I get the chance to talk to hundreds and thousands of amazing people that work in healthcare IT. When I talk to them, we often get into a discussion of their career path. Many didn’t start working in healthcare IT. In fact, many didn’t even know what healthcare IT was. That was my case as well. Sure, I knew that there was technology used in healthcare, but I knew nothing about it.
Instead, many of us just happened upon this wonderful world we call healthcare IT. In fact, just today I was talking to a nurse informaticist. She talked about her career path and she was amazed how the skills she’d learned over time prepared her for a future position. A position she would have never considered when she was drawing up her future career path.
I think this is true for most people. Finding out what you want to do for your career takes some time and experience. You have to get in and get a little bit dirty to discover what you like most and where your skills excel. Hopefully those two areas collide.
I’m all for career planning and setting goals for your career. You shouldn’t be afraid to go after something and to strive for a career that has an amazing impact for good. You also shouldn’t shy away from moving up the career ladder. However, don’t let that pursuit make it so you aren’t open to unexpected career paths.
It turns out that the majority of people I talk to about their careers tell me that they never would have expected the path their career has taken. However, they’re extremely grateful that they followed their hearts and weren’t afraid of the unexpected.