Tony Robbins said: “The best people on earth, they all say, ‘What don’t I know?‘ ’cause the world is always changing.”

From nursing school to clinical nursing, from nursing administration to nurse entrepreneur- I recently celebrated my tenth year as a Registered Nurse. What an honor. And I can tell you this… similar to what Tony Robbins has said, I am always learning.

I’d like to share an excerpt from my upcoming book, ‘Your Next Shift‘ (due to be published June 1; pre-sale copies available soon). This was one of the times in my life where I wasn’t even aware that I needed to ‘learn’ something, but am oh so glad that I did. Here’s the story…

I am on an airplane to Boston, MA. As I sit back and open up my backpack to work on the pre-event materials, I realize I am unsure of where I am going and why. I know I am on my way to a live event with a business coach. I know I am going because I have started up a business of my own. I just don’t remember signing up or what this thing was all about.

I do remember that this past spring I was on LinkedIn, just poking around and reading some discussion group postings. I found something that caught my attention. It was a promotion for a webinar that was going to teach us how to make six figures in less than part-time hours. Who wouldn’t want to do that?

So… I signed up. I attended the webinar. I took all of the notes I could and then I signed up for the live event in New England for the fall of that year. I don’t know what it was; I just felt drawn to the speaker. She had a wonderful energy and kept talking about how she puts her priorities first, even before her business. That’s why I wanted to become a nurse entrepreneur. I wanted to live my life and enjoy myself around my work. Not the other way around.

As I am sitting here on the plane, I cannot even remember what the speaker of that webinar looked like. Who was this coach I was going to learn from? What was this three day event going to be all about? I started to realize that I couldn’t remember why I was going and I had no clue what would happen when I got there.

Well, one of the funniest things did happen when I arrived. That very first day of the workshop I was sitting next to my roommate. The business coach at the front of the room was talking about list building and how to get our businesses out there. I was so confused. I turned to the woman sitting next to me and whispered, ‘What list is she talking about?’

Boy did I need help! I didn’t even know what I didn’t even know. And guess what? That is the scariest place to be.

As nurse professionals, the very best thing we can do for our nursing careers is continue to learn. Learn when we think we need to and be open to learning when we believe we know it all. The most frightening (and, in my opinion, boring) place to be is that of a person who ‘knows it all’.

[Tweet “Here are 3 Ways to Continue Life-Long Learning in Your Nursing Career”]

1. Ask Questions. There is no silly, dumb, or stupid question. You are not being ‘annoying’ by asking for help. The very best way to learn something new is to ask what you don’t know. Even if you’re unsure of the question, start to talk and the simple exercise of articulation will help you clarify your needs.
2. Balance Skill-Sets. Learning new nursing skills is certainly necessary as we navigate the course of our nursing careers. In addition to learning all things nursing, a way to up-level your nursing career is to balance the nursing knowledge with non-nursing skill-sets. Think about how productive you could be in a meeting if you knew how to read, balance and manage a financial spreadsheet. Continue to search for new experiences and learn from experts beyond the bedside.
3. Stay Open. One way to plateau in your nursing career is to think (and act) like you know it all. Sure, being an experienced nurse with years of clinical work behind you, you are an expert. There is no doubting that. And there are things that you can potentially learn from (dare I say it) the new graduate nurses that you work with. There absolutely are generational differences among us. We now live in a diverse culture. Being open to new experiences and information can allow you to further your professional development and personal learning.

I’d love to hear from you. What would you add to this list? Why does learning put you ahead of the curve as a nurse professional? Leave a comment below and thanks for reading!

About the Author: As a speaker, workshop facilitator, and Reiki Master, Elizabeth partners with hospitals, organizations, associations, and nursing groups to help transform the field of nursing from the inside out. As the  host of the Your Next Shift Workshop, Elizabeth guides nurses and nursing students to a change in perspective, helping them make the inner shift needed to better maneuver the sometimes challenging realities of being a caregiver.