How to Align Your Nursing Career with Your Strengths and Values

Feeling like your nursing work no longer fits who you are? Here’s how to reconnect with what matters most in your career—without making a giant leap.

When Your Love for Nursing Fades

Have you ever looked at your job and thought, “This looks perfect on paper, but something’s missing”?

I’ve been there twice in my nursing career, and I’m sharing these experiences because you might be going through something similar right now.

My First Wake-Up Call

About seven and a half years into my bedside career in the CTICU, my love for critical care had worn thin. I’d show up, do my job, but the spark was gone. Every morning required a pep talk just to get myself through the door without making careless mistakes.

When my boss noticed my enthusiasm had disappeared, that moment actually freed me. It confirmed what I already knew—it was time to move on. The work no longer aligned with my goals, and recognizing that empowered me to make changes.

My Second Reality Check

Years later, with my graduate degree in hand, I landed another dream job. The specialty matched my strengths perfectly. But something still felt off.

This time, I realized the work aligned with my skills but not with my values. My goals had changed, and I had to accept it was time to let go. That was harder than the first time.

If you’ve ever thought, “I like what I do, but I’m not sure I love it anymore,” you’re not alone. It’s okay to feel uncertain. Sometimes the issue isn’t your workplace or coworkers—it’s that your work has stopped aligning with your strengths and values.

Why This Disconnect Happens

Here’s what I’ve learned working with ambitious nurses: one job will rarely meet all your desires to grow.

You have so many ideas. So many ways you want to make an impact. As you explore and get exposed to more opportunities, you start understanding how much more is available to you. That’s not a problem—it’s growth.

Your strengths and values act like a compass. They show you:

What energizes you versus what drains you
Where you need to make adjustments
When something isn’t right

When you feel restless or unmotivated, that’s your internal signal. Returning to your strengths and values provides the clarity you need to either reimagine your current role or prepare for your next one.

Two Types of Career Misalignment

Most nurses who feel stuck fall into one of two groups:

Group 1: The Skills Mismatch

You’re in a job that doesn’t use your strongest skills or natural gifts. You’ve outgrown it. It no longer challenges or excites you.

Group 2: The Values Gap

You actually like your job and use your skills well, but something feels incomplete. The work doesn’t line up with your deeper values and goals.

Both situations create frustration and stagnation. The key is recognizing which one you’re in so you know what kind of change you need—a new role or a new outlet.

Your Free Nurse Career Growth Roadmap

To help you figure out which group you’re in, I created a free guide that walks you through key questions:

What do I enjoy most about my current work?
What drains my energy?
What values feel missing from my role right now?

Download your free Nurse Career Growth Roadmap here (link in show notes)

After completing the roadmap, you’ll likely discover one of two things:

You’re in the wrong seat—your job isn’t using your strengths or supporting your values
Your job is a good fit, but you’re craving more room to grow

When You Need an Outlet, Not a New Job

Let me share a colleague’s story. She loved her job and was excited about the work, but it wasn’t meeting all her needs. After going through the career growth exercise, she had a revelation:

“I really like where I work and what I do. I just needed a new outlet.”

She started teaching on the side and found it incredibly rewarding. Her primary job stayed the same, but adding that new layer fulfilled what was missing.

I hear similar stories all the time. I recently spoke with an executive-level nurse who said, “I don’t want to move up. I want to leave room to build a business or explore other nursing avenues outside of work.”

These are perfect examples of nurturing your strengths and values by thinking outside the box.

The Truth About Work and Fulfillment

Here’s what you need to hear: Everything at work is not going to fulfill your career needs.

You can climb to the highest level in your organization, but if you’re multi-passionate and like to make a big impact in different ways, you’ll need to do something else. And that’s completely okay.

That “something else” might be:

A paid side venture that uses your gifts differently
Unpaid work that builds your reputation and impact
Creative pursuits that keep you grounded

For me, The Ambitious Nurse podcast and coaching business let me use my gifts in ways my day job doesn’t. It gives me freedom. But there are also things at work where I don’t mind having constraints—they’re part of the greater mission, and I’m fine falling in line with that.

Building Layers Outside Your Primary Work

If you’re in Group 2—your job is good but you want more—here are practical ways to build layers outside your primary work:

Professional Organization Involvement

Join an organization that aligns with your values. Once you’re in, find a committee, council, or task force where you can contribute meaningfully. I serve as president of the North Carolina Nurses Association while working full-time in nursing professional development.

Volunteer on Projects

Look for initiatives that excite you. You’ll expand your network and skills while making a difference.

Mentor Another Nurse

Sharing your experience helps someone else while keeping you connected to your “why.”

Explore Creative Outlets

Maybe you need something completely outside nursing—renovating houses, writing, art. These pursuits can refresh your perspective on your primary work.

Build a Side Business

Create something that lets you use your talents on your own terms. Just know that you don’t have to leave your job to do meaningful work outside it. The narrative that says “quit and make six figures” isn’t the only path.

Remember: If you can imagine doing more, you already have the capacity for it. When we’re completely overwhelmed, we can’t see past tomorrow. But if you’re thinking, “I wonder if I could…”—that’s your capacity saying, “I’m ready.”

Small Steps Over Giant Leaps

You don’t need to make a giant leap to get back on track. Small, consistent steps create sustainable growth.

I’ve been reading The Slight Edge, and one key lesson resonates: success happens through small actions taken consistently over time. For those of us who prefer “go hard or go home,” this requires a mindset shift. But when I take small, consistent steps, change normalizes instead of shocking my system.

Make It a Long Game

At a recent convention, nurses told me, “I think I’ll start small.” I told them: No one expects you to jump straight to the board.

There’s plenty of meaningful work outside leadership positions. I did that work for seven years before running for the board of directors.

Professional organization work is a long game. You can be involved as much as you want, but there’s no rush. Take as much time as you need. Even after reaching “the top,” the real work continues—you just dig deeper in different ways.

Your Action Plan

Instead of overhauling your entire career:

Pick one value or strength to focus on
Identify one small way to express it each week
Reflect on how it feels over time

Track your progress. Notice what energizes you. Adjust as needed.

Your Next Step

Clarity and alignment come from understanding your strengths and values. That knowledge helps you make clear, confident decisions about what’s next—without guilt or confusion.

Here’s the truth: It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

You can take this work one day at a time. You can explore and reflect on your own, or walk through it with me in a coaching session.

Work With Me

If you’re in transition and need clarity about your next role, my one-on-one career clarity coaching sessions will fast-track that process.

If you like your current role but want to deepen your sense of purpose, I can help you design small creative strategies to bring alignment back.

Either way, there’s a next step waiting for you.

Download Your Free Guide

Get your free Nurse Career Growth Roadmap here (link in show notes)

This is your first step toward getting your career in alignment with what matters most to you.

Share This With a Colleague

If this resonated with you, share it with another nurse who’s ready for more alignment and joy in their career.

Subscribe to The Ambitious Nurse podcast for more conversations about purposeful growth and career fulfillment.

Until next time, keep showing up, keep growing, and keep building the career that fits you.

About Bonnie Meadows

I’m a Board Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist, Career Coach, and Well-Being Coach with over 20 years in nursing and healthcare. Since 2004, I’ve experienced the highs and lows of career growth, from feeling stuck to finding fulfillment through intentional strategies. Now I help experienced nurses gain clarity, grow purposefully, and create careers that align with their strengths and values.

Ready to get clear on your next career move? Listen to the full episode of The Ambitious Nurse podcast or schedule a clarity coaching session today.

Keywords: nursing career alignment, nurse career coach, career clarity for nurses, nursing career growth, graduate degree nursing careers, nurse professional development, experienced nurse career change, nursing values and strengths