Moving Your Career In Care Into A Different Direction
If you’re studying for a career in care, or you’ve been working within your chosen field for a while now; you’ll understand how much hard work and dedication is involved. Sometimes you may find that elements of your role are more challenging than others, and sometimes you might feel you aren’t challenged enough.
The great thing about the care services is the scope you have to grow and develop in your career, and the array of options you’ll have with the right skills and qualifications. There are a plethora of areas and levels you can enter your future in caring for others, depending on your education and experience. With a new year here you might feel that it’s the right time to push forward in your career, or perhaps try another area that you’ve long been tempted by.
January is a great time to work out what action you’ll need to take to get yourself where you want to be this time next year. Whether it’s training and education, funding and finance, or your time management that you’ll need to assess; start writing a month by month plan that you feel you can achieve. Breaking up your main aim into smaller, manageable goals will ensure that you don’t feel too overwhelmed or put off by what’s entailed. You’ll also feel a great sense of achievement after completing each part of your placement, course, or training, which will give you a boost to tackle the next part of the process.
The following are some ideas for those looking at options in a career in care, and some advice on how to achieve job satisfaction and motivation for the year ahead.
Nursing
As previously mentioned, there are an array of options and entry levels with a career in care, and nursing is an excellent example of this. Whether you’re part of a small doctors surgery, part of the emergency team in a hospital, or work with the vulnerable in a care home, each job brings its own challenges and rewards. You’ll need to consider where you feel your skills can shine the most, or if you feel that you’re ready to take on the next level in your current place of work.
If you’re currently working as an RN and feel like you’re ready to take on more responsibilities and want to broaden your knowledge in your chosen field, it’s worth looking into online RN to MSN programs so that you can study and work at the same time. You’ll need to be prepared to utilize much of your free time to train, study, and gain the experience needed to qualify for your MSN, but the rewards will be worth it.
The qualification could take your career across the country, or open up new opportunities in your current place of work that you weren’t able to take on before. It’s worth working out how to best use your time, and if getting onto an MSN program is a feasible option for your current lifestyle and abilities. It might be worth talking to a senior member of staff, who you trust, and discussing their thoughts on your career and development in nursing.
Perhaps it’s not just about your qualifications or moving up the career ladder in your hospital or surgery;. Perhaps it’s more about the fact that you feel ready for a change of pace to better suit your lifestyle. If you feel that your hours need to be steady or reduced due to childcare, personal health and wellbeing, or any other reason, it’s worth looking into how you can transfer your qualifications to move into something slightly different.
You might head towards a care facility for the elderly, vulnerable, or disabled after coming out of a hectic life in the emergency room. You’ll find life in care homes are based around a strict routine, which may suit you better than the unpredictability of A & E. You’ll also be more likely to be able to keep to your set weekly hours, making it easier to organize family and life outside of work.
It might the opposite of slowing down and finding a routine that you’re after. It could be that you feel ready to take on the trials and challenges you’ll face in a busier and more chaotic environment. You could look into going overseas to help with care and giving aid to people in poverty-stricken or war-torn countries. There are an array of programs out there that are seeking qualified nurse to come and help with their charity and effort, so do a little research and think about what you can offer and do to help. Whatever you choose to do. It’ll be for the right reasons and give you a boost to get up each day and care for people to the best of your ability.
Psychology
As well as a fascination with the human mind, those who study and train in psychology often head into a career in caring for those who need help regarding their mental health, wellbeing, and rehabilitation. If you have an education and qualifications in psychology, you could look into counselling in a variety of settings, like schools, prisons, hospitals, and recovery clinics. You could also specialize in social care, and have a better understanding of people’s experience by meeting them, before assisting them and guiding them through challenging times in their life.
The need to help and care for others will never leave you, so you can utilize your thorough knowledge of psychology to choose a career path and develop further as you gain valuable experience.
With even more training and dedication, qualifications in psychology can lead you towards a doctoral degree, where you’ll open yourself up to all sorts of opportunities and career development. Whatever area of care you go into, you’ll want to ensure that you’re improving and bettering people’s lives, so don’t be fearful of looking into new things and pushing for more responsibilities and challenges in the future.
