Most people have a career at some point during their lives, whether they like what they do or not. To fully immerse yourself within your career and feel satisfied, it’s important that you get the best from yourself and that you produce high-quality work at every stage of your career. Then, if you’re struggling to really connect to your career and develop as a person, here’s what you can do to get the best from yourself if you work in healthcare.
Keep Learning
Instead of sticking to what you know and falling back on the knowledge that you gained many years ago, it’s important to understand that you do not know everything, and you should keep up a passion for learning until you retire. This will enable you to continue to modernize your knowledge and to understand the latest developments in medicine and healthcare as they happen. Then, instead of settling for your Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees before deciding not to take your education any further, you should consider taking a DNP degree that can prepare you for leadership positions and ensure that you are at the top of your game for a long time to come.
However, even if you are tired of more formal ways of learning, there are other ways to continue to educate yourself. For instance, you may decide to take out a subscription to medical journals and magazines, or you might decide to take online tutorials and courses that you can learn from without having to complete assignments or take examinations. This will ensure that you carry on refreshing your mind as you go through your medical career.
Maintain a Work/Life Balance
However, even if you adore your work and if your work is incredibly important to you, it is no secret that the medical industry can put a lot of demands on its employees and that this can lead to burnout. If you are constantly burnt out, this will mean that you are unable to work to the best of your ability and that you might start to feel indifference toward your work or even a reluctance to go to work. Then, instead of allowing this burnout to constantly eat you up inside and eventually lead to you quitting your career in the healthcare industry, you should instead try to maintain a great work/life balance and always keep some time set aside for yourself. For instance, you should look around for healthcare positions that have regular hours or shorter shifts if you are struggling with working long hours, and you should consider making the most of your time off by blocking notifications on your phone unless in the case of an emergency. This will then ensure that you have the time that you need to recharge and spend time with your family before returning to work feeling raring to go the next day.
Speak to Your Employer
To get the best out of yourself during your time working in healthcare, it is also paramount that you speak to your employer about your needs. Employers have a duty to their employees, especially in terms of accessibility. Then, if you are struggling with a certain element of your job, if you have certain accessibility needs, such as if you are disabled, or if you need extra support, for instance, if you are neurodivergent, you should discuss with your employer the options that they may be able to explore to help you. This will then ensure that you can work within an environment that can allow you to produce your best work and thrive as an individual.
You should also speak to your employer about any goals that you have. You may feel as if you are being blocked from achieving what you want. However, by discussing where you want to go with your employer, you will be ensuring that you do not remain stagnant for long. This is because your employer will be able to tell you the steps that you need to take to reach your goal. For instance, you may have to learn a new skill or gain leadership experience. By doing this, you will know exactly what you need to do to succeed and which areas you need to work on. Not only this, but simply telling your employer how you want to progress can help you as this will ensure that you are at the forefront of their mind when they next think about promotions and switching your department up. Annual appraisals can be the best time to discuss this.
Stay Focused and Stop Procrastinating
Once you have been working within the same job in the healthcare industry for a while, you may soon tire of it and stop putting as much energy and enthusiasm into it as you once did. However, not only can this negatively impact the patients who are in your care, but it can also stop you from progressing and getting the best out of yourself. Then, instead of procrastinating, you should try to remain focused at all times and try to pull off the best work possible as often as you can. This will ensure that you are more likely to be next in line for a promotion and will even allow you to enjoy your work more and work to higher standards. Then, to stay focused, you should think about the reasons why you decided to take up the healthcare career in question, such as wanting to help people, and you should keep this in mind when you are going about your daily duties.
Use Tools to Help You
There are many different tools that can help you throughout your career in the medical industry. For instance, nurses might choose to use scheduling software to ensure that they never leave a patient without the care that they need, and this can be particularly useful for home nurses and nursing managers. Then, you are never alone in your nursing or healthcare career when you have tech at your fingertips.
Look for Support
The healthcare industry can be overwhelming to many, especially to those who have only just started out. You may encounter a lot of emotional triggers, such as severe illness and death every day, and this may have an impact on your mental health. Not only this, but slow career progression may get you down and you may have no idea of how you can move forward. Then, if this is the case, you should look for support not only from your friends and family, but also from colleagues and possibly, a mentor. They can then help you to bring out the best in yourself by offering you encouragement and feedback. They will be able to help you to work out your next steps at all times and will be there for you when things go wrong at work. This can then ensure that you maintain your energy and passion for work and that you can remain determined enough to bring out the best in yourself.
Find a Position That You Are Passionate About
However, the top way that you can bring out the best in yourself when you are working in the healthcare industry is to find a position that you are passionate about. Instead of believing that any old position in the medical industry is good enough for you and will make you happy, you should look around for a position that fulfills you and suits all your needs. For instance, you may decide to become a nurse as this will allow you to connect with families and help those who are suffering. However, you might consider becoming an anaesthesiologist if you are interested in science and want to play an active part in operations and surgeries.
Aim High
To bring out the best in yourself in your healthcare career, you should also aim high. Rather than settling in your current role, you should always be pushing and striving toward your goals. This will then help you to perform better and ensure that you always remain focused. Luckily, there are many different progression opportunities within the healthcare industry, such as working up to be a hospital manager or a leader in nursing. Not only this, but many of these progression opportunities simply need you to get the right qualifications and to work your way up the company that you currently work for to succeed.
Look After Yourself
However, when you are working within the nursing industry, you need to look after yourself as many healthcare jobs, such as those of nurses and surgeons, are incredibly demanding. Then, you should make sure that you get enough sleep, eat a healthy, balanced diet, and that you rest when your body needs it. You should also try meditation and even yoga if you are starting to feel stressed and overwhelmed as this can help you to calm down the rush of negative thoughts in your mind.
