Why is networking important in nursing? Some benefits of networking in nursing include gaining insight on different nursing specialties, working toward career advancement, offering and receiving emotional support, and staying on top of industry changes. You can begin building a professional network as a nursing student.
Networking in nursing is about building mutually beneficial relationships that can nurture and shape your career and even help advance the nursing profession. Building a robust network can be beneficial for both nursing students and registered nurses at any stage of their career. While you’re earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, networking can help you establish a professional reputation and access career opportunities.
When you enroll in Concordia University, St. Paul’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program, you can begin networking while earning your degree, thanks to connections with fellow cohort members and clinical learning experiences that take place at local healthcare facilities.
What is networking in nursing, exactly, and why is networking important in nursing? Before you start working toward a degree, consider networking for nurses and students, including its professional benefits. Then, explore strategies for building your own professional network.
What Is Networking in Nursing?
Networking is the ongoing process of building connections and cultivating professional relationships. More than simply connecting over digital platforms, networking requires a focus on developing a personal rapport and nurturing the relationship over time.
It’s important to keep in touch with your contacts. The priority for your network should be on the quality of the relationships, rather than solely the quantity.
Networking should also be mutually beneficial. When you’re just starting out in nursing, you’ll likely take more than you give. As you become established in your career, however, you’ll be better positioned to help new colleagues advance their own skills and careers.
Teamwork is also important in nursing. Learn what teamwork and collaboration in nursing look like.
Why Is Networking Important in Nursing?
Networking for nurses can allow RNs to develop relationships that may support career development and lead to new opportunities. It takes time to build a robust professional network, and relationships need continual work. As your network strengthens, however, you're likely to see multiple benefits, which explain the importance of networking in nursing. These can include:
Access to Job Opportunities
One of the primary benefits of nurse networking is broader access to job opportunities. When you’ve decided it’s time to move on to a new challenge, the people in your network may point you in the direction of your next opportunity.
Your network can also provide insight on potential new employers. Every healthcare organization is different. You might want to talk to a current employee about the work culture when considering a job offer. With a robust professional network, you might already know someone whom you can turn to for guidance.
Knowledge of Different Nursing Specialties and Roles
Networking can allow you to explore a range of specialties and roles. In nursing, there is a tremendous amount of choice. You can choose from dozens of nursing specialties, along with various workplace settings.
You should research nursing specialties and roles that appeal to you to determine if you think they’re worth pursuing. One way to do this is to talk to RNs in your network who are actively working in that role or did in the past. You can gain insight that you might not have uncovered otherwise.
Information on Industry Changes and Innovations
Keeping in touch with your contacts is important. One reason is that it allows for the exchange of knowledge. When you speak with someone in your network, they may inform you of emerging nursing research or technological innovations that could affect your work in the future.
A Robust Support Network
Nursing can be stressful and challenging at times. Sometimes, individuals within your professional network may also serve as a support system. Discussing common challenges and giving and receiving emotional support can be beneficial for all nurses.
The Ability to Make an Impact on the Healthcare System
Networking in nursing can even have a positive impact on the healthcare system as a whole. Nurses who network with each other can share best practices, promote organizational efficiency, and even advance nursing research projects. Networking for nurses promotes greater collaboration and advances in the profession.
Benefits of Networking for Nursing Students
Even as early as nursing school, networking is beneficial. You can take the opportunity to forge good working relationships with other members of your nursing cohort, as well as with your nursing instructors and the RNs with whom you interact during clinical learning experiences.
Why is networking important in nursing school? As a nursing student, you will have opportunities to build connections with people who may:
- Help you develop your nursing skills and judgment
- Improve your cultural competence
- Offer insight and guidance on different nursing specialties, workplaces, and career paths
- Provide career development advice
- Serve as mentors
How Networking Builds Professionalism in Nursing
Networking in nursing provides opportunities to strengthen your sense of professionalism. What is professionalism in nursing? It’s a combination of behaviors and personal characteristics. A nurse who exhibits professionalism:
- Arrives punctually for each shift
- Communicates appropriately
- Conducts themselves with honesty, integrity, and professional ethics
- Manages their time effectively
- Strives to meet high standards
- Takes responsibility for their own work and behavior
Professionalism also involves presenting oneself well by dressing appropriately for the role and maintaining a neat and clean appearance. Professionalism is a necessary complement to networking, as it allows you to build a good reputation and work toward advancing your career.
Some of the most important skills you can work on to improve your professionalism include:
- Communication
- Conflict resolution
- Interpersonal skills
- Leadership skills
- Professional etiquette
- Problem-solving
- Time management
- Work ethic
As you build your professional network, particularly as a student or early in your career, you’ll gain invaluable experience interacting on a professional level with other providers. This can help you polish your professional communication skills and gain practice working well with others.
If you're interested in nursing, learn more about the pathways to launching your career.
How to Network in Nursing School
The first step to building a network is identifying opportunities. As a nursing student, you can actively work on building your network:
- As you work in various healthcare facilities during your clinical learning experiences
- When getting together with your nursing cohort for in-person labs
- While participating in discussion forums for your nursing classes
You can also look beyond nursing school. Consider creating a profile on professional networking sites like LinkedIn and AllNurses. You might also join a professional organization, such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) or the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA). It may even be possible to find a community event, such as a health fair or blood drive, where you could volunteer to work as a nursing student.
Networking involves more than just meeting people and exchanging pleasantries. You can exchange contact information and connect to your new associate on LinkedIn, checking in now and then to nurture the relationship, and scheduling meet-ups periodically.
Remember that networking is a two-way street. Just as you hope your connections might aid your career in some way, you’ll also need to add value to the relationship by being a sounding board and offering support or insight.
Start Building Your Nursing Network Through CSP Global
At CSP Global, you will have plenty of opportunities to build your network and develop professionalism. Through experiential learning at our ABSN learning centers in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon, you’ll have opportunities to grow close to other members of your nursing cohort. You’ll also be placed at local healthcare facilities for clinical learning experiences, where you’ll be able to network with working RNs across different nursing specialties.
Here, we aim to provide a transformative education that instills values and prepares future nurse leaders to tackle modern challenges in healthcare with compassion and evidence-based practice. With our accelerated timeline, you could graduate in as few as 16 months.
Request information and connect with an admissions advisor today.