This is what often happens when doctors are not sure what to do in their career:
Presenting complaint = feeling stuck/unsure what to do in career
Management plan = switch specialties, leave clinical medicine, or stay frustrated and demotivated
If you think about a medical history, you wouldn’t jump straight from the presenting complaint to the management plan, would you?
Because you would potentially be leaving out a whole load of important stuff in the middle.
And the ultimate aim of the management plan is to achieve the optimal outcome for your patient.
That’s why you learn the process – and it works a lot better than having a bit of a stab in the dark, which risks a suboptimal outcome.
Your career is no different, yet often we leave out the middle bit.
A much better approach is to start with a good understanding of yourself and your situation.
And then you’ve got a framework upon which to build your decision-making, so you can move forward in your career with confidence.
There’s a knack to that second part too but, for the purposes of this article, I’m going to give a brief overview of the self-awareness part. It’s a process, but here are some things to ponder to get you started:
HPC
What’s going on currently? What are the disconnects? Equally important to identify the connects – when do you feel motivated and engaged at work? Specifically what are you doing during those times?
PMH
A career history is helpful. Depending on where you’re at in your career, this may be short or long. But, even if you’ve only recently qualified, the chances are that you’re worked other roles along the way as you trained to become a doctor – include those as well – widen your search for clues. Rate any of your individual experiences on a scale of 1-10 for satisfaction. What is contributing to your individual scores?
SH/FH/ROS
Your work is, of course, only one aspect of your life and, even if you’re the best compartmentaliser in the world, spill over happens. What else is important to you? What’s going on in the other parts of your life? How is work affecting this, and vice versa? What are you doing just for you?
Examination and investigations
What is your go-to behavioural style?
We’re all different. Thank goodness, because the world would be a very boring place if we were all the same. Some people are more outgoing than others, some are more focused on tasks, whereas others really thrive being around people. Some work at a naturally slower pace than others, some love detail, others hate detail - the bigger picture is what does it for them. Some love holding court, others recoup their energy with some time out on their own.
Think of a cardiac arrest situation at work – do you love the fast pace, the quick decision-making, taking charge, the big picture, always keeping the ultimate desired outcome at the forefront of your mind? Or do you find it frankly stressful – ideally you just want it all to slow down?
Think of a situation whereby you need to talk to a relative about advanced care for your patient – do you love the opportunity to take this conversation at a gentle, supportive pace, or do you find yourself avoiding these conversations as far as possible – maybe preferring to get on with more of the practical stuff?
We can all adapt out natural style to the situation, you will no doubt have been doing this intuitively but, over time, it can be quite exhausting when you are constantly having to flex to fit your work environment, and it is incredibly useful to be very clear on your preference when making career choices.
DISC behavioural profiling is a fantastic tool to provide more clarity around this.
What are your strengths?
So often we are practised in focusing on our weak areas (we all have them) but we can struggle a bit when it comes to strengths. Often, when I talk to doctors about their strengths, I see a puzzled expression, and then a blank stare.
The thing is, you will have many strengths - you may not recognise them because you use them so intuitively and/or make the assumption that something that comes easily to you will also come easily to others (which is not the case). And some of your strengths you will enjoy using more than others. There are various ways to explore your strengths but a good starting point is to ask people that you trust, at least 5 if possible, what they would describe as your top 3 strengths. They don’t all have to be from work – a spectrum of family, friends and work colleagues will give you a broad view. There are also some free starter strengths profiles online and the DISC profile mentioned above likewise provides a good foundation for understanding your strengths.
How much opportunity is there in your current role to use your strengths? How could you create more opportunities? Using your strengths doesn’t have to be confined to work, of course – how can you use your strengths outside of work?
Essentially, developing your strengths is going to create the biggest impact – at work and at home, and for you and all around you. Yes, we may all need to shore up the odd weakness along the way, but it is by playing to your strengths that you will truly thrive. And the first step is to recognise them; it’s likely that you will be using some of your strengths so naturally and intuitively that you don’t recognise them for what they are – potential super powers!
What drives you?
Otherwise known as values. Your values reflect what is really important to you; they are your ultimate drivers and motivators. Just to put this into context, I’m talking about things such as honesty, connection, compassion, adventure – they’re not what you have, but what is at the core of you. You will have many values, but some will resonate very deeply with you, and these reflect your core values.
Knowing your core values (& what they mean to you personally – respect, for example, may hold a different meaning from one person to the next) is hugely beneficial. Essentially, when your values are being met, and you’re living in alignment with them, you feel emotions such as fulfilment, contentment, ease and flow. When your values are not being met, you can experience boredom, frustration, resentment, and there can be a sense of disconnect.
Once you know your values, you have a point of reference for all decisions – will this meet my values and, if not, is there a way that I can factor them in?
Again, some starting points:
Ask yourself what is really important to you in life. Then dig deeper, what does that give you a sense of? For example, your first answer may be family – what does family give you? Fun, love, connection, peace, contentment, for example – it will be different for everyone and there is no right or wrong.
Another helpful thing to do is to think back to a time when you felt fully engaged and motivated at work – what was it that gave you that sense of engagement/motivation? On the flip side, think of a time when you felt a great sense of disconnect (it doesn’t have to be a scenario involving you personally) – it’s likely that an underlying value was being compromised - what was it?
So, these are some things to get you started. It is so important to build up your self-awareness and see you as you, rather than just as you the doctor.
This is regardless of where you’re at in your career and whether you’re thinking of staying in or leaving clinical practice. It is how you can start the process of making informed choices, rather than trying to squeeze yourself into a job description.
Essentially, there’s a whole load of useful stuff available to guide your management plan and ultimate outcome, but you need to look for it – starting with one of the many skills you will have honed in your role as a doctor: curiosity!