Core Values and Your Medical Career
Written by Dr Ashe Coxon – MBBS, FRACGP, DCH, MClinEd, GCCareerDvpt
Many doctors feel uncertainty regarding their careers with research showing that 20% of fourth year postgraduate (PGY) doctors were still undecided on a career pathway 1 and less than 50% of PGY 3 doctors regarding their career choice as definite.2
Career indecision is a multifactorial and individualized so there is no single solution for each doctor. However, there are some key areas to focus on when considering career satisfaction, and that is;
- Am I in a career that interests me?
- Does my career suit my skills and strengths? (Knowing that these can also be improved, but there should be a level of aptitude in the skills and strengths required)
- How does my personality contribute? (If you are interested in finding out more about personality traits then Medical Career Planning has a course on understanding your personality traits and how this applies to medical careers at https://www.medicalcareerplanning.com.au/courses)
- Does my career suit my non negotiables?
- Does my career suit my core values?
Many people are not aware of their individual core values and how these impact our career satisfaction, so a useful exercise is to consider what one’s values are and whether work is satisfying these. This can be done by completing the below exercise and then comparing your core values to your current career plans and identifying if they are similar or different. You can then be aware of what values may not be being met (If any) and then choose how to approach this.
Another exercise is to compare careers in which you may be shortlisting (E.g Emergency Vs ICU Vs Anaesthetics) and compare which may be most aligned with your values.
Remember, that having a career that suits your core values is just one component of career satisfaction, however for many people it is one of the most important considerations.
Below is a following exercise that will assist to identify your core values.
Choose 5 of the below values that you think lead to personal satisfaction and motivation and then see if they align with your current career plans.
- Solving problems
- Communicating
- Teamwork
- Ethics - work that is closely aligned with what you think is important
- Knowledge - challenges me to continuously improve and apply my understanding and intellectual capacity
- Independence - able to work when I want and how I want
- Creativity - able to use my creative and innovative ideas and/or artistic talents
- Research - find out new information and facts
- Help others
- Public contact
- Solitude - working by myself or in small group
- Make things
- Attention to detail
- Stability - offers me ongoing work according to my needs
- Change & variety - enables me to do different things quite often
Choose 5 of the below values that you think lead to feeling awarded and appreciated and then see if they align with your current career plans.
- Security - I want to limit financial and employment risk
- Influence people - persuade others and change their behaviour
- Lead and manage others
- Location - is in a location that appeals to me
- Intellectual status
- Make decisions
- Attractive workplace
- Recognition - gives me credit for my work and efforts
- Status - is in a career that is highly regarded in the community and I hold a position that is highly regarded in the industry
- High income - the ability to generate above average income
- Competition - enables me to compete my abilities against others and rewards winning
- Ability to earn profit - enables me to increase my income through generating sales or investing
- Supervision
- Advancement - lots of opportunity for rapid promotion
- Negotiate - the scope to close deals and create opportunities
Choose 5 of the below values that you think lead to a preferred lifestyle and then see if they align with your current career plans.
- Leisure
- Community - ability to work with and help large numbers of people
- Excitement - is in a career that offers me new experiences and opportunities
- Help society - is a career that makes a difference in the world
- Work with others
- Fast pace - a job with lots of action requiring rapid decisions
- Adventure
- Work inside
- Friendships - work that allows me to develop close relationships
- Time & freedom - gives me the time to pursue the things I like
- Travel
- Work physically - using my body as well as my mind
- Work under pressure
- Work outdoors - not be caught up behind a desk or inside
- Learning - the opportunity for continuous learning & growth
For those who were uncertain of what their values are or whether their current career pathway fulfills them hopefully this exercises assisted, and can also create some awareness to the future career that will align with personal values.
If you are wishing to discuss your career further, we at Medical Career Planning can help you, as we provide 1:1 career counseling, coaching and planning and bookings. Feel free to check us at https://www.medicalcareerplanning.com.au/coaching. We look forward helping you make better career decisions.
