When I think about deep and wide experience, I immediately picture my little cousin Parker singing that classic Bible song, “Deep and wide, deep and wide…” It’s cute—and funny how songs like that stick with you—but it’s also a perfect metaphor for today’s topic.
As nurses, we gain our experience in all sorts of ways: staying with the same organization for decades, jumping between specialties and roles, or even blending both approaches. And understanding your unique experience makeup—whether it’s deep, wide, or a combination—can be a game-changer for your career.
Let’s dive into why this matters, how it shapes your professional growth, and what you can do to leverage your unique journey.
What Is Deep Experience in Nursing?
Deep experience is like mastering a single chapter in the massive book of nursing. It involves developing expertise, knowledge, and connections within a specific organization, specialty, or focus area.
For example, one of my clients has worked in the same hospital for her entire career, starting as a CNA, becoming an RN, transitioning into an educator role, and now considering leadership. She has a Rolodex of connections, a deep understanding of the hospital’s operations, and an unparalleled knowledge of its history.
This kind of experience is invaluable. Deep expertise allows you to solve problems quickly, anticipate challenges, and mentor others effectively. However, there’s a tradeoff: deep experience can sometimes make transitions into new environments or specialties more challenging because the focus is so specific.
If you’re someone with deep experience, consider how you can expand your skill set while still capitalizing on your rich expertise. For example, cross-functional projects, mentoring programs, or short-term assignments in other departments could broaden your perspective without requiring a full career shift.
What Is Wide Experience in Nursing?
Wide experience, on the other hand, is like reading the first chapter of many books. It’s about breadth: exploring different specialties, environments, and roles to gain a broader perspective.
Another one of my clients embodies this perfectly. She’s done home health, med-surg, pediatrics, travel nursing—you name it. Her ability to connect the dots across diverse experiences makes her an asset in any environment, and her flexibility allows her to adapt quickly to new challenges.
Wide experience is particularly valuable for roles that require adaptability, creativity, and problem-solving across disciplines. However, the tradeoff here is that wide experience can sometimes feel less “grounded.” It’s easy to wonder if you should have specialized more or if your narrative feels cohesive enough.
The key for nurses with wide experience is to create a strong professional narrative that ties it all together. If that sounds intimidating, check out this guide on crafting a professional narrative.
The Unicorn: Deep and Wide Nursing Experience
Occasionally, you’ll meet someone with the rare combination of deep and wide experience. These nurses have spent years mastering specific areas while also diversifying their exposure to different environments.
One client I worked with had spent over 20 years at the same organization but rotated through every department—oncology, OR, med-surg, and more. She had the depth to lead in any one of these areas but also the breadth to understand how they intersect.
This combination of deep and wide experience makes someone uniquely positioned to lead systems-level change or innovate in their field. If this is you, consider how you can leverage this balance to position yourself as an expert and a connector.
Finding Your Growth Edge
Here’s the thing: most of us aren’t perfectly balanced between deep and wide experience, and that’s okay. The key is identifying where your growth edge lies.
Deep experience nurses: Consider exploring areas outside your current specialty or organization. Could a new certification, rotation, or collaborative project broaden your perspective?
Wide experience nurses: Reflect on where you’d like to deepen your skills. What specialty or focus excites you enough to dig in and gain mastery?
When I reflect on my own career, my clinical work in the ER gave me deep expertise in that fast-paced, high-pressure environment. However, my work outside the hospital—studying sociology, earning a doctorate in leadership, and diving into systems design—gave me wide, transdisciplinary experience. Understanding this balance has helped me map out my career growth and make intentional decisions about where to focus my energy.
Why Your Experience Makeup Matters
Your unique balance of deep and wide experience impacts every aspect of your professional life. Here’s how:
Choosing Mentors: A mentor with complementary experience can help you grow in areas where you lack depth or breadth.
Planning Your Next Move: Knowing your strengths and blind spots allows you to identify roles that challenge and excite you.
Crafting Your Professional Narrative: When you know your experience makeup, you can confidently tell a story about your career that highlights your unique strengths.
Uncovering Blind Spots: Being aware of areas where you lack exposure can help you proactively seek opportunities for growth.
Building Your Professional Narrative
If you’re not sure how to weave your deep or wide experience into a compelling story, start here:
Highlight how your experiences have prepared you to solve specific challenges.
Focus on the unique value you bring because of your depth, breadth, or both.
Tie it all together with a clear vision for where you want to go next.
For a step-by-step guide, check out this blog post on crafting your professional narrative.
Your Next Step: Exploring Career Growth Opportunities
Take some time to reflect on your own experience makeup:
Do you lean more toward deep or wide experience?
What opportunities could help you broaden or deepen your expertise?
How can you use your experience to position yourself for the career you want?
Consider journaling about these questions or discussing them with a trusted mentor or colleague. Growth doesn’t have to mean a drastic career change—it might look like volunteering for a cross-disciplinary committee, attending a workshop outside your specialty, or mentoring someone with a different background.
Embrace Your Unique Nursing Career Path
No two nursing careers are alike, and that’s what makes this profession so rich. Whether your experience is deep, wide, or somewhere in between, you have a unique perspective and valuable skills to offer.
Use this framework to guide your decisions, share your story, and intentionally shape the career you want. And if you’re ready to explore these ideas further, let’s connect. Share this post with a fellow nurse or send me a message—I’d love to hear your thoughts and help you navigate your next steps.
Use this framework to guide your decisions, share your story, and intentionally shape the career you want. And if you’re ready to explore these ideas further, let’s connect.
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Because every nursing career tells a story—and yours deserves to be told well.
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