Answers could range from burnout to pandemic-based logistics, pressures at home to personal health problems exacerbated by your work. As you can imagine from the diversity of just this short list, the best solutions for your situation will vary widely, depending on the nature of the issue.
Making a Career Change During a Pandemic Career decisions are challenging at any time, but when the world is experiencing so much upheaval, making a change to your work can seem especially difficult. And yet, you may feel you have no choice. One of the unwelcome side effects of our pandemic has been an increase in layoffs and work furloughs, even in health care settings. Homeschooling, childcare and elder care issues have also upended family schedules, while personal health conditions have forced some medical professionals to reconsider their exposure to the public. Any of these can be reasons to reassess the work
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you’re doing, even if you would have preferred to make decisions in a less tumultuous time. If you feel compelled to review your career path right now—or if you’ve just wanted to imagine new horizons—it’s best to follow a logical process. While you can move quickly if needed, that’s different than acting in haste. Here are the steps to follow, as well as some tips to keep in mind.
First-level Steps: Assessing the Situation 1. Identify the problem. Why are you considering a change?
2. Go deeper. Now that you’ve identified the problem(s), you can be more specific. Is it the rotating shifts that are causing the most difficulty with your family’s pandemic schedule? Are you burned out on patient care but still excited about neurology overall? The more specific you can be, the more you can tailor your process. It may help to talk with others, to make you dig deeper or question mental habits you have formed. 3. Imagine short-term solutions first. It may well be that you need a full-on career change, into something totally nonmedical in nature. But it’s just as possible that smaller changes could give you the breathing room you need right now. Even if a particular solution doesn’t seem likely, pause to envision what would make the difference. If you worked only 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day, for example, would that create the balance you want for your family obligations? Of course, that’s not a normal shift for a medical professional— but these aren’t normal times. You can’t know that something won’t work until you explore it further. Likewise, if you’ve been laid off with no clear return date, it might seem like a good time to switch fields. Maybe so, but start by imagining a less permanent option, such as a temporary work arrangement elsewhere.
