When you think of participating in a mentoring program, do you think you need to work at a hospital or other healthcare facility for months or years in order to do so?
Or do you believe that because you’re an experienced healthcare professional that you’re “too old” to be mentored?
You may want to rethink these assumptions. Continue reading below to learn why.
First of all, let’s discuss your belief that you may be too old for mentoring. Most traveling healthcare professionals have at least two years of professional experience behind them, if not considerably more, before they start traveling. So it’s understandable if you’ve been working for several years that you might feel you know too much to be mentored (“I should be the one who mentors!”).
But, according to Cynthia Hnatiuk, RN, in a July NurseZone.com article, “[m]entorship is something that never really stops, and something each person has to take responsibility for themselves…. You will have many mentors through your career, and more than one mentor at one time, depending on what you are trying to gain skills in.”
To look for mentoring opportunities, you need to look no further than a) your assignment supervisor and/or b) your fellow travelers (those who have traveled more than you).
The experienced travelers can mentor you in the fine “art” of traveling, helping you score the best assignments from the best travel staffing services, as well as helping you learn the ropes of the travel lifestyle: how to pack well, how to acclimate to a new living and working environment, etc.
But your on-site assignment supervisor also can be a great source of information for you. He or she knows “how it’s really done” at your assignment and can help you navigate the written, as well as the unwritten, rules of your assignment workplace.
Many people work as travel healthcare professionals because of the new skills they’ll learn, as well as the new tools and technologies they’ll undoubtedly encounter. Your assignment supervisor more than likely is the go-to person and the one to provide you with access to these new technologies, as well as the person who will train you in techniques unique to his or her department or your assignment facility.
You may not be able – or even want – to forge a formal mentoring relationship while on assignment, but that doesn’t mean you won’t receive some mentoring. We recommend that you seek out any type of mentor-like relationship you can while on assignments. You’ll gain more skills and knowledge if you do, skills and knowledge that will be put to good use while on assignment, as well as later in your career.
Are you a PT, OT, speech therapist, Registered Nurse, pharmacist, or other allied health professional with an itch for travel? Why not scratch it with our help? Contact a recruiter at MedPro Healthcare Staffing today to learn more about our many travel opportunities.
