Reflections of my Professional Identity

Back in early 2018, my focuses included successfully completing my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, all while solidifying my nursing skills during my final student consolidation at the Heart Institute. I wanted to prove myself to secure a permanent position within this inpatient area. After 4 months working full-time alongside my nurse mentor, I felt increasingly comfortable. I knew the roots of the unit and had learned the standards of world-class cardiac care and education for patients. A few short months later, I successfully passed my NCLEX-RN licensing exam, and began my career. It was my biggest accomplishment so far. Admittedly, starting off as a new grad nurse is overwhelming. It takes time to grow your confidence, knowledge and skill set as an independent provider. This is the first step towards developing your professional identity on the front line of healthcare. This development period helps define who you are as a colleague, how you care for your patients, and your ability to work effectively amongst the multidisciplinary team.

Fast forward 2.5 years, I continued to solidify my knowledge and experience as a bedside nurse. I also found myself getting more and more interested in career development. I wanted to know how I could improve and develop as a nursing professional. What avenues were there? How could I continue to grow? I then jumped on an opportunity to apply for a new leadership role within my unit, which I landed shortly after. It was an exciting but nerve-racking time for me. What followed was the not-so-easy transition from peer-to-leader, which ended up being a challenge I was not quite prepared for. I quickly realized I had to shift my professional identity with my peers and become an exemplary model for my staff. In turn I had to be more careful with what personal information I shared with others both in person, and via social media. I also had to re-evaluate my professional identity, not only as a nurse but as a leader. I strived to become a leader who listens to staff needs, provides the right support in a timely manner, and helps optimize the quality of care that we provided for our patients. These continue to be some of the pillars of leadership that I prioritize in my day to day as a frontline supervisor.

Since beginning this course, we’ve focused a lot on evaluating ourselves, our social media presence, and our professional identity. It’s been an enlightening experience for me, as I realized I had not yet formally “owned” my role as a healthcare leader. I had dealt with what some call “imposter syndrome” for some time, and I shied away from sharing my professional identity outside of the workplace. This was made clear by completing a quick Google search of my name, where nothing showed up except for an old wedding registry... I’ve now come to the realization of the importance and benefits of inter-professional connectedness. It brings providers together and emphasizes our shared understanding and experiences of navigating our healthcare system. As a result, I’ve since created a professional Twitter and LinkedIn account. This was done in hopes of better showcasing myself as a professional and staying connected with colleagues, MHS course participants and other healthcare organizations worldwide.

In addition, the development of my ePortfolio has allowed me to gain more insight into my professional identity by highlighting my various experiences and skills. I’ve solidified my professional values which include leading with compassion, collaboration, communication & education at the forefront of my practice. These elements apply equally to my patient care and leading a team within a healthcare organization. Further, I’ve also had the opportunity to dive into the curation of health information within the clinical, leadership, and legislative realms of our healthcare system. I’m now able to share these resources with other administrative and allied health professionals within the MHS program. I believe sharing these important articles, data and links can help support the important alignment of multidisciplinary collaboration in healthcare.

In conclusion, I believe your professional identity can ebb and flow throughout your career depending on your role, department, and organization. Like an ePortfolio, a professional identity is a work in progress that is improved and refined with time. The core elements that typically remain the same are the values that you cherish, as those stem from within. I think it’s vital to keep those core values at the forefront, as they will help keep you grounded during the obstacles of navigating your career as a healthcare professional.