Professionalism

I like others to see me as professional however I do like them to see my ‘real’ side as well, when appropriate. I think I like that because I enjoy getting to know my colleagues outside the office or learning bits of their lives over time at work. I think it helps people develop a deeper level of trust and comfort with each other and lay the foundation for a work support system in stressful times. Currently, my place in the health system is a manager/leader. It is exactly where I want to be. I would like others to see me as helpful, knowledgeable, a good change agent, a motivator, engaged, and approachable. Right now they may not as I’m new to the role but I aspire to this in the near future. I do not have a professional image other than how people see me in action at work.

The idea of having an online image in the form of a portfolio was not a thought, other than LinkedIn. I am not a big social media user. I was limited to Facebook for keeping up with friends, storing all my photos, and finding event ideas. I use Twitter for local news and road conditions. Anything else I was on was because I was curious or forced to create a site to watch something and sat unused, on the last phone screen. I am normally not intimidated by technology but creating a website took me out of my comfort zone. It took a couple of weeks to get used to the one I chose (WiX) but I went from feeling overwhelmed to really enjoying finding different ways to creatively post my information. Now I need to remember to maintain a balance of simplicity and creativity, or it can become too busy for the reader.

Although created as a requirement for a course, I have discovered that a portfolio's value goes beyond sharing education, skills, and experiences. It is also important for curating and sharing resources related to my work and studies. Additionally, it gives potential employers and others a deeper insight into who I am - those parts of me that aren't discernable on a resume. With the right information, one can discover a person’s values and beliefs, writing style(s), and work ethic. I chose to include a couple of personal experiences which involved the healthcare system, because they have given me patient and family experience with the system, which is different that the perspective as a healthcare professional. I believe the more varied experiences one has, the more one can appreciate and respect other points of view, the better care one can provide, and the better insight into what is important.

I value:

• Respect – of co-workers, colleagues, patients, stakeholders, and diversity

• Integrity – open, honest, truthful

• Evidence-informed practice – Briefly, evidenced-based practice is more restrictive and limited to what the science says. Evidence-informed practice is more inclusive, holistic, and patient-centred (Miles & Loughlin, 2011).

• Consultation and Collaboration – group work and consulting key stakeholders adds a diversity of opinions and there is a better chance of ensuring thorough work the first time.

• Holistic, Person-centred – looking at the entire person, their family if necessary, and their needs, not just ‘curing the disease’. This will also be looking at the reasons for the illness, which leads to looking at the social determinants of health, factors affecting the patient, and providing options and/or education so the illness is less likely to repeat, continue, or worsen.

• Ethical – morally, rightfully, lawfully and a strong work ethic with loyalty to my employer

• Innovation – thinking outside the box and being creative to develop new programs, processes, machinery, etc, in order to achieve better outcomes.

• Excellence – I’m a perfectionist to a fault so I’m trying to relax a bit in areas that don’t matter so much, but I do hold myself and others to high standards, understanding that sometimes people (including myself) just don’t have the education or experience and may require some professional learning to work towards excellence in some matters.

I hope I can reach my goals swiftly

References

Miles, A., & Loughlin, M. (2011). Models in the balance: Evidence‐based medicine versus evidence‐informed individualized care. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 17(4), 531–536. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2011.01713.x