A Nurse’s Guide To Networking

Nicola talks us through her top tips for networking and explains why it can be so important for your career.

Topics covered in this article.

Introduction

Sign Up To Nurses.co.uk

Make The Most Of Placements

Attend Nursing Events

Use Social Media

Closing Thoughts

Introduction

Hi guys, my name is Nicola, and I'm a Neonatal Nurse.

Today, I'm going to be talking to you a little bit about networking.

So, gone are the days where networking is seen to be something that's only done within the corporate world.

And gone are the days where networking is a little bit awkward and uncomfortable.

I personally, have benefited from networking, both personally and professionally.

Today, I'm just gonna share with you a few tips about networking, so hopefully, you can get yourselves involved in the future.

Sign Up To Nurses.co.uk

One of the things that you can do, is to sign up to different platforms, like Nurses.co.uk, where you will be exposed to a range of different professionals, that you can connect with.

It's really as simple as just dropping someone a message, letting them know that you like their work, you know, you're inspired by them, you like what they do, you'd love to know more about their journey, can you connect?

It's really, really that easy.

All you have to do is just say hi.

Make The Most Of Placements

For students, I would just advise you to utilize your placements.

Placements can be a great opportunity for you to network.

So as a student, you are exposed to so many different specialties.

You're gonna be working with so many different people, from different backgrounds, and you should really use this opportunity to your advantage.

So if you go to a placement, and you think, "I really like working here, I could see myself working here, full-time, as a qualified Nurse", or maybe you might shadow someone, and you might think, "Oh my goodness, I really, really enjoyed that.

You know, I'd love to connect with this person more, I'd love to pick their brains about X, Y and Z."

Why not exchange your contact details with that person?

You never know what forming positive professional relationships can do for you in the future.

So networking isn't just about professional benefits.

You can also make some great friends.

I personally, have made some great friends through networking, and it's really, really nice to have support from other professionals, who you don't work with.

It's nice to be able to have open and honest conversations with people who know that you are a Nurse, and you can relate with each other, in that sense, but you don't work with each other, and sometimes that's quite nice, to have that break from people that you work with, as well.

Attend Nursing Events

So, attend Nursing and healthcare related events, you will find them listed in so many different places.

So for example, we know that there were loads of unions out there, and if you are registered with these unions, and if you're registered with Nursing magazines, a lot of these platforms actually advertise Nursing and health care related events.

There has also been a rise in healthcare professionals working independently, setting up their own personal platforms, and they are also putting out their Nursing brunches, events, awards, for people to be able to come and network with each other, and I'd really, really advise you to attend these healthcare related events.

It's really, really great, to be able to network with people, who understand what it's like to be a healthcare professional.

And you can meet some amazing people, who are maybe doing something, that you'd like to do, later down the line, or maybe you might be somebody that people aspire to be like, so it's really, really great, if you can attend these sorts of events, as well.

Use Social Media

Follow popular hashtags on social media.

There are a range of different social media platforms, that we're all familiar with, that allow you to be able to use the options of hashtags.

Search those hashtags, you will find amazing, people doing amazing things, things like, if you type in student Nurses UK, UK Nurses, NHS Nurses, and it will literally bring you up a wealth of different people, doing different things, with their own platforms.

And you will find so many different Nursing groups, that you can join, and that are, you know, specific to, say, newly qualified Nurses.

And it's a really, really great opportunity to get yourself involved, on a wider scale, in regards to issues going on, within the Nursing profession.

And it's also just a great opportunity to be able to meet new people.

So networking isn't just about networking with people who are only Nurses, it's also about networking with people outside of Nursing, as well.

So you can meet so many different people, from so many different professions, who can teach you different things, who can provide you insight to different things, who might even be able to point you in the right direction, in regards to something that you are interested in.

So don't limit yourself to thinking that you should only be networking with Nurses, as we all know, within health care, you work with so many different professionals.

And so if you are able to collaborate with people, from different professions and different disciplinaries, you will find that it will just make you a better rounded professional, in general.

Closing Thoughts

So you might be thinking, "I'm a little bit scared.

How do I go about networking?" Or you might be thinking, "Can I attend events on my own?" Yes, you absolutely can. You might be thinking, "How do I approach people? There's someone that I've seen on social media.

And I really, really like what they're doing, and I'd love to do something similar." Just drop somebody a message, be polite, be friendly, just be honest.

You know, "I've been following you for a while. I really enjoy your content. I actually would love to be a school Nurse, one day. Have you got any tips or advice? Maybe we can network?" It's really as simple as that, it doesn't have to be anything awkward, it doesn't have to be anything long and lengthy, just a short, simple message, can really just get you going.

Attend nursing job fairs.

You will find that different trusts will do different Nursing job fairs.

Universities will do them as well

Where you can go down, you can find out more about jobs that are on offer, take your nursing portfolio with you, take your CV with you, hand them out to people, you just never know who's going to be there, and you just never know what opportunities lay ahead for you.

So I hope you found that useful, and I hope that spurred you on, to get yourself networking.

Thank you so much for watching.