Transitioning from School to Work

You’ve just started your new job and are thrilled to finally fully utilize what you learned in school!  You received some orientation and, although it was overwhelming, you’re pretty confident that you’ll get the hang of the daily work flow.  A couple more weeks have passed and an uneasy feeling is starting to creep in.  Evaluations, documentations and patient treatments are coming at you faster than you can keep up.  You tell yourself that you will get this and you will be able to catch up.  Not wanting to bring negative attention to yourself, you tell your supervisor only a part of what you need help with.  Soon, you start to sink even more and now, your supervisor is asking you what is happening.

The scenario above may be a little extreme but the situation is something that could and does happen quite often with new graduates.  It’s understandable, you don’t want anyone to cast doubt on your abilities but the reality is that you still have some learning to do before you can fly on your own. Working with new graduates, I hear some whoppers that make my head spin.  For example, a therapist needed to get a wheelchair for a patient, but he wasn’t sure where to locate these.  So, he took over an hour looking for it versus stopping to ask someone for help.  I asked him, “At any point, did you think that maybe this was taking too much time?  For me, it would have been at ten minutes.”  His response to the question:  “I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time.”  So we had a discussion about how everyone’s time has now been impacted, starting with the patient that waited for an hour, the other patients that he had to push back and his co-workers that had to shuffle their times as well.  Everyone is impacted when you refuse to do the right thing because of pride and fear.

Don’t take this as a way of me making fun or being mean, just the opposite.  I want you to know that nobody is expecting you to be a rock star when you start a new job.  They do, however, expect you to ask for help when needed, ask questions and to SLOOOOOW down.  Patient care isn’t a race to the finish line so make sure you are crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s.  Double check your work, think ahead, use common sense and always, always, when in doubt, ASK!  Make sure to observe your surroundings, too, and get to know your unit dynamics.  When you pay attention to what is going on, you’ll start to learn the culture as well as pick up on nuances that may be important to your adjustment.  Also, seek out a mentor outside of your supervisor. Find someone who has been there for quite some time and seems to be respected by everyone.  The more of a work support system you can build, the better off you will be. 

Finally, be brave!  Although you have more to learn, this doesn’t mean that you came out of school empty-handed.  You graduated, so you must know something about therapy to be able to take care of patients. Don’t be overly critical of yourself!  Take every situation, good or bad, as a learning opportunity for you and for others.  Know your limitations but also know your strengths as well.  Starting your first job can be a whirlwind experience but it’s also a huge first step towards the rest of your career!

Sun Hui (Sunny) Snook graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Truman State University and received a Master’s in Human Services from Bellevue University. She has been in the healthcare staffing field for 11 years, first working with nurses before moving to a nationwide work strategies consultant where her key responsibilities were to coach staffers and hospital managers on effective staffing. In 2009, Sunny started with Aureus Medical as an Account Manager in the Rehab Therapy division, working with both clients and prospective employees. In 2011, she moved to Student Outreach Coordinator. Sunny was named the 2011 Employee of the Year for C&A Industries, the parent company of Aureus Medical Group. Prior to working in healthcare staffing, she served as an addictions therapist and residential treatment coordinator for five years.

Sunny Snook / 800.456.5857 ext 6578 / ssnook@aureusmedical.com / Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter

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