And so this, I think, is going to be a great pivot in our schedule to take us into lunch. This is really a little bit of an informal discussion just on how career changes can be challenging. They can also be very exciting. And thinking about embracing some of those opportunities and career changes or paths that you didn't think maybe would be part of your career path or trajectory. So I have nothing to disclose. And so with this talk, we'll talk about kind of what is that road map of navigating job changes or career changes and using, you know, a self-assessment to start those strengths that we just talked about with Kwame of, you know, thinking about what skills you have that would really maybe take your path in a different direction than maybe where you are right now. And highlighting leadership qualities and professional competencies that can be crucial to thrive in those new roles and make a successful career change. So there's five stages that are described of a typical career. And I'll go ahead and give you a short description of each of these, and then maybe you can stop and reflect on where you think you're at in your career. So the first stage is more of an exploration phase. Trying different roles, new responsibilities, and maybe doing a lot of different things to see where you are deriving the most career fulfillment and joy from. I think about this as my time in my assistant professor role as a new faculty where I was trying a lot of different roles and responsibilities. All right. So we're talking about five stages of a typical career. And so the stages that I'll briefly describe then are exploration, establishment, mid-career, late career, and then retirement. So as I was saying, exploration is trying different roles, new responsibilities, where establishment is where you're beginning or you've developed expertise and maybe focused a little more in a certain area. Versus mid-career is stability, consolidation, and maybe this is the phase where you're starting to take on formal leadership roles or mentoring capabilities or capacities. And then late career, maybe you're starting to think about retirement, flexible part-time roles or what maybe a different type of career path would look like before you move away from the working world in your retirement. And so for me, I was sharing that the exploration phase I think was mainly myself as a new faculty and my assistant professor role where I was able to do a lot and take on a lot of different responsibilities at the college. And now I'm certainly I think moved into more of the establishment, if not the mid-career phase of kind of where I'm at and how I've pivoted in my career. Next slide. So the top reasons why US workers left a job or made a change, this was data from 2021, was pay, no opportunities for advancement, feeling disrespected, lack of flexibility, or other personal reasons. And so if you think about 2021, there's a lot of reasons and change that was going on that could have led to people to make career changes or pivots. But I think that and we saw this kind of great resignation that maybe we're still in now to some extent, where job changes are very common. And people are looking for, I think, realizing that they want a job that's really going to celebrate their strengths, right? Bring them joy, bring them fulfillment. And so I really would challenge you, next slide, please, to not think about this as necessarily a great resignation, but a great realignment, where we have the opportunity to choose a career path that really is going to bring us that kind of highest level of fulfillment. Next slide. So questions to consider if you are thinking about a career change. Does your current position align with your values? Or is there a position that maybe has better value alignment with not just your own kind of morals and ethics, but also your career goals? What does that path forward look like for you, and what are those next steps? And what are you hoping to get out of your career, and can your current position or a different position help meet those career goals better for you? Also playing to those strengths, your natural skills and talents, and finding a position that allows you to use them to your fullest capacity, and ultimately doing what's going to bring you the most joy and allow you to enjoy your job. Next slide. So thinking about making a change is a marathon, it is not a sprint. You want to really take the time to self-reflect and fully commit yourself to a career path that you are going to enjoy. I hope that one of the take-home points that you have from this talk is that taking small actions over time can really lead to big opportunities and big change for your career path. And at least I can say that that has certainly been the case with myself. So feel free to explore new roles without expectation, learn what you like and dislike, and embrace that unique journey that is your own career path. And by doing so, you can craft your own narrative, maybe create a new role or position that you didn't think was previously possible or there. And some of those opportunities can really be helpful to use some targeted networking, your time at meetings like SCCM or within our lead group today, to learn from others' experiences and also gain advice about how to make those changes. And I think ultimately that path will really allow you to find work that energizes you and makes you want to come to work every day. So these do not need to be giant changes, but also consider pivots that can be impactful. Next slide. So I'm going to talk a little bit about myself and use myself as a case study. I graduated from the University of Florida and went on to complete residency training. And then I took my first position out of residency as an assistant clinical professor at Auburn University. I'm now a clinical associate professor, as Moshe mentioned, at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. And I made a change, obviously going from my previous position at Auburn to the University of Florida. But just sharing with you a little bit, my workload percentage, for instance, did not change when I made that move. My role as a clinical pharmacist in the trauma ICU did not change. So I practiced in trauma when I was at Auburn at the University Hospital at USA Health. And I work in the trauma unit at Chance now. But this really had a big impact on my career, even though the position was essentially the same. But I was moving geographic locations. Next slide. So again, just thinking small steps and how that's really had a big impact then on my career and how that's led me. Next slide. So obviously this change was made, I made a change in my geographic location and where I was practicing in the university that I was working for. And there were certainly personal reasons that were tied to that. I was born and raised in Florida. We have a lot of family here. I had a young family or I have a young family. And so having that family support nearby was really important to me and my husband. But even though as I shared with you, my workload did not shift on paper, my roles and responsibilities really did. And that changed with how my interests were changing within kind of that workload split. So I spend time between teaching my clinical practice, service responsibilities, as well as research. And as I was a new faculty member and a young clinician at Auburn, I had a lot of opportunity to spend time building that clinical practice and working in the ICU, spending time with the healthcare team, my experiential learners, and that really was the focus of my day-to-day kind of week-to-week where I spent my hours. And as I gained more experience as a teacher in the classroom and with the curriculum at Auburn, my role and interest began to shift where we were implementing a new curriculum And I became really excited about the opportunity for exploring new ways to teach, for instance, innovations in the classroom or innovations with my learners in experiential settings. And I saw that shift happening, but it wasn't going to fit, for instance, into my current split or workload where I was at Auburn. And when I shifted to UF, I had, again, the same workload split, but I had a practice partner that was going to be there and cover service for me during the time that I was at the college. And that small change really gave me that flexibility then to explore those areas where I was finding that I had a lot of interest and wanted to be able to spend more time but was finding difficult to balance. And so over time, you can go to the next slide, I found that this kind of career change or pivot really did allow me to explore areas that were more in line with kind of my career goals. And while I'm still very involved in the care of patients, I spend about 30% of my time, though, in the trauma ICU and the rest of my time is devoted to teaching and research and service where I'm able to kind of focus on teaching and learning. And I had always kind of relied on my natural skill to be a teacher or an educator without any formal training. And so in this new position or in my current position, I feel like I've had the opportunity to really explore teaching and learning more and build on kind of that natural skill. And ultimately, that has provided me a lot of fulfillment to try new and different things where I've even been leading a task force on artificial intelligence and how that impacts teaching and learning and higher education, which is never a place that I saw my career headed, especially, I mean, I don't think a lot of us saw the change that would come with artificial intelligence where we're at now. But in general, technology wasn't my focus early on, right? And so the fact that that has been kind of a realignment or refocus for me has been a surprise but also really fulfilling and a fun challenge for me to take on in my career. Next slide. So in this, if you are making or thinking about a career change, there are some do's and don'ts to consider. And so if you haven't listened to it, there is a great podcast on making career changes that Mojdeh recorded, and so you can kind of learn more. And she talks about some of these do's and don'ts. And you don't want to quit the wrong way. I have a lot of admiration for the training that I received as a new faculty at Auburn and learned a lot in my ICU and from the healthcare team that I worked with there. And I certainly didn't want to burn any bridges when we were making that difficult decision to move our family and make a change. But also you don't want to feel bad, right? I think I felt at peace that we were making a positive change, not only for my career but for our family, and that really was the priority and a big part of our decision. So obviously you want to give adequate notice to allow time for your replacement hopefully to come in or at least for your supervisor to make a plan for your transition. And keep an open mind about the process and kind of what your career path may look like. So lastly, just some take-home points that I hope that you celebrate your own path and your own journey. Know that the small steps that you're making now do matter and can make a large and lasting impact for your career. And trust yourself to rely on your strengths and find energizing work that can excite and motivate you.

career changes

self-assessment

career stages

professional growth

personal values