Career Action Plan - Outline Example

Running Head: Career Action Plan Career Action Plan Name Course Lecturer Date Outline 1. To record more accurate information 2. To complete bachelor’s degree and enroll for masters in health administration 3. To become a member of Healthcare Administrator’s Association in United States 4. To work as a head of department in a big health facility I. Self-Awareness a. Professional strengths i. Office management skills ii. Outstanding customer service iii. Effective decision-making b. Personal strengths i. Superb communication skills ii. Critical thinking c. Professional weaknesses i. Insufficient academic knowledge in health care administration d. Personal weaknesses i. Inability to learn policies and procedures fast and correctly ii. Poor analytical skills e. 4 to 5 sentences, using the strengths and weaknesses above, to describe yourself to a potential employer. I have been working at the Jordon health services and as a care provider at Houston, TX and I have also worked in the department of medical administration support in Houston too both of which have given me experience in office administration and dealing with different people. Additionally, I have excellent communication skills and I am a critical thinker which qualifies me for the position of a medical administration assistant. However, I have shallow academic knowledge in medical administration since I have not yet completed my bachelor’s degree. I am slow learner of procedures and my handwriting is very poor but I am ready to learn and improve my learning and writing skills. II. Ideal Next Objective (or position) – Health Administration Assistant a. Required competencies i. A bachelor’s degree ii. Ability to monitor and evaluate situations b. Compensation requirements i. Basic salary ii. Employment benefits c. Company culture i. Customer oriented ii. Management of personal time and that of other people d. Compromises i. Availability of training programs ii. Review of compensation systems III. Gap analysis, plan, and execution – these are skills you already have a. Credentials i. Experience in healthcare administration ii. Excellent communication and writing skills b. Responsibilities i. Personal care ii. Administration of oral medicine iii. Management of office operations c. Accomplishments (personal and professional) i. Experience in dealing with clients ii. Pursuit of undergraduate studies d. Career management gaps (lacking credentials) i. A degree in health administration ii. Wide experience in administration of health facilities IV. Personal marketing a. Resume Profile I have experience in diverse clinical and corporate environments along with academic coursework in Healthcare Administration. Skills include office management, effective verbal and written communication, strong planning and problem solving abilities, proven decision-making, excellent customer service and demonstrated ability to manage changing priorities while meeting tight deadlines. Key Skills Office Skills: Multi-line phones Executive Support Expense Accounts Travel Coordination Calendar & Appointment Management Spreadsheets & Presentations Document Management Payroll Administration Database Administration Budgeting & Finance Business Communications Computer Skills: Windows MS Office Suite Adobe Software AS/400 QuickBooks Mediware Education 2007 – Present University of Phoenix: B.S. in Health Administration; Expected completion, July 2012 San Jacinto College, Undergraduate Studies 2003 – 2007 Work Experience Jordon Health Services and Self-Employed Houston, TX, Care Provider 2003 – Present Responsibilities Provide competent, compassionate private care and companionship to homebound patients. Assist with personal care to include basic hygiene, grooming, and assistance in dressing. Several years experience providing care for young individuals with functional disabilities and seniors. Administration of oral medications in accordance with physician’s instruction Tailoring services such as meal planning, cooking, light housekeeping tasks, laundry, bill paying, and budgeting to patient’s needs and abilities. Schedule or provide transportation to doctor’s appointments, shopping, or other outside activities. Notify physician or designated family member of changes in client’s mental, emotional, or physical health. Gary Burman, M.D. — Houston, TX Medical Administration Support 2011 Responsible for greeting patients, answering phones, managing appointments, assisting with insurance verifications and serving as a liaison between doctor, staff and patients. Maintain office appearance and manage supply inventory. Patient file management, scanned, faxed, filed documents. Disperse and resolve incoming and outgoing mail. b. Cover letter Name Address City 5th June 2012 Human Resource Manager, Organization’s Name Address City Dear Sir/Madam, RE: APPLICATION FOR A JOB AS A HEALTH ADMINISTRATOR I would like to take this opportunity to apply for the above named position. I am in my final year of pursuing a bachelor’s degree in health administration at University of Phoenix. I have worked in related positions in different health facilities which made me acquire experience in areas like office management, planning, customer service, problem-solving and decision making. I also possess excellent communication skills and computer skills in areas like Windows, MS Office Suite, Adobe Software, AS/400, QuickBooks and Mediware. With the above, I believe I am qualified for the position and look forward to your consideration which I will highly appreciate. If given the opportunity, I am ready to present myself for an interview at any time convenient to you. Thank you in advance. Yours faithfully, Signature Name c. Networking i. Join social sites and meet new friends ii. Participate in health and community events d. Interviewing techniques and skills i. Self confidence ii. Asking interviewers questions V. Periodic career audit a. How often will you evaluate career plan-twice per year b. What influences or affects career plans i. Setting realistic goals ii. Consulting senior people in your current or intended career Career Action Plan Introduction Career action plans are road maps which direct people when making their career choices until they get jobs in the career areas they have chosen as well as in achieving their long-term profession goals. They help people to set up a stronger and clearer idea for one’s professional future. With such a plan, one can take useful steps in trying to turn the idea into reality. A career action plan assists a person to identify strategies which one can apply in order to achieve his or her career objectives and goals. For an action plan to be effective, it must have comprehensive actions steps as well as definite timelines within which to attain the set goals (Ellis, 2008, p.29). Professional goals I have several professional goals that I need to achieve. To start with, I aim at being able to record more accurate information about clients during consultation sessions. According to Ellis (2008, p.30), accuracy is one of the most important aspects in the health care world. This is because; incorrect information may result into wrong prescriptions for patients which may end up complicating their health status. A big percentage of professional goals that are set by health administrators should concentrate on enhancing their performance. Enhancing accuracy is a common goal in the field. Additionally, I plan to complete my bachelor’s degree and take up a masters’ degree in health administration. I have already pursued undergraduate studies which have not equipped me with the appropriate knowledge to undertake my future career. Pursuing a degree will provide me with a wide range of knowledge and skills which are required in the field. Ellis says that, the field of health administration keeps on changing due to the changing technology with patients desiring for more specialized and high quality services. Therefore, taking up new courses is unavoidable in this field because it is through them that, one gets to learn new knowledge and skills (Ellis, 2008, p.33). After completing my degree, I would like to be registered with Healthcare Administrators’ Association. I consider this move as very important in my professional development because the association acts as an advocate for professional health administrators by airing their grievances and defending their rights. Davidson (2010, p.112) maintains that, the association also campaigns for better payment of services that are rendered by administrators who are members. Moreover, the organization will help me to remain on top of changes within the sector by keeping me informed of any ongoing education openings and requirements. It will also give me a chance to meet other professionals who may potentially improve my career. Working as the head of department in one of the biggest health facilities in the United States is my leadership goal. This goal will lead me into taking up new responsibilities and give me a chance to grow and advance in my career. An effective career action plan should include a goal which deals with going up the job hierarchy. This gives a person a motivation to work hard, desire to acquire new knowledge and skills which match higher job positions. In whatever professional goals that one sets, it is important for a person to set goals which are achievable (Davidson, 2010, p.110). The job that I plan to have in the health care sector I intend to become a professional health administrator. There are numerous lucrative jobs in the health care sector but I have a great passion for administration. I like jobs that involve direct interface between service providers and customers. Being a health administrator will give me a chance to interact with patients, listen to their needs and be able to devise ways of meeting those needs. Skills for this job that I currently have Being an administrator for healthcare facilities requires one to possess a wide range of skills. I have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. One of the most essential skills for an administrator is the ability to communicate and work with people. He or she is expected to search for ways of assisting people and solving issues. In addition, one should have the capacity to deal with people with different cultural, economic and social backgrounds and thus my interpersonal skills are relevant here. I also have office management skills in areas such as travel coordination, executive support, payroll administration, database administration, spreadsheets and presentations among others. Having such a wide range of office skills makes me an all round administrator who can handle several responsibilities as is required of the profession. Wise (2010, p.260) asserts that, a healthcare administrator is a central person in the running of a health facility because he or she can serve the top management, subordinate staff, patients and other stakeholders like suppliers. Therefore, the above office skills enable me to attend to the needs of all the stakeholders. Moreover, I have strong planning, decision-making and problem-solving capacities. I am able to make timely and practical plans and decisions which relate to things like procurement of drugs and medical equipment, customer service, employees relations and other matters that are important to a health facility, which qualifies me for the position of a health administrator. Where a group of people are gathered or are working together, issues will always come up. When such happens, the human resource department should team up with the health administrator to solve such issues. I am competent in problem–solving, a skill which fits very well with health administration. Furthermore, I possess a demonstrated ability to handle varying precedence while meeting fixed deadlines. The health environment keeps on changing and those in charge of health facilities should be in a position to accept and implement change in their institutions so as to be able to meet the needs of all stakeholders effectively. Health administrators should also work with deadlines so as to facilitate the achievement of organizational goals through increased efficiency (Wise, 2010, p.260). Skills that I need to change or alter Despite possessing numerous skills that are relevant to health administration, there are skills that I need to develop or acquire in order to be an effective health administrator. In the first place, I need to have leadership and analytical skills. An administrator should have the capacity to lead and direct others in the day to day activities of a health centre. He or she should be able to analyze information, make assessment and develop a policy which aims at maintaining steady standards of health care for patients among all departments (Graber & Kilpatrick, 2008, p.181). Moreover, I need an extensive knowledge in health administration. My knowledge in the field is a bit shallow. In fact, I have not completed my bachelor’s degree in health administration which is considered as the entry academic level into the profession. According to Graber & Kilpatrick (2008, p.179), a health administrator requires a lot of knowledge in management, strategic planning, delegation, control and organizing, for him or her to be able to manage every level of administrative and medical personnel. I also need good negotiation skills as well as the ability to establish and nurture relationships with different bodies in the society. I have only worked as a health administration assistant with most of my responsibilities being aligned with office administration. An administrator should interact with government bodies, unions as well as community organizations since they all play a role in ensuring the success of health facilities within the country (Farrell & Salmon, 2010, p.115). Plan for ultimately achieving these professional goals In order to improve my accuracy in recording information, I plan to take up some communication courses. This will also enhance my writing skills which are necessary to my future career. Additionally, I will try to be keen to details in all my administration work so as to ensure that, no important details are left out especially those that relate to patients. Moreover, I plan to finish my bachelor’s degree so that I can get entry qualification as a health administrator. I will also enroll for a master’s degree in health administration. By doing so, I will be able to expand my academic knowledge in the field as required. In order to be registered with Healthcare Administrator’s Association, I will have to complete my two degrees and then sit for a special exam that is set by the body. Besides, I intend to continue working for Jordon Health Services until I complete my bachelors’ degree. After that, I will look for a job opportunity in an established health facility as a health administrator. I will also attend conferences, training programs and workshops that relate to health administration. All these plans will enable me to gain more experience in the field and be able to move towards achieving the goal of being the head of department in a large health facility. Professional organizations which can help me achieve these goals Healthcare Administrators’ Association is one of the organizations that may assist me to achieve my goals by updating me on current developments and requirements of health administrators. In addition, American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management will help me by providing learning resources which will expand my administrative knowledge. It will also present me with networking opportunities which will help me learn new things and experiences from other health professionals. Benefits that my career action plan outline provides The outline has helped me develop a systematic career action plan by providing consistent steps to follow. This is made possible by putting steps that relate to each other in a successive flow. Moreover, an outline is a summary of the plan and thus I was able to view all the points at a glance to identify any relevant point that could be missing. It also helped avoid forgetting some points. Conclusion A career plan directs a person when making a career choice and helps in achieving professional goals. My professional goals include; recording more accurate information, to complete my bachelor’s degree and enroll for masters in health administration, become a member of Healthcare Administrators’ Association in the United States and to work as a head of department in a big health facility. I intend to be a health administrator. In order to achieve my goals, I will take up communication courses, complete my bachelor and master’s degree and continue working in health facilities. An outline facilitates consistency and ensures some points are not forgotten while creating the career action plan. References Davidson, S. J. (2010). Complex responsive processes: a new lens for leadership in twenty-first-century health care. Nursing Forum , 45 (2), 108-117. Ellis, J. (2008). Managing performance. Nursing Management , 15 (1), 28-33. Farrell, G. A., & Salmon, P. (2010). Challenging behaviour: an action plan for education and training. Contemporary Nurse , 34 (1), 110-118. Graber, D. R., & Kilpatrick, A. O. (2008). Establishing values-based leadership and value systems in healthcare organizations. Journal of Health & Human Services Administration , 31 (2), 179-197. Wise, K. (2010). Public relations and the visioning process in healthcare: Perspectives of US practitioners. Journal of Communication in Healthcare , 3 (4), 258-265. Read More