A colleague of mine recently went to his father-in-law's retirement party. His father-in-law is among a rare breed of people who have enjoyed success and security by working for the same company for many years. In this particular case, for more than 40 years. Having started his career in an era of downsizing, my colleague wonders what it was like when long-term job security was the rule, rather than exception.
I remember a time when Americans were taught a simple career formula: work hard and you will be rewarded. Companies set the rungs on the ladder of success, thereby laying out an employee's path for the future, one step at a time.
It's different in 1997. Hardly a day goes by without news of corporate downsizing or reorganization. Well-paying jobs are lost overnight, with little or no warning. The simple one-size-fits-all career formula no longer applies in what experts call the “chaotic age,” where change is the constant. Americans of all ages, economic levels, and education levels are experiencing unexpected confusion and chaos in their work lives.
Surviving and thriving in a career in a time of chaos requires us to embrace change and to use it creatively and confidently, rather than to fear or try to escape it. These times demand that we take charge. Each of us must activate a career-planning process that requires rethinking and reorganizing our skills and environment. One career strategy that is key to success for dietetics professionals is multiskilling; in other words, acquiring a repertoire of career skills and knowledge that is translatable to dietetics and a variety of other fields.
1. Branch Out
Dietitians must ask themselves this question: What skills could I add to my professional background that would make me more valuable to the emerging health care system?
Margaret Gaughan, PhD, RD, has an interesting answer. In 1979, while working as a staff dietitian at Polyclinic Medical Center in Harrisburg, Pa, Gaughan developed an interest in nutrition education, which led her to obtain her master's degree and become a clinical instructor at the School of Allied Health Professions at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Gaughan's search for personal development did not end there, however. To survive in the world of academia, she realized it was important to have strong research skills. “I really enjoyed teaching. However, if I wanted to establish myself in the university, I needed an advanced degree to boost my research portfolio,” Gaughan explains. So she went back to school for the third time and finished her PhD in 1994.
Gaughan now wears multiple hats, including educator and consultant. Recently, she learned how to write an exercise prescription and became a certified smoke cessation instructor. She has also studied stress management and has taken an interest in the psychological aspect of nutrition counseling.
To Gaughan these new skills are a logical progression. “We, as registered dietitians, know so much about nutrition science. If we can branch out to other fields, we’ll find future job opportunities. We need a package of skills related to, but not limited to, nutrition. Whether it's stress management or exercise prescription, they all contribute to helping people live a healthful lifestyle,” she contends.
Gaughan thinks some dietitians tend to be insulated and specialized. “We need to get to know and network with people outside the field. We need interdisciplinary training, because the future depends on collaboration among health professionals,” she adds.
2. Take On New Challenges
To chart the course of our individual professional development in this time of change, each of us needs to acquire new skills, and drive our career toward what fits our interests, values, and financial goals. More importantly, we need to balance these skills with projected opportunities.
In recent years, a number of trends, including the following, will continue to drive changes in the health care field.
■ There will be gmore public awareness of the importance of disease prevention and treatment, increased concern by policy makers for disease prevention to save health care costs, and a growing elderly population.
■ Consumers will be more frustrated and confused by the conflicting nutrition reports they receive, yet tough competition among the media will lead to more sensationalized coverage of nutrition-related news. With more frequent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, food safety will top consumer concerns.
■ Families will continue to eat more foods prepared away from home or purchase prepared foods to eat at home. Biotechnology in foods will change our food supply, and the use of computers will go beyond food preparation and nutrition analysis.
■ Cost-control measures taken by hospitals and managed-care companies will result in continued reduction of inpatient medical care. Alternative systems such as medical nutrition therapies will be the norm.
Although these trends have created some uncertainties for dietetics practitioners, they can also be translated into increased demand for food and nutrition services and new opportunities.
Jody Vogelzang, MS, RD, shares her perspective on this promising situation. Vogelzang designed her career path using her uncanny ability to learn new skills and her willingness to take on new challenges. Like many of us, she started out in foodservice. In 1983, she began working as a nutrition coordinator for Home Care Services, Inc, in Indianapolis, Ind, and gradually worked her way up from director of a food and nutrition program for women, infants, and children that she initiated to vice president of operations, managing a $2.8 million budget and 150 employees.
“Changing from being a dietitian to being an administrator was a challenge; however, I wasn’t intimidated. I picked up my administrative and management skills on the job. I also earned how to communicate effectively with consumers and how to market our services,” she says.
Cost-cutting measures by managed-care companies have led to emerging opportunities in home-care services. Vogelzang's management experience in home service settings earned her a position as executive director with the North Carolina Alliance of Public Home Health Agencies. Five years into her job, she has started an alliance of 37 home health agencies, negotiated managed care contracts and network agreements, and helped set up standards for fees.
“Dietitians need to expand their traditional roles and should be willing to take risks and new challenges in this changing health care environment,” Vogelzang asserts.
Gaughan and Vogelzang created career blueprints based on their skills, interest, and savvy knowledge of the future market. Their examples show that the key to success in today's world is to develop multiple skills and make a commitment to lifelong learning. At a time when career paths are fragmented and subject to change, it is important to develop a multidimensional plan that will fulfill your career goals.
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