Building a strong professional network is vital for any nurse wanting to unlock opportunities. Let’s be real, with hectic schedules, dedicating time to networking often gets deprioritized. But studies confirm its immense value: over 70% of all jobs are landed through professional connections, according to research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Yale University.
We get how it’s easy to skip attending that hospital seminar or posting in the LinkedIn nursing group when you’ve already worked a 12-hour shift. Still, networking has this magical quality of opening career doors and sharing insider job tips you’d never access yourself.
The Benefits of Nurse Networking
Beyond just increasing visibility and job prospects, networking empowers personal fulfillment, life balance, peer support through challenges, and more.
Gain Visibility & Stand Out
Connecting with nurse managers, directors, recruiters, and other leaders raises familiarity with your skills, experience, and accomplishments. This elevates your professional profile to be top-of-mind when coveted positions or high-visibility projects arise.
Get Insider Job Tips
Well-connected nurses often receive early “heads-ups” regarding open positions or new initiatives in the works. Tap into this insider knowledge through your network contacts to get a jump start on applying and to prepare an aligned resume before roles are publicly posted.
Accelerate Leadership Opportunities:
Those with wide nursing networks advance faster because their connections get them recognized for career-building projects and management roles. Proactively networking builds the relationships that become your advocates and sponsors.
Obtain Mentorship & Advice:
Fellow nurses you meet through events, associations, or LinkedIn groups can provide tailored guidance to help you navigate career decisions and evolve as a leader. Learn from their expertise.
Build Community Support:
Connections forged through networking channels become sources of peer support, idea exchanges, and camaraderie. It’s invaluable to have a community of nurses you can lean on through the challenges of this demanding but meaningful work.
Who Should Be in Your Nurse Network?
Rather than just connecting with the nurses in your unit or hospital, build meaningful relationships across the healthcare ecosystem.
Bond with Fellow Nurses:
- Peers in every specialty– ER, OR, oncology, pediatrics, bring unique perspectives to improve care.
- Nurses at all career stages have wisdom to share from their distinctive vantage points.
- Contacts across healthcare organizations spread insider intel on job openings.
Look to Interdisciplinary Connections:
- Physicians offer insights on coordinating patient care as a team.
- Hospital administrators can provide a launchpad when you’re ready to advance into management.
- IT directors have the pulse of emerging health technologies to supplement care.
Plug into Academia:
- Professors and university faculty fuel innovation through cutting-edge research collaborations.
- Furthering your credentials? Academic advisors guide your educational path.
Involve Industry Groups:
- Organization heads open doors to career-elevating conferences, webinars, and accreditations.
- Recruiters hold the keys to matching your skills to the best job opportunities.
Cast your net far and wide, you never know what opportunities each connection may uncover down the line. Everyone has unique insights to make you a better nurse.
Getting Started with In-Person Nurse Networking
Nothing replaces an in-person connection when forging bonds that stand the test of time. Conferences, associations, and even a clinical rotation chat can lead to friendships guiding your entire career.
Leverage Conferences:
From national specialized events to local hospital seminars, conferences put you face-to-face with nurses at the top of the field. Sparks fly over coffee breaks or panel Q&As. Exchange cards, take things offline, and set calendar reminders to keep the rapport alive.
Join Associations:
Local and national nursing associations run meetups, talks, and member spotlights. Attend consistently, avoid just mingling with the same circle, and relationships blossom.
During Clinicals, Chat Up Nurses:
As a student, use clinical rotations to pick seasoned nurses’ brains. They love paying it forward with career advice and the chance to mentor. Keep some contacts and become each other’s lifelong resources.
Pro Tip: Follow Up
After an event exchange, follow up within the week to solidify bonds before the connection fades. Send an article of interest, an invitation to connect on LinkedIn or even a thoughtful handwritten card.
The magic of in-person events is learning alongside peers passionate about the same mission. Feed off each other’s energy and watch inspiration unfold.
Building Your Network Online
In-person events make the deepest networking impressions, but online channels make relationship-building scalable. With nurses’ busy schedules, digital networking works 24/7.
Where Should Nurses Connect Virtually?
LinkedIn:
- Join niche groups like “OR Nurses” or “Nurse Entrepreneurs.”
- Share articles and contribute insights. Comment on other posts.
- Connect with leaders posting intriguing content.
Twitter:
- Follow prominent nurses, policy advocates, and associations.
- Like and retweet issue awareness campaigns.
- Ask thoughtful questions to start engaging.
Nursing Forums:
- Platforms like us at Total Nurses Network have active communities.
- Join discussions and provide advice to foster connections.
Pro Tips:
- Consistency pays off. Check forums daily, even for 10 minutes.
- Share content and insights relevant to your nursing specialty. Become a thought leader.
- Personalized outreach creates deeper bonds than just “liking” posts. Send DMs.
Nurse Networking 101: Pulling it All Together
Hopefully, it’s clear just how much opportunity sits within your network. While time feels precious as a nurse, consistent relationship-building pays dividends across your whole career– whether through insider job alerts, expanded perspectives, or cheerleaders during tough moments.
Prioritize plugging into conferences, associations, digital groups, and forums tailored to your nursing niche. Follow up convos with real-life hangouts whenever possible. Measure the ROI of activities advancing your aims. Most importantly, approach fellow nurses through a spirit of abundance, not transactions.
If after reading this you still want additional support expanding your professional community, check us out at Total Nurses Network. As a supplemental staffing agency, we partner with nurses throughout their careers by connecting them to open positions across the Midwest aligned with their skills, passions, and goals.
Learn more on our website about how our networking can provide that next step on your journey.
