I am asked daily from potential travelers and scientists alike – what will make me most successful in the field? What can I do to make my resume stand out? How can I leave my assignment in a good way? Every time, my answer remains: don’t be an expert. Let me explain.
Professionals in the medical industry have the experience necessary to do what it takes to achieve goals. They’re known for their selflessness, willingness to help people and overwhelming understanding toward others. People go into this field because they want to help others. I talk to people daily that often undercut their own value. It’s important to recognize your expertise, but don’t lean on it to make your judgement calls. Your resume should read: John Smith, saving lives, one test at a time.
How often have you leaned on your own personal experience to guide you in an unknown situation? It’s common that we look to our past to represent our decision making for the future. However, along with past experiences come stubbornness, condescension and unwillingness to learn. I myself came into the staffing world with a sales background. I had never thought about staffing prior; my goals had always been centered toward numbers, so I changed my attitude. I have been in many sales roles, highly acclaimed for my determination and ability to achieve beyond what was expected of me. When it came to recruiting, I wasn’t sure how to even appropriately set a goal. So, I decided to change my outlook. I shifted my focus from what I knew and how I could relate, to what I could learn and how I could be better. I achieved a category 5 for my willingness to learn new things (absolutely unheard of by our Executive Director of Training and Development – Liz Hall). That’s when I discovered – being an expert isn’t everything.
When healthcare professionals ask what they can do to be successful, I take careful time to explain just that. When someone comes into a role with prior experience, they often set their own expectations, rather than aligning with what is expected of them. It’s difficult to differentiate, but let me elaborate. When a candidate has experience stepping up and accepting additional duties and roles without a title, it can potentially be harmful to a department where this isn’t needed. There are situations where it’s appropriate to step forward to lead, and there are situations where a leader is already in place. Asserting yourself into a role can come off as contemptuous, challenging or nitpicking.
Pride can be another tough area. Being a prideful person myself, sometimes, it is difficult for me to receive negative feedback. But feedback should be just that, something that you learn from, that corrects you and makes you better. Your prior experience is important, it’s good for building confidence and self-sufficiency. However, there’s a thin line between asking what can be done and insisting your method is best. When a manager asks you to follow the directive in place, you may find yourself in a state of contempt, thinking to yourself, “I know better than them, I have more experience than them, etc”. Simply step aside and remind yourself – my knowledge is not greater than the assistance that is needed of me.
Travelers also need to realize the situation that they’re walking into. A hospital in need often has a deficiency in place for a good amount of time. Travelers often find that the department is understaffed and overworked. Asserting yourself into a situation where your feedback can come off as negative and too direct can be harmful to building those relationships with your managers. Your experience is valuable, it’s essential when it comes to matching you to the best career path to ensure your success. However, don’t let it stop you from succeeding. If you can’t take a good assignment evaluation with you from every assignment, then the only thing you’re taking is your attitude.
So how can we make this change? Come into every travel assignment with a new attitude. Your expertise on Meditech Computer Software in a department with Sunquest will likely not be seen as helpful. You will be remembered by the decisions and impressions that you make. Start each day with an attitude to learn more. When someone gives you positive feedback on your ability to adapt to this new environment, thank them and ask them how you can be better. You’ll find that at the end of the day, they’ll be grateful for your lack of expertise. Willingness to learn does not come with a lack of knowledge, it comes from the priority to be exceptional.
Reva Baumann is a recruiter with the Medical Laboratory division of Aureus Medical Group.
Awesome, I need this for end of a hard day. Thank you
Kirsten
I was just browsing when I came across this article. I have 38yrs of experience yet have had trouble finding a job. This made me think as well as wonder how I come across. I will be looking closely at this subject in my job search.
I read and re-read this several times, wondering… How does one comment on this? I will not lower my standards, quality or expertise in order to accommodate a facilities needs. If a Manager does not like carefully constructed advise for their facility who has a need for a traveler, there lies the reason for staffing issues and traveler needs. I have worked at facilities where my skills and expertise were extremely appreciated, and another where the Manager was insecure and felt threatened by anyone who had skills that she felt were better than hers. I will not lower my quality of work in order to ‘fit in’ to a facilities practices, if they are sub-standard.
In my opinion you are stating the above, instead of requiring your employees to have high integrity, excellence and knowledge… And expertise! There is negative and positive feedback depending on its presentation. No traveler should enter a facility with the attitude that they are going to change this department, but..ethically we all must uphold to a higher standard, and sometimes humbly, carefully offering advise, is necessary. An employees Resume, references and work ethic should speak for itself. Expertise should NEVER be something to be lowered!! It should be required!!
Thank you, everyone, for your feedback! Kristen and Gayla, thank you for your encouragement. Connie, I can your counter-point as well. My intention is not to discount anyone’s ability, expertise or lower anyone’s standards, especially when someone has years of valuable experience and skills. I think if someone did this, it would be a very poor decision for their career. There’s a lot of personalities in the laboratory, to your point Connie, that some employees may have difficulty receiving feedback. My main point for this article is to be a teachable person and open to learning new things. I believe in the ethical standards set by healthcare professionals, I am in no way saying that you should ever compromise them. I don’t believe that you should lower your expertise, I’m simply saying that learning new things is important to continuing to be successful.
I agree with Connie. There are ways to suggest gently. Do not compromise your expertise. ” Mind if I take a look?” ” I have had success doing this” ” I have encountered this before, try this.”.