Have you ever wondered what truly leads to success? Is it sheer luck? Talent? Hard work?
Once upon a time, someone once asked me what it took to be successful within my chosen profession of nursing. I thought to myself, "what a LOADED question!" If I had to break it down, I would say that it is a combination of many things, not just one. Luck does play a part, regardless of whether you want to believe that or not. Being at the right place, at the right time, when the right promotion comes up....well....let's just say that over 25 years I have seen MANY people promoted who quite literally FELL into a certain role.
Believe it or not, I failed my NCLEX the first time. This was quite a shock to me, as I graduated at the top of my accelerated BSN class, and earned honors as an inductee into the International Honor Society for Nursing (Sigma Theta Tau). The recipe for disaster was perfect....I moved far away from home, tried to prove to everyone that I had my "big girl pants" on, and I worked as a waitress, hostess at a restaurant until I could sit for my boards. I sat in my apartment and studied on my days off, but most of all, I was miserable without my family and full of angst. Hence, the certified letter with the failure notice came not long after I sat for my boards. I even had a job in the local ICU for my post-graduation bliss...but, alas, it was not meant to be. I packed up a U-Haul, and slithered back to the freezing cold Midwest with my tail between my legs. Halfway between South Carolina and home, my heater quit working. It was a cold, sad, lonely tearful ride home. No job=no money=no income=had to move back home to live under Mom's roof again. Needless to say, I ante'd up and sat for the boards again. This time, I recall like it was yesterday because the date I sat was St. Patrick's Day. This was a good luck charm within my Irish heritigae for sure! I passed and moved onto my first nursing job, however, it was on a medical-surgical floor, not in an emergency department.
Just because the odds are not always in your favor, doesn't mean that you won't win. Use my story as fuel for your fire. There are many other nurses who did not pass their boards the first time, and it has had ZERO impact on their ability to become a wonderful nurse. Trust me when I say, working harder for something that you want makes you work all that more harder when you get it.
The next part of the success equation would definitely be hard work and stubbornness. I say stubbornness because there are many passive aggressive personalities that will try to tear you down along the way. Naysayers who will say, "You can't do that!" They will convince you not to go for that promotion or that role because you don't have enough initials after your name, or that you don't have the right degrees. My best piece of advice is: NEVER LISTEN TO THOSE PEOPLE! Those are the ones that never want to grow themselves, and they strongly dislike it when other people move ahead.
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