Steps to Success
Advice from the experts on keeping your career on track
 
What do you think?
Email us at
editor@
nurseweek.com		    
     
     
have your cake and a job, too
    
     
     

Getting Out of a Career Rut

Do you feel stuck in your career? Having trouble finding a job you like? Sandy Anderson, PhD, MBA, author of Women in Career & Life Transitions (Jist, 1999) urges you to put your worries and concerns in writing and brainstorm your options. “Usually, we stay in limbo because we don’t have a career goal with realistic milestones that will enable us to achieve it,” Anderson said.

Use these questions to stimulate your brainstorming:

What would be your ideal job or career?

What steps—no matter how small—can you take to achieve it?

How can you take steps to overcome obstacles?

Talk to people who have been through what you’re going through. How did they manage?

If you feel stuck, is it possible to redirect your energies in your current position toward pursuing a position that’s more desirable without leaving your employer?

Step outside the situation and imagine that a friend is in your situation. How would you help your friend? What kind of advice would you offer? How can you begin to take your own advice?

~ Megan Flaherty
   

By Megan Flaherty
Photo: Corbis Images
August 19, 1999

Everyone follows a different route to career success. Whether you’re on a straight or winding road—or moving at a speedy or cautious pace—you should be watching for obstacles that could throw you off track.

Career experts say there’s no universal road map for avoiding professional pitfalls, but there are some good career habits you can develop that will help make the road a little smoother.

Examine your career

Health professionals who take the time to periodically evaluate their careers—even when they’re happy with them—are most likely to stay on course, experts say. “Career examination should be an ongoing process,” said Zardoya Eagles, RN, a part-time labor and delivery nurse in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and author of The Nurse’s Career Guide: Discovering New Horizons in Health Care. “You should constantly assess your level of satisfaction with your job and define what you like about it and what you don’t,” Eagles said. She recommends that health professionals discuss their careers with supportive peers, a career mentor, family, or friends at least once a year.

“People tend to end up in ruts because they’re happy now, but they’re not looking ahead,” said Susan Odegaard Turner, PhD, MN, RN, president and CEO of Turner Healthcare Associates Inc. in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and author of The Nurse’s Guide to Managed Care. “Assess your options regularly and keep your contacts current,” she said. “Even if you have no interest in moving, you should be aware of what your options are.”

Get involved

The day-to-day actions health professionals take to keep their careers moving forward are just as important as periodic self-examinations, experts say. Health professionals who make themselves visible inside and outside their workplaces are off to a good start. “A lot of health professionals get in the routine of only associating with people in their department or specialty. This gives them a very narrow view of what’s happening out there,” said Donna Cardillo, RN, a career consultant and president of Cardillo & Associates Professional Development Seminars in Wall, N.J. “People have to get themselves out there and get in the habit of networking.”

Career fairs are a great place for gathering information about the latest employment trends, she said. “A lot of people think career fairs are just for people who are changing jobs. In fact, they’re about ongoing career management, making contacts, and keeping abreast of what’s going on,” Cardillo said. In addition, every healthcare professional should have a business card, even if it’s not offered through work, she said. “It’s your basic calling card and should include your name and contact information,” she said. “This is how people network in the 21st century.”

Expand your mind

Health professionals who commit to learning—from developing new clinical skills to becoming more competent with computers—will have more career choices, experts say. All health professionals should find ways to expand the scope of their skills, said Laura Mahlmeister, PhD, RN, owner of the consulting firm Mahlmeister & Associates in San Francisco. For example, nurses should volunteer for float pools or cross-train for affiliated units. “You only stretch your brain when you go to a new environment,” Mahlmeister said. A professional with a wide range of skills is more likely to find another job within his or her healthcare system during periods of downsizing than a professional with a narrow repertoire, she said.

Health professionals who become savvy with computers and the Internet will also give their careers a boost, Mahlmeister said. You can research almost any topic, look for a job, circulate your résumé, or join professional chat groups on the Internet. Generally, health professionals shouldn’t limit their learning to continuing education courses and bedside experiences, Mahlmeister said. “We are all adults in a society where lifelong learning is essential,” she said. Health professionals should consider attaining higher degrees that will add to their value in the workplace or fulfill their personal aspirations, she said.

Speak up

A tumultuous healthcare industry means health professionals have to work harder to keep their careers on track, experts say. “It really feels out of control for most nurses,” Eagles said. “Nurses are facing some very complex challenges in being able to provide safe care and feel good about the kind of care they’re providing.”

A backlash against some of the most severe changes in the healthcare system will likely occur, Eagles said. In the meantime, health professionals should speak up, she said. “In hospitals and outpatient clinic settings it’s almost like surfing: You grab on and hold on for dear life. What it comes down to is people really being committed to making their needs and the needs of their patients heard.”

Mahlmeister agrees that patient advocacy is a skill that’s more important than ever. “To effectively advocate for patients, nurses need to learn to communicate and negotiate, and to manipulate the system for the patient’s needs,” she said. Nurses who know how to resolve conflicts and compromise will serve their patients and themselves best, Mahlmeister said.