The Health Practitioner's Journey (eBook)

This book is for anyone who sees allied health or indeedprofessional practice as their chosen career. Should yoube a new graduate or someone towards the end of yourcareer, you will find yourself somewhere along the pathof the practitioner journey in this book.??The Health Practitioner's Journey is based upon myexperience as a practitioner who started a professionalcareer as a sports physio, then worked in multidisciplinarypractices, becoming a manager, then an owner anddeveloper of allied health businesses. I have used thetimeline from that journey as the basis and structure ofthis book, breaking up my career into what I'm going tocall four stages that are represented in the above diagram.This covers my career from graduation day up until now.The four stages are:1. Clinical Excellence2. Commercial Success3. Maximise Equity4. Leverage EquityThe diagram shows a linear path with years indicatedbecause that was my path. However, I do not see the timefragments as set in stone, and the time taken to achievemilestones may be shorter or longer than what I haveindicated. I have known some practitioners who have pausedtheir career at clinical excellence or commercial success,which is absolutely line. They are happy with their work andare successful in it and pausing there has suited them. Alsonote that at the completion of stage four there is more. I haveincluded a chapter that I call Harvesting Knowledge, wherepractitioners have used the skills learnt on the journey todo different activities in their career, just as I have done. It is added in 3D because it is relevant and sits behind each ofthe four sections, which I will explain when we get there.I have also used the metaphor of the list as the path.When you begin practice you build a list of patients to treat.As you become more competent, you begin to own thatpatient list. That means you have loyal patients who willfollow you and ask for you when they need assistance. Asyou continue in practice and your list becomes larger, youdevelop commercial success. The next stage is to lead your patient list, which means using new skills to engage othersto work with you in a business that you might commence.Finally, the list you have nurtured, and taught others todo the same, becomes an asset that you can sell when thattime comes for you.