Reflective Essay: A Career In Healthcare

When I enrolled in Walden University, I didn’t plan for after my degree. I knew I wanted to help people, but did not know in what capacity. After my first year, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Stage III B and had to deal with the household income being allocated to my health care. I wasn’t working, but I had a disability plan that covered me during that time; however, that meant I had no room for error when it came to money. During that time, I met so many people while in treatment who didn’t have healthcare insurance or either depended on Medicare/Medicaid to assist with receiving the medical assistance needed. Sadly, some were not afforded the opportunity to receive the appropriate treatment, such as drugs that were not within

I came into this program knowing that I can create and maintain positive interpersonal relationships, but what I need to improve was learning to make wise career choices, minimize those bad experiences, and grow from the challenging ones (Buchbinder & Thompson, 2010). Specially, I become emotionally attached to people and situations, which doesn’t allow for me to make the best decision for the bigger picture. As healthcare managers, we can help people one at a time, or thousands at a time, because we work through something that is larger than us (Buchbinder & Thompson, 2010). I focus on how I can make the situation better for one person instead of making sure that the solution would assist a person and many more. One of the tools that will assist with improving my business skills would be requesting a mentor in a health care manager’s position or like business. Having a mentor would allow me the opportunity to be taught by someone who has been down the same path I’m taking. He or she is experienced, successful and willing to provide advice and guidance — for no real personal gain (Finding a Business Mentor). This will allow for me to learn how to make those important discussions for our community while keeping the big picture in the