In-services, Seminars, and Journals
Take the opportunity to attend workshops and any in-services and classes offered by your facility. If a seminar is being offered that is applicable to your particular job description or unit, ask your supervisor if you can attend as a representative of your facility.
Become active in your facility by providing your staff educators with ideas and requests for in-services and seminars. Volunteer to sit on committees to choose and run in-services and seminars. As you find valuable resources and information pertinent to your job, share it with your coworkers, and provide a copy to staff educators. They are almost always open to new ideas and subjects.
Sometimes your facility will pay your fees and/or pay you to attend in-services or seminars (so you don't have to take a vacation day or other paid time off). You may have to report back to a small group or make a larger presentation to the facility in return, but this can be a terrific opportunity for you to expand your horizons as well.
If you hear of or read about a new technique, treatment, or procedure, request that your staff educators provide you with more information and education to keep everyone up-to-date. Many times, seminars are broadcast via the Internet and over phone lines so that one fee covers as many students as can attend at a facility. Other times, there are group discounts available. Check out these possibilities to save money and expand your knowledge base.
Always subscribe to at least one nursing journal. Many offer online access now and can offer other benefits in addition to subscriptions such as access to archived articles and search capabilities. Whenever possible, subscribe to one or two other journals as well. These could be either broad-based nursing journals or those designed for a particular specialty. They can give you insight into other areas of nursing or support your skills and techniques in your current position. Many nursing Web sites also offer free weekly e-zines that are e-mailed to you. Some carry a nominal fee, but most are free and aimed at keeping you up-to-date on state-of-the-art care or news about your particular area of interest.
