By 
A career in healthcare is almost always a prospective one, especially if you happen to be a doctor or a nurse. That, however, is no excuse to grow complacent in your current position as well. If it has been a while since you got your last promotion or a significant pay boost, then it is a sign that your career in the medical field is nearing or already has reached stagnancy.
Given that career stagnancy is boring, unproductive and doesn’t help you learn or grow as a professional either, consider the following ideas regarding what you can do to boost your healthcare career beyond its current stage.
Self-Assessment and Prospect Assessment
Follow the simple steps as mentioned next, to find out the best educational/training path to boost your career.
- Do a self-assessment to find out what you are actually good at, even if it is in a slightly different track to your current one
- In healthcare, lives depend on your skills, so choose a field that your skills support, even when another field appeals to you more
- Check prospects of a program before joining; there’s no point in pursuing professional programs unless it adds significant value towards career progression
Master What You are Already Good At
This is the basic principle for bringing about career progression, no matter which profession you are in. For example, MSN or DNP level pediatric nurse practitioner programs are ideal for nurses who love working with children and already have significant experience in pediatric care. Complete one of the two pediatric nurse practitioner programs from Baylor University to become a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). A DNP is very much the highest degree that any nursing professional can aspire to, which also opens up autonomous practice opportunities in multiple states.
Not to mention the fact that DNPs, on average, earn more than $102,000 year, with the more experienced professionals easily crossing the $125,000/year mark as well.
Work and Study Simultaneously
Unlike most other professionals, direct healthcare workers do not have the luxury to work from home, unfortunately, but you can study from home nonetheless. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, online education was the best option for professionals to simultaneously gather experience and advanced training at the same time. Right now, it’s the only choice and you should be making good use of it.
To get a clearer understanding of how online education can help in moving one’s healthcare career ahead faster and better than offline, traditional courses ever could, go through the following points.
- Online degree courses from accredited universities make holding a job and pursuing higher career aspirations, a practical possibility
- The course fees are usually lower
- No additional time or money is lost in commuting and accommodation
- Having a job makes it easier to pay off an education loan, as compared to going into debt and taking time off work simultaneously
- A healthcare professional gains both experience from the job, as well as the higher qualifications necessary to make career progress
- As of now, most reputed, offline healthcare institutions are not open to admitting new students
- Even the traditional universities who never had online study portals are starting to realize its importance and significance
Get the Spotlight
To make career progression in a field like healthcare, you don’t necessarily need to get the spotlight on yourself. The need for nurses, doctors, and various assistive medical care personnel are so great right now, that it is a taxing but highly rewarding field for anybody with a good grasp over their professional skills.
However, if you want that extra bit of boost to propel your career faster and further beyond that of the others, consider the following time-tested tips.
- Take your own initiatives to improve patient care, if and when the opportunity presents itself
- Instead of shying away from responsibilities, welcome them as they are by all means opportunities as well
- If a leadership position is up for grabs, don’t hesitate to apply
The principle idea here is to constantly break your comfort zones and step out of any box that you may have placed yourself into. This brings the spotlight to you and people in the right places remember who stepped up when no one was willing to. Given how dangerous the situation is right now though, don’t forget to take all the necessary precautions, if stepping up involves dealing with the pandemic.
Networking is Important in Healthcare as Well
The medical field has its share of humanitarian responsibilities, but in its current state, it’s also very much one of the biggest industries in the United States. This is important to remember, given the fact that just like business, it would be difficult for any healthcare professional to get ahead in their career, without at last some level of professional networking. Take a brief look through the following points to understand how networking quite relevant in boosting your healthcare career.
- Use social media to your advantage and stay connected and subscribed to the job portals, fellow workers, higher-ups, potential employers, etc.
- Social media platforms with maximum professional relevance are LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Facebook, Twitter
- While completing your higher education, network with fellow students and the faculty; they are often the most important professional connections that people make
- Be cooperative at your place of work and maintain a good network and reputation among everyone
- The patients you treat are your biggest professional testaments; sometimes they can also turn out to be an excellent professional connection
Keep in mind that it is better to make provisions for helping your career get ahead before it actually reaches stagnancy. Once you do reach a saturation point in your healthcare career, getting the education and training you require to move ahead will keep you at the same point for the duration of the program as well. Think ahead and start studying to get past your future career stagnation point now to make the whole thing seamless.
Comments