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In the June column, we introduced you to the five phases of the Donner-Wheeler Career Planning and Development Model. Now we are going to tell you a bit more about the first two phases of the model: scanning your environment and completing your self-assessment and reality check. These two phases form the foundation of the career planning process.
Environmental scan
Just as you scan your clients' environment, at the bedside, in their home or wherever you meet them, as a first step in planning your care for the day, so too should you scan your environment before beginning the process of planning your career. Scanning or taking stock of the world in which you live will provide you with the information you need to understand your world and to identify possible opportunities for your career in the future. Having a thorough understanding of the environment is absolutely essential before you can decide how to use your skills and experience in the most beneficial way, both for you and for society.
Scanning involves understanding the current realities in the healthcare system and the work environment, as well as the future global, national and local trends inside and outside health care and the nursing profession. Through the scanning process you become better informed, learn to see the world through differing perspectives and are able to identify current and future career opportunities. We observe, learn about and assess the world around us through reading, talking with others and continuing our education, and through exposing ourselves not only to information and ideas from and about nursing and health care, but from other disciplines and ideologies as well.
Sources of information to help you with your scan include professional journals and popular magazines, observation, all forms of new media, friends and colleagues and everyday experiences. The Internet is helpful in the scanning process; it allows you to read the news,...