Healthcare Career Transition Tips

Updated on December 18, 2019

It can be tricky to navigate a career transition successfully. If you are considering entering a new field or leaving your current job – or if you are concerned about your current position’s stability – here are some useful tips from healthcare career experts to help you make a smooth transition.

Plan Ahead 

Given how volatile the healthcare industry is, it is important to always be prepared for change. Always have your resume updated and ready to go. Read here knowledge you need to craft your own resume. Stay current on the emerging opportunities both outside and inside your workplace. Keep track of all of the transferable skills that you have to offer. 

Do Your Research 

Find out what it would take for you to become qualified for the job that you desire. You might need to work in a less-than-ideal position first or go back to school to be able to achieve your goal. Weigh all of the rewards and sacrifices that are involved. 

Turn Around Setbacks 

A layoff might motivate you to reexamine what your career goals are for the first time in many years. Don’t hesitate to ask for help while you are in transition from family, friends, former colleagues, a career coach, or outsourcing firms. 

Look at the Big Picture 

Experts say that it is important for health professionals to consider how their working lives are connected to other aspects of their lives, like family commitments, before they make career decisions. Consider what you dislike and like about the current job you have, what your weaknesses and strengths are, and how your work position fits in your life. If this kind of self-examination is not conducted, you risk the risk of making a poor career decision or ending up in the same kind of job you want to leave. 

Look Before You Take The Leap 

If there is a specific field that you are interested in, you might want to try it out first before committing to it full-time. So if you have worked at a hospital for many years but would like to try home care, before you quit your job it’s a good idea to try it out part-time. 

Network 

Successful career navigators and workplace experts all stress how important networking is, try using Linkedin to build your network. Acquaintances from professional associations or former colleagues can refer you to job opening – or perhaps hire you. If you were laid off due to structural changes that are affecting your professional, it can be very valuable to stay in contact with other people who are going through the same or similar experiences. 

Keep All Of Your Options Open 

Experts stress that t is important for health professionals to have a career plan but to also stay flexible in case unexpected opportunities arise. For example, traditionally nurses have considered that their only career path was to progress from staff nurse up to charge nurse and then to head nurse before ultimately becoming director of nursing. However, this paradigm isn’t applicable any longer, with so many more job descriptions and settings to choose from these days.

Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself 

Experts advise that when you are right in the middle of a career transition, make sure you take care of your emotional health. The sense of self-worth for health professionals tends to be associated mainly with their jobs, and that feeling can be damaging during stress times when their careers are in upheaval.

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