This is a collaborative post.
Coming out the gate with your medical degree, the pressure can feel like it’s on to start using it as soon as possible. As with every career, a career in medicine is going to take time to start really paying off. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t start taking actions now to help give your career the early boost that can make all the difference.
Take time with orientation
When you first arrive at a new medical position, you’re going to have a moment to get to know your surroundings before you get thrown into the deep end. You might feel a need to prove something to your new co-workers or you might simply feel like you are done learning and want to start practicing. However, your orientation is a critical part of your new career, giving you the time to learn what your role entails and how you work with your peers. If you rush through it, you will forget information that will be critical throughout this first part of your career.
Rely on your senior colleagues
One of the big challenges of transition from a student to a practicing doctor is that you’re still very much a brand new entity in the professional world, and medicine still has a lot of surprises for you. As such, you will often have problems that fall outside the parameters of what you’ve learned in your textbooks. Start to develop good working relationships with your senior colleagues so that you can seek them out for advice on how to handle situations you’re new to.
Choose a specialty to aim for
If you’re not planning to stick to general practice for your entire career, then you’re going to be looking at what specialty you plan on working in in the long-term. To that end, there are a few practicalities to consider. Which options will suit your lifestyle and your skills matters above all else. But you also want to consider what kind of career options they lend and search for medical job openings in the specialty that you want and in the area that you would prefer to live. You don’t have to choose a specialty immediately, but it’s best to get thinking about it.
Keep working on your time management skills
Doctors cannot afford to be late. They can barely afford to be on time. You should expect that this career is going to demand more of your time than most others and, as such, take the time to learn the time management skills necessary to handle it well. Learn how to structure your working day so you’re less likely to be late, less likely to run overtime on a job or responsibility, and less likely to fall behind.
The tips above won’t guarantee that you’re going to be a success in your medical career. Most of that is down to how you handle yourself every day on the job. However, they can help boost the successes you do achieve to help you go further still.
