Making the Transition from Student to Professional

Finally! You've finished school and found a job! Now, what do you need to know as you transition from hardworking student to hardworking professional?

Taking Ownership One of the common themes in the transformation of child-to-student-to-working-adult is learning how to take on and manage responsibility. Transferring the fruits of this progressive growth to the workplace is extremely important in the increasingly business-like health care setting. That means taking ownership for your corner of global operations. When considering the qualities defining employee excellence, a pattern related to "fit" seems to emerge. Certain efforts on the part of new employees seem to both promote excellence and achieve a better, faster fit with the existing work group. These efforts also help new employees establish good reputations for themselves, making it easier for them to eventually move on when they're ready. And if you really want to invest in your own future, find a mentor. Productivity Is Key Such factors as workplace productivity, cost reduction, reimbursement, staffing outages, and competition have combined to decrease clinical rotation time for students. This trend crosses professions. One manager believes that having had less student clinical experience sometimes hampers new employees (these students might not be as prepared for the real world on the front lines as others who have had more clinical training). However, any educator who has tried to place students at clinical training sites understands that the workplace trend under the current climate is toward less clinical training, not more! Some possible ways to counter this include: Volunteering to "shadow" working staff one-on-one during school vacation. You get a look at the real world and an edge on developing organizational skills, and the staff get a look at you as a prospective employee. Having worked in the institution in a related capacity. These folks build on previously established relationships with the staff, may show more initiative, and may master the learning curve more quickly. Transferring skills honed in other careers. If you're out of school or don't fit these categories, just dive in and prove your worth! People with life experience who already balance multiple demands on their time often may achieve "fit" easier and faster. Because workforces across professions often have second- and third-career people entering them, these new hires bring a stabilizing force with them, juggle multiple tasks and eventually help mentor new graduates, to boot. Again, if you don't fit any of these categories, give it your all! Building on your strengths, contributing to the health care team, carrying your share, and making life easier for your colleagues will reflect well on you. Strategies to Enhance Workplace Fit and Future Employment Honor the Job Hours and the Dress Code Punch in on time, ready to work. Adhere to the dress code. Arrive early and change clothes before punching in (don't punch in and then use the first 15 minutes of company time for personal tasks; you may miss vital change-of-shift information). Punch out on time whenever possible. Minimize overtime, providing justifications for any overtime accrued. Keep a diary of your daily hours, including reasons for staying past shift-end. Take only the allotted work and meal breaks, and only when shift coverage permits. Don't call in sick unless you are really sick. Honor Your Peers, Your Employer and Others Listen to your new colleagues, and absorb the lessons. Don't parrot that you did it some other way in school. Be polite, considerate, honest, friendly, respectful, courteous, positive and direct. Don't interrupt when someone is speaking. Speak highly of your peers and employer. Praise in public, explore opportunities for improvement in private. Treat people like customers you can't afford to lose. Demonstrate an Exemplary Work Ethic Do your best every day, for your patients, colleagues, employer and community. Show initiative. Admit and correct mistakes and move on. Try to solve your own problems before asking others, but ask before you make a critical mistake. Choose a challenge and have somebody "spot" you. Come out of your kingdom. Offer to help in other areas when you are not busy. Meet your deadlines and go the extra mile. Get past the "we/they syndrome"-work with other departments as a team. Don't whine. Live each workday ethically, so when you look back on the day, you'll be proud of the time spent. Honor Your Commitment to Your Chosen Profession Network, network, network. Share knowledge and read current literature, inside and outside your profession. Exceed your manager's expectations; set an example (don't just follow one). Join and volunteer for a professional organization, and attend seminars, inservices and workshops. Take calculated risks. Learn to communicate effectively. Get further education before you need it. Get task force, project task and management experience. You'll get to know people and find out how things happen or don't happen. Find a mentor. Take care of yourself. Exercise, get enough sleep, regulate your diet and don't isolate yourself. Contribute to your community. In Search of Mentors Finding a mentor enhances your chances for both workplace "fit" and for eventually transcending the workplace, stretching in new professional directions as the opportunities arrive. Potential mentors are trustworthy people whose behaviors, reasoning, skills and values we would like to emulate. Mentors: Help clarify questions and sometimes validate answers; Help us transcend our perceived limitations to see the bigger picture through education, experience, and an extended resource network; Respect and value diversity; and Inspire, encourage and believe in us, bolstering our confidence to "swim upstream." Look for behavioral models-good communicators whose operational style or achievements you admire. Consider: former or current teachers; managers or colleagues; and fellow members of a professional committee or society. Closing Thoughts What goes around often comes around. Knock yourself out to fit into your new workplace! By doing so, you'll set yourself up not only for present but also for future success, wherever you are, in your job and in your life. Linda Lemery, MBA, MT (ASCP) DLM, is an editorial consultant for ADVANCE. The author thanks Kathy Arnold, RN, MS, CNA, for her contributions.