Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

Finding, interviewing for, and deciding on the job that will be the best fit for you and your family is no small task. Such a decision often takes years of planning as well as an investment of time, mental energy, and money. Once you find the job that matches your list of needs, it should be celebrated as it is truly remarkable accomplishment. It is like climbing Mount Everest with the understanding that only a fewwill reach the peak. You’ve finally accomplished that goal—so why stop planning now? When developing a plan for your job search, reflect on your strategy for finding the right residency program. Maybe you didn’t have a strategy. It is possible you left it to chance by casting a wide net with your residency applications and you simply dropped into to your current program. By contrast, did you have a methodical system for choosing programs to apply to, interviewwith, and eventually rank for the match? It’s important to review and reflect on what has worked (or not worked!) for you in professional searches in the past. Only then will you have a strong foundation on which to build as you search for the right “fit” for your first practice. In this chapter, you will be given the tools to create that strategic roadmap — a simple, organized path to help you navigate the post-residency transition process. You’ll be organizing yourself to complete your training and transition into the next phase of your career with CONFIDENCE and a sense of DIRECTION . Let’s get started! 1. The Landscape 2. The Mentality Shift 3. Guiding Principles of Success 4. Transition Plan 5. Creating Your Timeline 6. Goal Setting • Build a plan to successfully transition from training into your career. • Customize a timeline of critical milestones and action items to ensure a smooth and organized transition. FROM a structured TO choosing from environment multiple paths FROM No business TO Knowing Business FROM Bread eater TO Breadwinner FROM Chaos TO Work/Life balance FROM Resident TO Physician FROM Student TO Teacher FROM No plan TO Blueprint • Identify strategies, tactics, techniques, and procedures to define your direction and gain understanding and control of the job search process. L E T ’ S G E T S T A R T E D In This Chapter O U T L I N E G O A L S Designing Your Life and Career in Medicine 11 WWW.PHYSICIANCAREERPLANNING.COM