6 Skills Healthcare Workers Need to Boost Their Employability

Healthcare is a volatile arena where mishaps are frequent. Nonetheless, you cannot lose your consciousness or compromise performance. In such a challenging work environment, occupational requirements also change and advance. That’s why employability does not only depend upon the skills and knowledge in a particular healthcare major. Aspirants are also required to have proficiency in multidisciplinary skills to ensure their employability.

But before going further, let’s comment on the definition of employability skills. Skills that improve earning potential and performance, and facilitate mobility across diverse roles and setup, are called employability skills. It is the cumulative sum of knowledge, approach, performance, and vision to acquire and ensure your employability in the job market. Thus, empathy and compassion, research and creativity, resilience and stress management, and teamwork are employability skills. The ability to analyze critically, manage time, and prioritize responsibilities also fall on the employability list. If you’re willing to learn more about these skills, continue to the following sections.

Research and creativity

Many believe that healthcare education merely depends upon theoretical know-how. If you have a tight grip on bookish knowledge, you can easily manage any situation. But that is not true. Emerging healthcare challenges of the field also require you to update your approach. Constant exploration, creativity, and newness are crucial to your performance. That’s what research and creativity help you achieve. For instance, a research degree in public health teaches you to explore clinically viable solutions to existing and emerging public health challenges. You learn to explore new ways to reduce patients’ suffering and create comfort. Your research and findings also contribute to healthcare policies specific to public health and so forth. But if the question “what can you do with a masters in public health?” is still puzzling you, it’s wise to explore the link.

Empathy and compassion

Empathy and compassion are inherent characteristics of a health worker’s personal and professional conduct. It is because patients do not only require clinical solutions to their problems. Their health issues are also associated with familial, professional, and social negligence, which may not need medications or treatment. They want someone to listen, understand, and comfort them. And no one can play this role better than a healthcare provider. Patients know that a healthcare expert is aware of their physical, psychological, and emotional issues. They also know that the expert can understand, re-track, and eradicate the root cause of their problems. 

Therefore, mere knowledge and acknowledgment are not enough; you also have to demonstrate empathy and compassion in your conduct. It can be challenging to see patients through their visible façade, but it is part of your job. Your empathetic and compassionate behavior can resolve the majority of their issues. And as a care provider, is it not your job to prevent unnecessary treatment and medication?

Resilience to withstand stress and pressure

Resilience and stress management are crucial strategies to survive in a dynamic workplace. You can better picture unpredictable scenarios in emergency and intensive care units. Lives are constantly at stake there. And your job is to exercise control over the situation one or the other way. But humans cannot ensure steady behavior against emergencies and volatile situations all the time. Constant attentiveness to manage and lessen their impact can exhaust and stress you out. As a result, you are also prone to taint your performance with errors and mishaps. 

Your emotional instabilities can undermine and affect patients’ safety. Thus, healthcare responsibilities require flexibility to manage unpredictable circumstances and control nerves. Otherwise, if you do not possess the tactics to withstand pressure and stress, you cannot survive in the long run.

Ability to work in a team

The healthcare sector does not only recruit professionals having medicinal expertise and knowledge. It is a multidisciplinary playground where professionals from medicine and others participate for the ultimate goal. Similarly, healthcare issues are also diverse, beyond a single member’s scope. For instance, emergency department responsibilities require you to coordinate with the paramedic staff. You also have to alert the laboratory staff to prepare equipment and expedite necessary health checkups. Coordination with the administration department is also unavoidable. More than that, you have to interact with on-the-scene teammates. 

It is not the situation in an emergency department only; other units also require similar coordination and interaction. And this is only possible and attainable if you have cohesive teamwork. Otherwise, hospitals cannot manage workload and accommodate the diverse healthcare requirements of the patients. So, your ability to work in a team is an essential prerequisite to serving and surviving in any healthcare setup.

Time and priority management

When you work in an unpredictable work environment, there are two drawbacks. First is that every task seems of prime importance. And the second is that you cannot figure out which one to accomplish first. Thus, prioritization and time management are the two challenging aspects of the healthcare profession. If you do not have the knack to manage time and prioritize responsibilities, your performance can waver significantly. You may not fulfill lined-up tasks in a given time window. Even if you stretch yourself, you are likely to compromise quality. And compromise in healthcare responsibilities may not only be a performance sign. It can have consequences for a patient’s well-being and safety. 

That is not all. Inability to manage time and fulfill responsibilities as per their urgency can also create challenges for your health and well-being. While on the battleground, you cannot neglect your physical and emotional requirements. And you can only respond to several such accountabilities with efficient time and priority management skills. Otherwise, you are likely to yield to emotional and physical fatigue.

Critical thinking and reflective demeanor

The ability to critically analyze and reflect is a crucial employability skill. It helps you serve at any position and healthcare facility. These skills show your flexibility to encounter any challenge heads on, decode them, and lead your way confidently. Though healthcare activities require coordination and teamwork, every position also has a specific role. Specific responsibilities require unaccompanied endeavors, where you are your only guide. If you cannot disentangle problems, you cannot manage challenges effectively. 

Every challenge can easily dumbfound and estrange you. And you are also less likely to readily bring your knowledge to the forefront and learn from your mistakes. As a result, you cannot provide better and more efficient service to your patients. Thus, it is necessary to expose yourself to challenges and learn from them. And you can only harness these skills with practice.

Conclusion

No doubt, a healthcare worker needs an all-inclusive grip on employability skills to survive in a dynamic occupation. That’s why current healthcare coursework and practice focus on developing diverse skills. These skills are also necessary to excel in any professional setting, both horizontally and vertically. Thus, if you want to enhance your employability, get a good grip on these skills.