5 Ways to get the Most Fulfillment out of your Health Care Career

 

According to one article about the results of a job satisfaction survey, physician was ranked number one in job satisfaction. The process of becoming a physician is a long, arduous and expensive one, but there are many careers within the health care field that people describe as personally fulfilling. For most people, the criteria for personal fulfillment in a career is the feeling that they are making a positive contribution by helping people. Careers in the health care field certainly fit that criteria, but even after choosing a career with a high potential for job satisfaction, there are a few things you can do to make your work even more personally fulfilling.

Define Value

One of the reasons we work is for money, but money is really just a symbol of value rather than what we actually value. Separating the real value of your daily professional interactions with other people from monetary considerations can increase your appreciation of those interactions. An article in the Harvard Business Review points out that appreciation increases team job performance, while devaluation decreases it.

Charge Your Battery

People in the health care field give of themselves. Whether that giving takes the form of deep listening to a patient’s concerns, providing physical therapy, administering medications, or preparing a customized nutrition plan, it requires positive energy. That’s why it is so important to participate in activities that re-energize. Communing with nature, enjoying music and spending time with supportive friends are a few ways to keep your battery charged.

Co-Create Your Work Environment

Many people complain that their work environments aren’t conducive to professional growth. Work environments are the sum total of the energies and contributions of everyone in them. Rather than viewing an environment from a passive perspective, begin viewing it as a work of art in progress, and thinking about what you can add to it to make it more beautiful. Together, we are all responsible for creating the quality of our own work environments.

Utilize Resources

Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology Arnold Bakker makes the point that one of the greatest changes employees can make to increase their job satisfaction is utilizing resources to the fullest. One of the most important workplace resources are co-workers who can give valuable support and feedback necessary for personal and professional growth. According to Bakker “Job resources, such as opportunities for development and growth; social support; skill variety; and performance feedback, are the most important predictors of both job satisfaction and employee work engagement.”

Know Yourself

When investigating a career in the healthcare field, there are a few universities, like Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, that specialize in healthcare education. While all careers in the health care field are financially lucrative, there is one question everyone should ask themselves before choosing one of the many career paths available in the field. That question is “What is it that I would most enjoy doing if money were not a consideration?” People who choose the same kind of career that they would choose if they were serving as a volunteer are those who experience the highest degree of personal fulfillment in their work.

Personal fulfillment in our work isn’t something that is found, but rather, something that must be created. Knowing what our gifts are and what we most value and enjoy allows us to utilize our resources in order to share those gifts and values with others. Taking full advantage of opportunities to develop the necessary skills and confidence to share them in ways that provide the most healthful benefits is the first, and most important, step towards achieving fulfillment in your healthcare career.