Top Tips for Starting Your Medical Career

Working in the field of healthcare is an especially rewarding career choice for many reasons. If you enjoy helping people directly and playing an active part in their treatment and recovery from a range of illnesses or injuries, then you will be well suited for a variety of medical roles.

Whether you have just finished your university study and are taking your first steps as a trainee doctor or a registered nurse, this article will be of great benefit.

In this article, three top tips and strategies to get your medical career started will be discussed in detail. As well as tips for improving your performance at work, some practical considerations will be explored.

Ask questions  

While you will have undertaken several years of academic study and practical work to prepare you for a role in medicine, it is a simple fact that even years of theoretical knowledge will not fully prepare you to be adept in every medical situation.

In your first months working in your healthcare facility, it is imperative that you ask questions to more senior or experienced staff. It is important to remember that every medical intervention, treatment, or consultation will improve your practical skills but, in the beginning, you will not perform as effectively as well experienced staff.

Do not be afraid to ask questions that seem simple or obvious. Experienced staff expect new medical staff to have a range of questions in many situations and will be happy to answer them to the best of their ability. It can also be highly valuable to find a mentor in your healthcare setting.

A more senior doctor or nurse who has several years of clinical practice can be a highly valuable source of information and can become a colleague who you regularly connect with to ask questions and look for feedback. 

Get on the property ladder early 

This practical consideration can be an often-overlooked facet of starting your medical career, but it is vital to secure a mortgage on a property early on. Many doctors and nurses start by renting properties near to their place of work but soon find that this is not the best use of their income as they have no assets to show for their expenditure.

The sooner you secure a mortgage on a property, the sooner you can use your salary to directly contribute to the funding of your own home. While your first house will be as inexpensive as possible as a reflection of your starting salary, as you progress in your career, you will be able to move up the housing ladder.

It can be beneficial for junior doctors to speak to medical mortgage brokers who specialise in searching for the best mortgage for such healthcare professionals. Their expert knowledge of the salary structure of doctors allows them to find mortgages that may be more competitive than those offered by conventional banks. 

Be compassionate but thick skinned

It is an inevitable fact of working in the medical profession that no two days will be the same, and some shifts will be exceptionally difficult. Doctors may have a day where everything goes smoothly and is characterized by successful outcomes and grateful patients.

The next day, there may be challenging or unruly patients or the need to face exceptionally traumatic situations while dealing with seriously ill people who do not recover. It is important to always remain compassionate when working in difficult circumstances and when speaking to relatives of loved ones who are critically ill.

However, it is also vitally important for your own mental well-being to develop a thick skin that allows you to cope in circumstances that become emotive or challenging.