Professional Documents
Culture Documents
11
Career Development
245
246 UNIT 3 ■ Roles and Functions in Planning
Career development is the planning and implementation of career plans and can be
viewed as a critical life process involving both the individual and the employer.
McPeck (2001) states, “Career plans are about where you are today and, more
importantly, where you’re going tomorrow’’ (p. 11). Thus, career planning is about
exploration, opportunities, and change.
Career development is accomplished through assessment of oneself and one’s
work environment, job analysis, education, training, job search and acquisition, and
work experience. Before the 1970s, organizations did little to help employees plan
and develop their careers. Since that time, however, the impact of career develop-
ment programs has been documented as a positive force in successful businesses.
Career planning provides individuals with a choice in career outcome rather than
leaving it to chance.
There is now an interest in career development by organizations and recognition
of a manager’s responsibility for assisting subordinates with career development.
McPeck (2001) states that the nursing shortage calls us to prepare nurses to step
into entry-level practice, but there is also a moral and ethical calling to prepare each
person to the best of his or her ability. This means sending RNs into practice with
career plans that at the very least include a commitment to further their education
through mentors, professional organizations, and employers. “It also means career
plans developed with an awareness that graduate schools hold open their arms for
nurses who want to teach, gather research data, or construct interventions to deliver
health services’’ (McPeck, 2001, p. 12). Creation of career ladders and educational
leave programs by organizations can also lead to nurse empowerment.
Management Functions
1. Develops fair and well-communicated policies on promotions and transfers.
2. Uses organizational transfers appropriately.
3. Uses a planned system of long-term coaching for career development.
4. Disseminates career information.
5. Posts job openings.
6. Works cooperatively with other departments in arranging for the release of employees
to take other positions within the organization.
7. Provides necessary training and education.
CHAPTER 11 ■ Career Development 247
• Avoids obsolescence and builds new skills. Due to the rapid changes in the
healthcare industry, especially in the areas of consumer demands and tech-
nology, employees may find that their skills have become obsolete. A suc-
cessful career development program begins to retrain employees proactively,
providing them with the necessary skills to remain current in their field and
therefore valuable to the organization. Retraining also provides employees
with an opportunity to survive downsizing.
Johnstone (2003) found that the main reason nurse–managers left their jobs was
to seek career development elsewhere. Although no longer able to provide workers
with jobs for life, organizations can offer skills to enable workers to thrive in chaos.
Career development Tuttas (2002) says that career development strategies to retain nurses in today’s
strategies to retain scarce market are essential. Some of the most basic career development programs,
nurses in today’s scarce such as financial planning and general equivalency diploma (GED) programs can
market are essential. be the most rewarding programs for the staff.
CAREER STAGES
Before managers can plan a successful career development program, they need to
understand the normal career stages of individuals, because people require different
types of development in different stages of their careers
McNeese-Smith (2000) suggests there are three different job stages among
nurses: entry, master, and disengagement. Entry is the process of involvement, skill
development, and increasing congruity between an individual’s self-conception and
his or her role in the job. Group membership follows a period of training, orienta-
tion, and supervision. If the employee is socialized appropriately, he or she begins
to become an “insider.’’
Mastery begins with the new member having advanced beginner skills, pos-
sessing some job esteem, and moving toward seniority, expertise, and high esteem.
This is a time of accomplishment, challenge, and a sense of purpose, and the indi-
vidual often achieves a high enough level of expertise to be a role model to others.
However, as the member gains experience and skills, his or her ideal concept of the
position begins to decrease.
The last stage, disengagement, commences if the congruency and relationship
between self-identity and job identity begins to decline. The focus of identity shifts
to something else and the job no longer provides growth and a relevant sense of
identity. Thus, the employee may become bored and indifferent to the job. Friends
leave or are promoted, the system changes, and the future suggests increasing frus-
tration as the employee can become confined at a level where performance and
behavior steadily decline.
In McNeese-Smith’s (2000) survey of 412 nurses in three hospitals, 13% identified
themselves as being in the entry stage, with their average time on the job of 1.6 years.
Sixty-two percent identified themselves as in the mastery stage, with an average of
7.2 years on the job, although the percentage of nurses in mastery was highest
between two and three years on the job (83%) and tended to decrease with increased
time on the job until reaching a low of 40% after 25 to 30 years on the job.
CHAPTER 11 ■ Career Development 249
their talent. A leadership role requires that managers look beyond their
immediate unit or department and consider the needs of the entire organiza-
tion. Leaders recognize and share talent.
• Development of personnel policies. An active career development program
often results in the recognition that certain personnel policies and procedures
are impeding the success of the program. When this occurs, the organization
should reexamine these policies and make necessary changes.
• Provision of education and training. The impact of education and training
on career development and retention of subordinate staff was discussed pre-
viously. The need for organizations to provide for the development of leaders
and managers is presented later in this chapter.
LONG-TERM COACHING
Short-term coaching is a means to develop and motivate employees. It should be a
spontaneous part of the experienced manager’s repertoire. Long-term coaching, on the
other hand, is a planned management action that occurs over the duration of employ-
ment. Savage (2001) suggests that it is, in essence, an organizational intervention
focused at the individual level; that is, it is an intervention to help employees deal
with their responses to organizational concerns or needs.
Because this form of coaching may cover a long period of time, it is frequently
neglected unless the manager uses a systematic scheduling plan for coaching con-
ferences and a form for documentation. Although long-term documentation has
been used successfully to track an employee’s deficiencies, documenting long-term
coaching for career development has been less successful. Because employees and
managers move frequently within an organization, the lack of record-keeping
regarding employees’ career needs has deterred nursing career development. In the
present climate of organizational restructuring and downsizing, a manager’s staff is
even more in need of career coaching, and documentation of the career coaching
takes on an even more important role.
Long-term coaching is a major step in building an effective team and an excellent
strategy to increase productivity and retention. In fact, a survey of 100 executives from
Fortune 1000 companies revealed a 53% increase in organizational productivity, a 61%
rise in managerial job satisfaction, and a 39% increase in the managerial retention rate
as a result of executive coaching (Manchester Inc., 2000).
Long-term coaching has some of the same attributes of a mentoring relation-
ship but is less intense and is not limited to one or a few subordinates. In fact, team
coaching (coaching as a group) is possible, but it is generally focused on a specific
event or situation facing executive teams (Savage, 2001).
1. Gathering data. One of the best methods of gathering data about employ-
ees is to observe their behavior. When managers spend time observing
employees, they are able to determine who has good communication skills,
is well organized, is able to use effective negotiating skills, and works collab-
oratively. Managers also should seek information about the employee’s past
work experience, performance appraisals, and educational experiences. Data
also can include academic qualifications and credentials. Most of this infor-
mation can be obtained by examining the personnel file. Finally, employees
themselves are an excellent source of information that can assist the manager
in the long-term coaching interview. All these sources of data should be
reviewed before the coaching interview.
2. What is possible? As part of career planning, the manager should assess
the department for possible changes in the future, openings or transfers,
and potential challenges and opportunities. The manager should anticipate
what type of needs lie ahead, what projects are planned, and what staffing
and budget changes will occur. After carefully assessing the employee’s
profile and future opportunities, managers should consider each staff
member and ask the following questions: How can this employee be
helped so that he or she is better prepared to take advantage of the future?
Who needs to be encouraged to return to school, to become credentialed, Managers are able to
or to take a special course? Which employees need to be encouraged to create a stimulating
transfer to a more challenging position, given more responsibility on their environment for career
present unit, or moved to another shift? Managers are able to create a development by being
stimulating environment for career development by being aware of the aware of the uniqueness
uniqueness of their employees. of their employees.
3. The coaching interview session. The goals of the career development
coaching interview are to help employees increase their effectiveness, see
where potential opportunities in the organization lie, and advance their
knowledge, skills, and experience. Many of the techniques and guidelines
listed in the post-appraisal interview also are useful in the coaching inter-
view. It is important not to intimidate employees when questioning them
about their future and their goals. Although there is no standard procedure
254 UNIT 3 ■ Roles and Functions in Planning
1. What new challenges and responsibilities could be given to this employee that would
utilize his or her special talents?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2. What events happening in the organization do you foresee affecting this employee?
(Examples would be plans to go to an all-RN staff, changing the mode of patient care
delivery, increasing emphasis on credentialing by the new CEO of the nursing division,
changing the medication system, and changing the ratio of nonprofessionals to profes-
sionals for nurse staffing.)
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3. How should the employee be preparing to meet new or changing expectations?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4. What specific suggestions and guidance for the future can you give this employee?
(Examples would be taking specific courses to prepare for change, urging them to pursue
an advanced degree, considering changing shifts, urging them to seek challenges outside
of your unit, and suggesting that they apply for the next management opening.)
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
5. What specific organizational resources can you offer the employee?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
6. What new information regarding this employee’s long-term plans, aspirations, and potential
have the perusal of the personnel record, your observations, and this interview given you?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
7. Do the organizational and professional career plans held by the individual match your
vision of his or her future? If not, how do they differ?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
8. What developmental and professional growth has taken place since the last coaching
session?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
9. Date of next coaching interview _________________________________________
CHAPTER 11 ■ Career Development 255
TRANSFERS
A transfer may be defined as a reassignment to another job within the organization.
In a strict business sense, a transfer usually implies similar pay, status, and responsi-
bility. Because of the variety of positions available for nurses in any healthcare
organization, coupled with the lack of sufficient higher-level positions available,
two additional terms have come into use. A lateral transfer describes one staff per-
son moving to another unit, to a position with a similar scope of responsibilities,
within the same organization. A downward transfer occurs when someone takes a
position within the organization that is below his or her previous level. This fre-
quently happens in health care. An example is when a charge nurse decides to learn
another nursing specialty. For example, the nurse may step down from a charge
position on a medical-surgical unit to a staff position in labor and delivery. It may
be in a nurse’s interest to consider a downward transfer because it often increases
the chances of long-term career success. For example, a nurse’s long-term career
goal might be to hold a position in cardiac rehabilitation. The nurse determines
that most of the cardiac rehabilitation staff are hired out of the hospital’s critical
care unit (CCU). Although this nurse has had previous experience in a cardiac care
unit, he or she has not held that position in this organization. The nurse requests a
downward transfer from an evening charge position on a surgical unit to day-shift
staff nurse in the CCU. This transfer will provide the nurse with current experience
in CCU and more exposure to the manager of the cardiac rehabilitation unit. In
this example, a downward transfer increases the likelihood that the nurse’s long-term
goal will be realized.
Downward transfers also should be considered when nurses are experiencing
periods of stress or role overload. Self-aware nurses often request such transfers. In
some circumstances, the manager may need to intervene and use a downward
transfer to alleviate temporarily a nurse’s overwhelming stress.
Another type of transfer may accommodate employees in the later stages of
their career. Managers often assist valuable employees who desire a reduced role in
their careers to locate a position that will use their talents and still allow them a
degree of status. These accommodating transfers generally allow someone to receive a
similar salary but with a reduction in energy expenditure. For example, a long-time
employee might be given a position as ombudsman to use his or her expertise and
knowledge of the organization and at the same time assume a status position that is
less physically demanding.
Inappropriate Transfers
One deterrent to successful career development is the inappropriate transfer. One
method managers use to solve unit personnel problems is to transfer problem
employees to another unsuspecting department. Such transfers are harmful in
many ways. They contribute to decreased productivity, are demotivating for all
employees, and are especially destructive for the employee who is transferred.
This is not to say that employees who do not “fit’’ in one department will not do
well in a different environment. It is not uncommon for an employee to struggle in one
CHAPTER 11 ■ Career Development 257
department but improve his or her performance in a new department or unit. Before
such transfers, however, both the manager and the employee must speak candidly with
each other regarding the employee’s capabilities and the manager’s expectations. All
types of transfers should be individually evaluated for appropriateness.
PROMOTIONS
Promotions are reassignments to a position of higher rank. It is normal for pro-
motions to include a pay raise. Most promotions include increased status, title
changes, more authority, and greater responsibility. Because of the importance
American society places on promotions, certain guidelines must accompany
258 UNIT 3 ■ Roles and Functions in Planning
promotion selection to ensure that the process is fair and equitable. When posi-
Organizations often have tion openings occur, they are often posted and filled hastily with little thought of
poorly developed plans long-term organizational or employee goals. This frequently results in negative
for handling promotions. personnel outcomes. To avoid this, the following elements should be determined
in advance:
FILL IN THE
MISSING INFORMATION
Where I am Where I
want to be
Career
Goal
Activities monitored
Phase 4: Assessments made
Validating of activities
Activities evaluated
RÉSUMÉ PREPARATION
In addition to career mapping and self-assessment, the professional nurse is
responsible for developing strategies that assist in realizing career goals. Such
strategies include presenting a positive image by using good interviewing skills and
a well-prepared résumé.
The Résumé
The résumé is an important screening tool used by employers for selection of appli-
cants. Often résumés are attached to the application, but they serve a somewhat
CHAPTER 11 ■ Career Development 261
different purpose. The application is designed by the employer and serves the needs
of the organization, whereas the applicant creates the résumé. Assessing one’s own
values, skills, and interests is an essential part of the résumé preparation process.
Résumés should concentarte on what applicants like to do and what they do well.
When examining résumés, the selector must remember that applicants use the
device to summarize their education and experience in the best possible light.
Managers must look beyond the neat and well-prepared résumé and examine criti-
cal issues, such as length of time the applicant was employed in other positions and
what positions were held. Developing as clear a picture of the recently graduated
nurse with little work experience is more difficult.
Résumés are important as a career-planning tool. They also are used for promo-
tion decisions; therefore, maintaining an accurate and current résumé becomes a
career-planning necessity for the professional nurse.
Various acceptable styles and formats of résumés exist. However, because the
résumé represents professionalism and is often used by recruiters as a summary of
the applicant’s qualifications, it must be professionally prepared, make an impres-
sion, and quickly capture the reader’s attention. The following are guidelines for
résumé preparation:
The content of the résumé should consist of educational history; work experi-
ence; personal characteristics; membership in professional organizations; commu-
nity involvement; awards, honors, and publications; professional objectives; health
status; and license information. A sample résumé is shown in Display 11.5.
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
Management development is a planned system of training and developing people so
they acquire the skills, insights, and attitudes needed to manage people and their
work effectively within the organization. Management development is often
referred to as succession planning.
With the flattening of organizational hierarchies and a rise in nurse–managers’
responsibilities, it is vital to ensure that future nurse–managers have the competencies
to succeed. Kleinman (2003) states, “The new healthcare leadership must possess
synthesized competence that includes clinical health services and the management of
these services from a business perspective’’ (p. 455).
Management development programs, as a part of career development, must be
supported by top-level administration. The program also must be planned and
systematically implemented. The program must include a means of developing
appropriate attitudes through social learning theory and adequate management
theoretical content.
Support for management development programs by the organization should
occur in two ways. First, top-level management must do more than bear the cost of
management development classes. They must create an organizational structure
that allows managers to apply their new knowledge. Therefore, for such programs
to be effective, the organization must be willing to practice a management style
that incorporates sound management principles.
Secondly, training outcomes will be improved if nursing executives are active in
planning and developing the program. Whenever possible, nursing administrators
should teach some of the classes and, at the very least, make sure that the program
supports top-management philosophy.
Just as nurses are required to be certified in critical care before they accept a position
in a critical care unit, so too should nurses be required to take part in a management
development program before their appointment to a management position.
Potential managers should be identified and groomed early. The first step in this
process would be an appraisal of the present management team and an analysis of
possible future needs. The second step would be the establishment of a training and
development program. This would require decisions such as the following: How
often should the formal management course be offered? Should outside educators
be involved, or should in-house staff teach it? Who should be involved in teaching
the didactic portion? Should there be two levels of classes, one for first-level and
one for middle-level managers? Should the management development courses
be open to all, or should people be recommended by someone from manage-
ment? In addition to formal course content, what other methods should be used
264 UNIT 3 ■ Roles and Functions in Planning
❊ Key Concepts
• There are many outcomes of a career development program that justify its
implementation.
• Career job sequencing should assist the manager in career management.
• Career development programs consist of a set of personal responsibilities
called career planning and a set of management responsibilities called career
management.
• Employees often need to be encouraged to make more formalized long-
term career plans.
• Designing career paths is an important part of organizational career
management.
• Managers should plan specific interventions that promote growth and
development in each of their subordinates.
• The transfer, when used appropriately, may be an effective way to provide
career development.
• Policies regarding promotion should be in writing and communicated to all
employees.
• Recruitment from within has been shown to have a positive effect on
employee satisfaction.
• Recruitment from outside the organization allows for new ideas and
prevents stagnation.
• To be successful, management development must be planned and supported
by top-level management. This type of planned program is called succession
management.
• If appropriate management attitudes and insight are goals of a management
development program, social learning techniques need to be part of the
teaching strategies used.
• Long-term coaching is a planned intervention on the part of the manager
that results in the professional growth and development of subordinates.
A
Learning Exercise 11.6
A
Learning Exercise 11.7
A
Learning Exercise 11.8
Web Links
American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
http://www.nursingworld.org/ancc/
Provides a general overview of the ANCC as well as the more than 30 specialty and
advanced practice areas of specialty certification/recertification offered.
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