Blogs, Blogs, Blogs!

I have skimmed, scoured, and read tons of blogs relating to my career path. I have absorbed information from Marketing, Public Relations, and Human Resources. Before I took a good look I though they would be blasé and dry. But, surprisingly technology has opened the whole new world of information and ways of sharing it.

The three blogs I thought were the most interesting were about using blogs, social media, and other various outlets to market yourself as a professional, your business (in my case, hospital), and your knowledge. I used to be on the fence about using social media in the professional realm, but after reading up on it there are ways to that social media can be professional and helpful. I started an employment portfolio earlier this year through my business writing class. It opened a world of opportunities. I find the more tech savvy I become the more doors I open in terms of marketing for my profession.

My three favorite professional blogs:

http://www.pr-squared.com/index.php/2009/11/the-awareness-scale-how-social-media-pr-advertising-now-work-together

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com

http://blog.hubspot.com

How is Health Psychology Relevant to Human Resources?

Last spring I took what I think will be one of the greatest college classes that I will ever take. Health Psychology introduced me to a relatively new discipline in psychology. The link between health psychology and a Human Resources position in a hospital my not be obvious. In fact, you might be thinking the only reason you could possibly link them together is that one has health in the title and the other is located in a place that deals solely with health issues and the maintenance of health. Well you couldn't be more wrong.

I learned about how jobs affect health and how to keep employees healthy. I learned about programs that can be implemented to provide incentive for employees to become healthy and stay that way; to help them create a healthy life-style. I learned that employers can effect the health of their employees.

Since I want to be in Human Resources in a hospital I will be able to apply this knowledge through programs, insurance offered, and bonus perks. I will also have a grasp on what employees can and cannot tolerate. The phenomenon known as burnout in the medical community happens quite frequently. Health Psychology taught me how to prevent this. With the help of the knowledge I gained I will strive for healthy employees that are at the top of the game. This will enable them to provide the best medical care possible and keep all of their patients as healthy as possible!

Health Human Resources

I recently had a change of heart about the career path I should take. My grandma was the administrative assistant at Memorial Medical Center. I grew up in a hospital; I knew the employees and they knew me, I knew the different specialties in the medical field, and I learned about all the hidden jobs in hospitals. Being in that environment taught me that I wanted, needed to work in a hospital. The question was where? I spent years fighting obstacles, slaving over textbooks trying to get A's, and working Certified Nursing and Resident Assistant jobs because I thought I wanted to be a nurse. I am no longer pursuing this option.

I got older. I fell in love, moved in, broke-up, and moved out just to move back into the same apartment after he left. You ask why this is important in terms of my career path? I will tell you. I learned things about myself and what I want in life through my relationship. I learned I want to get married, have children, and maybe even a couple puppies! Nine to five started to become more appealing. To be a trauma nurse I would have to live in a hospital for years. That was no longer an option for where I wanted to go in my life.

You may say I could have both. Yes, I could. However, I didn't want my life to be structured that way. I want to watch my kids get on the bus. I want to be the one to pick them up at the day care at five o'clock. I want to have weekends off and go to the farmers market, with a warm latte in my hand and a scarf on to keep warm on cool September mornings. These are all things that seemed unrealistic or at the very least would only happen every so often if I continued on my path to be a nurse.

I started to explore my options. I love people, the medical field, and I now love the idea of nine to five. I chose to create my own major. I designed a major through University of Wisconsin-Superior's interdisciplinary studies program titled Health and Human Resources. I took a combination of science, psychology, and business classes to help me transition from nursing to the behind the scenes office setting in a hospital. I hope to go into Marketing, Human Resources, or Public Relations in a hospital. My ultimate goal is to become the director of one of those three specialties or the president of a hospital.