You worked hard, earned your certification, and started your new career in healthcare. Congrats! Your dedication speaks volumes about your character.
But there's still room for growth. And if you want to level up your career, the best person to consult is yourself.
Taking time to reflect on your work performance – especially regarding "professional skills" like time management, communication, and critical thinking – can help you identify areas for improvement and give you a solid foundation for achieving your professional goals.
So, where do you start?
We're here to support you before, during and after earning your certification, and we put together a tool to help you create a career plan. Below you’ll find a career check-up which includes a self-assessment worksheet. This worksheet will help you take an honest look at your work performance by asking you to rank yourself in five different professional skills, and to lay out your strengths and goals for your career.
Skills Self-Assessment
Take time to reflect on where you feel you are some essential professional skills. This assessment is for you, so be honest with yourself. The best way to improve a skill is recognizing that you have room to grow and then taking action. Rate yourself on your performance of these skills from 1-5, 1 being “needs improvement” and 5 being “always excellent.”
You’ll use this assessment when you create your career plan on the last page of the free guide to leveling up your healthcare career.
FORWARD-THINKING (1-5)
Do you always go above and beyond to anticipate problems before they even happen? Or do things often sneak up on you or surprise you? Perhaps you are somewhere in the middle — always following protocol and doing exactly what you’re asked to do, no more, no less.
COLLABORATION (1-5)
Do you notice when a teammate needs extra help and jump in? Or do you often avoid anything extra? Maybe you are somewhere in the middle — sometimes you step up and sometimes you don’t.
COMMUNICATION (1-5)
Do you ask clarifying questions so you feel confident that you understand the instructions? Do you listen actively to the patients so you can provide them with the best care? Maybe you feel in a rush and cut corners to get things done. Maybe you’re somewhere in between.
PROFESSIONALISM (1-5)
Are you ALWAYS on time, ready to start with the correct uniform and information you need to do a great job? Are you treating your coworkers, supervisor, and patients with the kind of respect you’d like to receive?
DETAIL-ORIENTED (1-5)
Do you read every insert/instruction fully before you begin a new task? Do you double check your work/notes? Maybe you feel overwhelmed sometimes and skip a step here or there.
So, how did you do?
It can be challenging to assess yourself, but don't think of it as negative criticism. The goal isn't to bring you down, the goal is to empower you with the awareness you need to raise you up!
When you're ready to start taking the next steps in your healthcare career, download our free guide, Check-Up: Your 6 Month Career Plan.
There are always ways to improve your work and become a better team member. We hope you'll use the self-assessment and other resources in the guide to help you improve your daily work and your long-term career.
Additionally, NHA Membership can help – NHA Membership offers digital toolkits for job seekers, and videos and blogs tailored to allied health professionals looking for work, or learning how to level up their skills. Whether it’s time management, handling feedback, asking for a raise, or learning to handle challenging patients, Membership has the insights you need to succeed on the job. Membership also comes with direct access to the NHA Membership Community – your hub for connecting with allied health peers, sharing tips, tricks, and stories, and additional exclusive content for community members only.
