7 Ways To Achieve Your Nursing Career Goals in 2022

The new year will bring new resolutions, opportunities, and challenges to your personal life and nursing career. Are you looking to go in a new direction, or do you want to thrive on the same path you’ve been traversing in 2022? Either way, it’s important to start preparing now for the year ahead and think through your nursing career goals.

We’ve created a list of tips to help you stay focused, fulfilled, and successful in the new year. Read on for more!

1. Reflect On What You Want

Before you set out to meet your new goals, it’s important to take some time to reflect on what’s important to you this year. This will help you pursue what’s right for you!

Do you feel happy in your current facility, specialty, or location? Is it time for a change? Is there something else you want to learn or achieve? What were your biggest struggles in 2021? Your biggest accomplishments?

It’s not necessary to come up with the answers right away. Be patient with yourself. Take the time that you need to consider the best path for you.

2. Set Clear Goals

Studies show that people who set goals are more successful. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, “goal setting is most likely to improve task performance when the goals are specific and sufficiently challenging.”

Use the conclusions you’ve drawn from reflection to set clear and concise goals for yourself in the year ahead. Don’t be afraid to be ambitious, just make sure you’re realistic.

3. Update Your Resume

We understand that updating your resume can be a bore, but it’s really important! Take some time to revisit, revise, and improve your resume so that you’re ready for the next amazing opportunity that comes along.

Highlight any clinical expertise, special procedures for which you are trained, unit-specific patient types, unusual cases, and higher-acuity patients. Being thorough in the descriptions of your nursing experience will help your recruiter make a great match between your skillset and future clinical environments.

4. Check In With Your Recruiter

Creating a relationship with your travel nurse recruiter is an essential part of finding great nursing assignments. As you build trust and rapport with your recruiter, they will develop a better understanding of what you want in a contract.

Staying in touch and being transparent with your agency provides many benefits. Be sure to check in, share your new goals, and tell your recruiter what you want to achieve in 2022.

5. Consider Getting a New Nurse Certification

The world of travel nursing is vast, and there are many excellent job opportunities available across the country. Earning a nursing certification can significantly boost your career, opening the door to better nursing assignments, higher pay, and personal growth.

Some important nursing certifications include Wound Care Certification (WCC), Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), and Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) Certification.

6. Be Ready To Adapt

As always, it’s important to be ready for unforeseen obstacles or changes during 2022. While you won’t be able to predict exactly what challenges await you, you can prepare for how you’ll adapt to them when they arrive.

Remember to keep an open mind. If you have to revise your goals mid-year, no big deal! It’s all part of the process. Stay positive and view these challenges as a learning experience.

7. Follow Your Passion

Don’t create goals based on what people want from you, or from comparing yourself to others. Set goals that you know will make you feel great when achieved.

2022 will present many new and exceptional opportunities for travel nurses, so make sure you’re honest with yourself about your priorities to make the most of them!