So I have been spending a lot of time evaluating my current circumstances. Exactly why is it that I have not secured a somewhat full-time job yet. Let’s evaluate together, shall we?
Four Questions About Career Stall…
Is it my lack of education?
Decidedly no. I received my Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in 2009. As this is a fairly new terminal degree in nursing, it is seen as an up-and-coming sought after credential.
Is it my lack of experience?
I don’t think so, but it could depend. I have lots of experience:
- By nursing job classifications: bedside nurse (albeit a long time ago), clinic nurse, inservice educator, nurse manager, nursing education director, head nurse, nursing administrator, and nurse entrepreneur;
- By specialties: gerontology, medical-surgical care, human resources, education, administration, business.
Why does it depend? Well, in today’s online job market, posted listings ask for very specific experience. If you don’t have the listed experience, you are immediately culled from the herd. But what about “transferable” knowledge and experience – that knowledge and experience that cross jobs or positions? My years of working with national accreditation groups to ensure quality continuing education should be able to transfer to working with other types of accreditation or standards. My years as an administrator and small business owner should transfer to other roles. So, in other words, my grey matter may be jam-packed with all this delicious knowledge, and my resume may be pages long with all the remarkable work I have done, but…if the intelligent sourcing agents in the job sites do not pick up that exact data byte that matches the required experience list – then sadly, yes, it just might be my lack of experience.
Is it my…GASP…age?
As much as I do not want to say so, I really do believe that ageism is a huge problem. And this really get’s my goat (now isn’t that an old lady term)! I have a good 7-10 years of productive work in me. I challenge any company to get the equivalent work commitment from a millennial. Business Insider reports that “about a quarter (26%) of millennials surveyed said that workers should only be expected to stay in a job a year or less before looking for a new position. Meanwhile, 41% of Baby Boomers believe workers should stay with an employer at least five years before looking for a new job. Only 13% of millennials agree with their more senior counterparts.”
Is it my motivation level?
Hmm… could be. Maybe the problem is me. Maybe I don’t really want to get any of those jobs. My husband and I have had many a conversation about how modern healthcare disappoints us. It is very disheartening to see a beloved profession morph into something unrecognizable. So maybe that is it… I am my own worst enemy. The modern healthcare arena is just not what I signed up for. It has lost its heart.
An odd thing happened to me the other night. I have to preface this with a seemingly unrelated anecdote. So here goes…
Getting On…Getting Through
Getting On…
Have you had a chance to watch HBO’s Getting On series? It isn’t for everyone. Some will find it odd, others quirky, and still others disturbing. It reminds me of a British-style comedy and I wonder if this is an Americanized version of a British series (think The Office). Anyway, it revolves around a geriatric wing of a hospital. The setting is stark – very antiseptic, not homey at all. There is even a ward for heaven’s sake! The quirky cast of characters include a nursing manager determined to implement every new patient satisfaction gimmick; a harried risk manager (hysterical) who can spout out every buzz word known to modern healthcare management; a medical director bent on conducting pharmaceutical industry-supported research; a grim nurse team leader who vacillates between being likable and pitied; and a tender–hearted and endlessly exhausted LPN. The show is subtly hilarious and addicting. But the scenes between the nurses and the patients are the ones that capture me. The nurse who sits down next to the patient just to hold her hand… the nurse who lovingly brushes the hair of the recently deceased woman, prior to the family entering… the nurse kindly and patiently helping an ornery woman with her bath…the nurse who does a beauty makeover complete with flowing wig and a bindi for a terminal cancer patient… the nurse who sticks around to help a colleague, even after a long and exhausting shift. These scenes stay with me. These scenes show heart – against all odds.
So it really came as no surprise that after a brief 3-episode binge of the series, I had an odd dream. Well, dream may not really be accurate.
Getting Through…
You know the time when you are half-awake, half-asleep…that semi-consciousness just before you really wake in the morning? It happened then. I remember realizing that my husband was already up and getting ready for work. But I fell back into that dream-like state. I experienced a remarkable reverie where I remembered all of those special patients that I had cared for during my career – the ones who made a difference to me, and the ones for which, I believe, I made a difference.
- I remembered the beautiful elderly woman that I had the privilege of spending many hours with, who had died unexpectedly. I had to call the family with the sad news. I cried so much the daughter asked if I was OK.
- I remembered the woman who suffered from aphasia after a stroke and only spoke gibberish, but blurted out “I will miss you” when I told her I was changing jobs.
- I remembered the cantankerous old farmer with the mouth of a salty sailor who became my favorite of all favorites.
- I remembered those moments that refreshed my love of the nursing career when I was experiencing that all-common burnout.
- I then started to remember those extraordinary nursing students, colleagues, and business associates I had the privilege and pleasure (you know who you are!) to work with.
It was just a wonderfully lovely way to awaken! My whole professional career flashing before my eyes – wow. After that initial sense of awe and wonder, I admit to wondering if I would die that day. I mean, come on…wouldn’t you wonder?
Getting over…
But I did not die. Something else did. I realized suddenly that I was “done”. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt and all those other tired and trite clichés. I was saying goodbye to my profession. I do not want to return to nursing work. My husband understands, I think he is there as well. He encourages me to explore other options. This does not mean that I no longer consider myself a nurse, after all, nurses don’t retire…they just lose their patience (get it? huh? huh?)
I shared my experience with a girlfriend, while walking. I told her I had experienced an epiphany. She laughed and reminded me what the day was – January 6 – the day Christians celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. Well, he does work in mysterious ways…
All writer positions these days must have an “MD, PhD, or PharmD” and in that exact order. That is the mantra by ALL medical communications companies these days. MS doesn’t cut it any more than my no degree at all doesn’t cut it. Except I don’t have to pay back boatloads of student loans.
Well, since I have no degree whatsoever and “only” real-life experience and a boat-load of stuff published in clinical peer-reviewed journals, this is an extremely sensitive subject for me as well. Nevermind the fact that I am a MUCH BETTER WRITER than all of those I now edit who have doctorates but are SUCKY writers. My professional life now is making silk purses out of sow’s ears.”
I can relate. I’m “immediately culled” from senior management (scientific director) positions because I only have an MS and not a PharmD or PhD. I’ve still held two of those positions before because of therapeutic experience, but it took me SEVEN MONTHS and 75 JOB APPLICATIONS to land the job I just got (arguably, I’m also picky, won’t relocate, and have “deal-breaker” requirements, so I’m sure that doesn’t help). I can still get those jobs, but it’s taking me longer to get them than it did in the past. You can do it… it just requires a monumental amount of patience (and some flexibility, which I have less and less and less of as I get older and crankier).