Post 3: Future?

As we really get into the classes of junior year first semester, I really find myself thinking about what my future path will look like. What do I want to do when I graduate? What grad school program will I need to apply to? How do I incorporate what I feel passionate about into my future education and job?

All of the classes we are taking are super interesting to me and I never find myself being bored with the subject matter. So far, I have been challenged and receptive to putting the extra work or time into the classes if I have to. For me, this has been a sort of validating feeling. I am no longer taking electives or discovery courses and I am really enjoying it. But the more I get into it, the wider range of jobs and grad school programs I can see myself going into. Now I know I am a junior and have plenty of time to square away all of this information, but as a junior in the UNH Health Management & Policy program we have the opportunity to internship the summer of 2018. This is a super valuable experience for me and hopefully will help me further shape my career goals- which is why I am nervous for it. What if I pick or apply to the wrong ones!

For tomorrow’s Monday class we have a guest speaker, Joni Spring, a former CNO and a knowledgeable person in both the clinical and management world of health care. After listening to her podcast with Professor Bonica, I learned a few things that will be important to me as someone who hopes to be somewhere in that field. She talks about having a passion and being tenacious. I feel passionate about making positive changes in the health care world, but I have not quite narrowed down exactly where or what would be the right fit for me. I love kids and I know I want to make people feel better, but do I want to do clinical or management? I enjoy reading about and seeing advancements in the public and population health world, but how do I get that to line up with my other interests? Is it too late to do an NP program when I graduate? I know this makes me sound like a scatter brain but I think for me to be able to take advantage of my resources here at UNH it’s important for me to try to figure out what the heck I am actually doing. I enjoy when Professor B. brings in guest speakers because it’s nice to hear about how they got where they are (it's a bit reassuring even).

            So for those of you out there reading this, how did you decide that what you’re doing is what you wanted? How did you get there? I am looking forward to feed back!!

            Sorry for this late (and messy) post!!
Grace


Comments

  1. I fell into this field by chance but found that it suited my desire to help people but not by desire to clean up after them. :-) I love seeing people come into work everyday feeling inspired to do good works and feel effective. I started working at the lowest level and worked my way up to management.

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  2. I have always had an intrinsic need to help others but knew that the clinical route was not for me. I took Professor McGrath's "Intro to US Healthcare Systems" as a general elective and fell in love with HMP. Healthcare management is a fast-paced, complex and ever-changing environment and perfectly blends my technical skills with my soft skills such as managing people, complex decision making, analyzing data and financials, as well as interacting with patients and families.

    Of note, three of my colleagues switched from administration to nursing so don't stress yourself out if you're still undecided.

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