Making career transitions easier

Candice Cain, P-C Click here to return to www.apctoday.com  It was my first day on the job with a neurosurgical practice. There I was on the neurosurgical wing standing at the nurse’s station wondering where to start. My first task for the day assigned by my physician at the hospital was, “Go round on the patients and write me some orders.” Sure, I had rounded before. Sure, I had written orders before—but, not like these. A partial description of my patient list included: a post-op Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion at L4-5, L5-S1; a post-op Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion at L5-S1; a post-op Aneurysm clipping; and a Subdural Hematoma status post-burr holes. What a difference that first day would have been if I had been able to precept with a peer in Neuro before I started my new position, I thought. Let me give you another scenario to consider. In our profession, it is not uncommon to reach a point in our careers where we decide to switch from the specialty we have been practicing to a new specialty. We may have become bored with the repetition in what we are doing and want a new challenge, or need to adapt to changes in our lives that requires a less strenuous position, such as switching from the demands of orthopedic surgery to geriatrics. How many of you have started a new job, only to hear your inner voice saying, “This just isn’t what I thought it would be.”? Wouldn’t it have been beneficial to be in that facility with that physician for a several days rather than just for a 3-hour interview? What if you could have made a smoother transition by precepting in that specialty, at that facility? You would have gotten a well-rounded idea of what your prospective job would entail, and, if you were offered the job, you would have gained invaluable information on which to base your decision. As a surgical PA, I experienced the challenges of making a career transition first-hand. When I talked to my peers about it, I understood that I was not alone. With that insight, I developed a program for physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) to help them transition into new career specialties. Transitioning from one specialty to another is a wonderful privilege we as clinical practitioners are afforded. But although we are able to be hired without experience in that particular specialty, we often feel that we are not adequately prepared to treat our new patients. Physicians expect that we can apply the knowledge from our respective training programs to meet the challenges of starting a new specialty, regardless of whether we have been practicing for a short time or have been out of school for years. Some physicians may not fully understand that we will need additional training once we join their practice. Unfortunately, there is little opportunity for post-graduate education in assist in making a smoother change of specialty. To answer this need, I designed a program that establishes peer-to-peer preceptorships to enable PAs and NPs to get a thorough exposure to their new specialty, providing them with a working base knowledge on which to further build through experience. If this article revisits some of your own experiences, please visit my Web site at www.clinicalconceptsllc.com email me atccain@clinicalconceptsllc.com or lets blog on APCToday.com.

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Comments

[Nurse Job]

Really iam very thankful to your suggestions to the students who are looking forward to jump into the
nursing field.......

[Candice Cain]

Thank you for your comment on Clinical Concepts. Have you found the same needs within our community of providers?

[Blast my Resume Free]

Thanks, I really appreciate your willingness to help out. I will definitely keep you posted!

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