisions, knowing some of the challenges that minorities face when receiving healthcare, and more.
Some advanced degree programs include cultural awareness training. Nursing leaders need to encourage new and current healthcare workers to learn a second language when possible.
Having great cultural awareness helps provide all patients with a higher level of care because it prevents misunderstandings and mistakes that can greatly impact overall patient outcomes.
Conclusion
Gaining advanced skills is a great idea for any nursing professional. Advanced degrees such as a DNP can offer nurses a lot of opportunities to specialize in an area of medicine they are most passionate about while commanding a much higher salary than the average wage of an RN.
More skilled nursing professionals help increase the odds of positive patient outcomes at any medical facility. Strong nursing leaders are needed to help mentor and guide the next generation of medical workers as the demand for healthcare continues to rise.
