How to Increase Your Chances
Few respiratory therapists graduate from RT school thinking they want to spend the rest of their career working at an entry level staff therapist.
Upward mobility is the American way, and most people want to climb either the clinical or managerial ladder in their department. What can you do to increase your chances when a higher level position becomes available? How do you get your manager to look to you for the promotion? Consider these tips —
First Impressions Count
From the very first moment you walk onto a hospital campus (and yes, we mean as a student, if you do your clinicals there), people will be evaluating your potential for promotion. So if you think you can take it easy or slack off for a few years before you get serious about your future in respiratory care, think again. Wow them from the outset with your stellar work ethic, compassion for your patients, and willingness to go the extra mile for your department.
Put the Team First
It’s easy to get so caught up in your own career goals and objectives that you forget that health care is a team profession. Don’t fixate on your own job title or you want to get out of the department or how you believe that you should be perceived by others. If you are, you’re missing the boat. Instead seek out and fully understand your hospital and your department goals and take advantage of opportunities to facilitate the achievement of these goals. For example, if you’re currently a staff therapist and one of your department goals is to deliver aerosol therapy via protocol, make sure you know that protocol inside and out and implement it with every patient.
No Time Like the Present
Occasionally, taking a promotion may require a change in shift. Let’s say your first step on the career ladder is night shift supervisor. Find out what that job entails and then volunteer to help your current supervisor with the tasks she’s charged with carrying out every day. That could be anything from assisting with scheduling to covering for the supervisor, if she has to be out, to simply making her job easier by doing yours without undue need for supervision.
Be Honest With Yourself
As noted earlier, getting a promotion isn’t about stroking your ego (job titles, etc.). It’s about helping your department succeed in the ever-changing world of health care. So take a close look at why you want to be promoted, and if your top answer is, “I need a bump in pay to buy a house” or “I want to be able to tell people I’m an X, Y, or Z” or (worst of all) “I’m looking forward to having power over my peers,” then maybe that promotion isn’t for you after all!
