Becoming a family nurse is a great career choice.
Family nurses are often responsible for caring for patients on the patient’s home turf, which can reduce the stress of an illness. They also have a chance to build lasting relationships with patients and their families that might not be possible in other settings.
One way to improve your credibility as a family nurse is to engage more with your community, whether it is by volunteering or simply helping out at fundraising events.
This will let you meet people in your community and establish contacts within the medical field. You may also seek membership in organizations related to caregiving or nursing that can help you network and develop professional skills through online courses, local chapters, seminars, and conferences.
If a patient trusts you with their children’s health, it is likely they will recommend your services and keep coming back themselves when pregnant with another child.
A lot of families seeking out a family nurse practitioner are looking for someone who can provide medical care as well as home visits. You have to know the ins and outs of taking care of both patients and the home while still staying in close contact with hospital staff and other specialists if necessary.
Improve Your Credibility in Your First Year of Practice
Before you can improve your credibility as a family nurse, you first have to establish some credibility with the people in your community.
You want to take care of patients’ home space so it makes sense that you need a strong knowledge base on community and home health issues.
This kind of knowledge can be gained by taking a specific degree in your chosen subject area. Studying things like the FNP program in Texas will really help to strengthen that credibility.
If possible, find out from family members how they think and feel about various procedures and medications.
Also keep up with major news stories affecting rural America, such as how the economy has affected their lives since the last time they were in town.
Pay attention to what services local businesses are providing to assist patients, for example which pharmacies provide flu vaccinations.
Building Your Practice Brand and Profile Online
The Internet is a powerful tool for building your brand and profile as a nurse.
You need to be active on all of the major social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, in addition to any local or national forums that apply to your area of expertise. Make sure you post about your specialized knowledge in this area without being too self-promotional.
Be sure to share helpful tips and links with each platform’s community on a regular basis in order to build up trust and lots of new followers.
Building an online brand is a good way to show potential patients that you are knowledgeable and interested in their medical needs.
Read articles about family nurse practice, family caregiving, patient safety, and more so that you can share your expertise with the community.
These types of posts will make other professionals feel comfortable recommending you to their patients who are seeking a family nurse practitioner.
Make sure to include helpful links at the end of each post so people can learn more about your area of expertise from trusted sources on the Internet.
Should any members of the media make an inquiry about your area of expertise, be ready to give them an online quote for publication on their site or news report.
The Importance of Inclusion in the Workplace
People who feel appreciated and included at work are more likely to get their jobs done in a timely manner.
To improve your credibility as a family nurse practitioner, try to include employees in all of your planning sessions, including new process development, strategic planning, and meeting preparation.
This will make them feel invested in the organization and its leadership. They will be more likely to share their skills and knowledge with you as well.
Don’t just come up with ideas for training events but ask for employee suggestions as well so everyone feels included in your process improvements. Make sure you tailor training to what people want out of it so they know it’s worth their time to attend.
Encourage employees to volunteer to work on special projects and initiatives with you or interview them to get first-hand experience with issues that affect their lives.
Don’t assume people will just take your word for it that it’s important. Get them in the room and let them explain the issues they think need to be addressed, as well as why they think this might be a good solution for their particular circumstances.
Ask about personal experiences related to a particular topic, such as taking care of someone in a nursing home or using a new technology you’d like to implement at work.
What Should You Do With Your Newfound Credibility?
Now that you’ve built up your credibility, how should you make the most of it?
You should get to know your customers, network with other people in their lives, and make yourself readily available to them.
If people trust you and have faith in what you say, they will be more willing to sign up for your services or buy into new ideas that improve their lives. Make sure your customers are happy with the outcome of your work as well, so they can recommend you to other people in need.
Final Words about Credibility in Your First Year
We live in an age where information is no longer debatable, thanks to the Internet. People can find an article about your area of knowledge and read it for themselves, or they can take it from a reputable source, such as the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal.
You lose credibility if you do not seem forthcoming in your opinions and advice and if your words do not match up with what’s written in more credible sources.
As a family nurse practitioner, be sure to keep up to date on the latest trends and views in your field so that you know just what to say when someone asks for your opinion. You want to stand behind everything you say 100%, especially about patient care-related matters.
