How to Make a Successful Career Switch into Healthcare

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Any sort of career switch, at any stage of your life, is going to feel intimidating, but the field of healthcare can feel particularly daunting because of the level of knowledge, commitment, and training that is required from any healthcare role. 

Nevertheless, making a career switch into healthcare isn't impossible, even if you're starting from scratch with your training and qualifications. It may take extra time and effort, but it's certainly not impossible with the right dedication and attitude. 

Planning Your First Steps 

Before you delve deeper into taking action for your career switch, there may be a few points you want to explore first to prepare yourself and get into the right mentality. The following points may help. 

• Decide what you're working routine is going to be. Are you in a position where you are able to give up your current job in order to dedicate all your time and energy to your new career switch? Or are you going to have to remain in a job until a successful switch is made, such as working full time or part-time whilst studying for your new role? 

• Understand how much time you can commit. This can lead to the previous point in helping you know how much spare time you're going to have for your career switch plans. This can be helpful when you're trying to organize a study schedule or when you can gain experience for a new role.

• What other commitments do you have? You may need to make some personal sacrifices to dedicate your time to your career switch, so understanding your personal schedule as well as your professional one will be key for helping you organize your time. 

• Understanding what you would like your new role to be. This is a vital step for a successful career switch, as knowing your intended role or field will mean you can use your time wisely and make every decision count towards a career you're going to enjoy. 

• Knowing whether healthcare is right for you. You may have already thought long and hard about this and may have always wondered in the back of your mind about healthcare and how it could work for your career. Nevertheless, no matter how much you feel as though it's the right place for you, adequate research is still essential first. There may be many aspects of working in healthcare that you originally didn't realize, and it may not be the career you thought it was. Healthcare takes a lot of dedication and hard work and can be a very demanding career path, so make sure you're absolutely sure it's the right field for you before you officially start the transition. 

How to Make a Successful Career Switch into Healthcare

Below are some guiding points to help those looking to launch their new healthcare career.

• Understand Your Current Skill Level 

Even if you don't already have any related healthcare qualification or degree, that doesn't mean that existing skills can't be put to good use within the healthcare field. It all depends on the role or working environment you're looking for, and depending on what qualifications you already have, you may not need to study further for a new role. 

For example, if you already have a business or management degree, you may want to look into similar opportunities within a healthcare setting. Clinics or hospitals may be offering management positions that require training on site but not necessarily further qualifications. 

Understanding your current skillset will help you to know how you can best apply it to new positions. 

• Look into Online Learning 

If you do need to return to studying and gain a new qualification for a healthcare role, online learning can be a great help for those returning to education later in life. This is because online learning offers a more flexible schedule that can be studied from home and may even work out cheaper in regard to student bills compared to attending a physical university. 

Online learning is even beneficial for those who already work in healthcare looking to make a career switch to a different related role. Online learning institutions like Carson-Newman offer many healthcare development opportunities. 

• Tailor Your Resume

Even if you don't have previous experience in the healthcare industry, tailoring your resume to every position within healthcare that you're aiming for will help employers to understand that you're actively devoted to a healthcare position. Within your resume summary, be sure to explain your goals of gaining a position within healthcare. 

When tailoring your resume for a specific job role, be sure to use any previous experience and skills to apply it to the role you're applying for. For example, if you have previous admin experience and are applying for a clerical role within a healthcare setting, outline how your admin experience can translate to this healthcare role. Or, say why previous skills strengthen your abilities within a healthcare environment (such as good teamwork and communication skills). 

• Make Time for Networking 

Breaking into a new field can be difficult to do, and especially one as competitive as healthcare. Networking with those individuals already in the healthcare industry may be very beneficial to you. Looking for opportunities to network may help you to form important contacts for your healthcare career. 

There may be networking events formulated for the specific purpose of helping new applicants break into the healthcare field, such as those which provide talks or advice regarding healthcare. You may also be able to find discussions online and online healthcare contacts to offer advice regarding your new career. 

Making contacts and good impressions can be valuable, as these professionals may remember you if a job opportunity comes up in their own company. 

In Summary 

Before you dedicate your time to a healthcare career switch, do your research and be sure that a healthcare career and working environment is going to be right for you. Once you know it's the right decision, you can take steps to learn more, return to studying, seek networking opportunities and find new experiences.