Inside Duke Medicine

Career assessment, planning and exploration at DUH—part two

This is Part two in the series on Career Assessment, Planning and Exploration at Duke University Hospital

By Olufunke Moses

Sally Allison, the manager of Duke's Professional Development Institute (PDI), has two pieces of advice she gives to employees at presentations. "The first piece of advice is to be the best employee right now that you can be," she says. "The second part of that advice is to begin those conversations with your supervisor around staying here at Duke and growing here at Duke."

The Professional Development Institute is one of several resources available for Duke employees who wish to plan, assess or further their careers. Allison says PDI has two programs that are focused on training and retaining staff. The first is the Office Staff Development Program, for employees who want to advance in clerical or administrative areas. Employees must be recommended by their supervisor, and spend 11 months in intensive training, after which PDI helps them search for new opportunities. The First Time Supervisor Program is for high-performing individuals nominated by their department, who have an interest in becoming a front-line supervisors or have been targeted by their departments to move into front-line supervisory roles.

Professional development doesn't have to cost money, says Allison. It does, however, require initiative and homework on the part of the individual. "The continuum begins with the employee looking at where they would like to grow, how they would like to be the best employee right now that they can be and what types of skills improvement they may need to do that," she says. Allison also suggests doing research via search engines like Google, reading publications such as "Working at Duke" and "Inside Duke Medicine," and taking advantage of classes offered at Learning and Organization Development (L&OD).

Jacqulyn Podger, a Senior Practice Partner at L&OD, teaches courses that help employees gain skills in their present positions, as well as future opportunities. When it comes to professional development, she says it's important to make a plan. "Take stock of your current competencies and knowledge base, and look at where you want to go," she says. "Do a gap analysis in terms of what you have, what you need and how you're going to expand your skill set for the new career."

Podger also advises being honest about how strong one's competencies are, and what areas need development. Learning & Organization Development offers a range of open enrollment courses through the HR website, on leadership development, managerial development, technology training and professional development — including a half-day course that helps employees assess their careers. In addition to individual assessment, Podger also stresses the importance of utilizing one's manager.

"Some of the best development opportunities are actually on the job," she says. "Express your passions and talk to your manager about doing more, so you can expand within your current role."

Expansion is a key word at Duke these days, with the new Cancer Center and Duke Medicine Pavilion moving closer and closer to completion. Along with the new buildings comes new jobs — many of them critical and highly specialized — such as Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists and Transplant Coordinators. All are opportunities for employees thinking of moving up, to look within.

Phyllis Swearengen, the Manager of Operations Administration at Duke Hospital, says the best way to further one's career, is to “do your best where you are” and look for opportunities to make a difference. "When you're looking for a new position, she says, "the things that you do in your current job will help you get to the next step."

Swearengen says this can include figuring out solutions to clinical issues, (such as reducing infection rates in patients) or finding new processes for system issues. She gives an example of a charge nurse in Pediatrics, who created an educational program for charge nurses that resulted in better compliance with the units budgeted nursing hours per patient day.

This type of leadership is the foundation of the Health System's Nursing Clinical Ladder program. The Program encourages personal and professional development, and rewards nurses for teamwork, leadership and excellence in patient care. There are four levels within the Clinical Ladder, ranging from Clinical Nurse (CN) I, through CN IV. At the CNIII level, the main focus is leadership at the unit level; at CNIV, the focus is on leadership at the departmental or regional/national level.

Swearengen says in the past, Clinical Ladders were based only on how nurses performed at the bedside. Now, she says the Program looks for leadership, measurable outcomes in quality improvement initiatives and the ability manage "complexity with creativity." "Our Clinical Ladder supports nurses as they prepare themselves for opportunities," she says. "It may not prepare you for a specific job, but it does prepare you for an opportunity."

For more information about the many opportunities to further your career at Duke Hospital, register for the Career and Exploration Fair (April 6-7, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Searle Center Lecture Hall), by registering online.

Read part one of the series.