health professions

Exploring Vocation in the Health Professions: Promoting Longitudinal Discernment

Sabrina M. Neeley Uncategorized , , , ,

A series of posts about a collaborative project at the University of Dayton to develop courses, programs, and opportunities for undergraduate vocational discernment in the health professions, including a first-year course, “Discover Health and Medicine.”

I am always amused when I’m asked if I work in the field in which I earned my undergraduate degree. The answer is no, and in fact, I go out of my way to explain to students my meandering path to my current vocation. When I reflect upon my experiences, I accept that had I made different choices as an undergraduate, my path may have been straighter and more efficient, but I would not be the same person that I am today.

In my initial blog post in January, I shared my colleagues’ and my plan to develop a Discover Health & Medicine track for students who express interest in a career in the health professions but had not been initially accepted into a traditional pre-health major. Our two-semester, first-year class will incorporate an intentionally extended vocational exploration and discernment process. For those students who are interested in exploring a vocation in the health professions, this class will teach the skills of discernment and provide tools and resources to use in setting goals.

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Well-Being and Vocational Discernment for the Health Professions

Sabrina M. Neeley Uncategorized , , ,
A series of posts about a collaborative project at the University of Dayton to develop courses, programs, and opportunities for undergraduate vocational discernment in the health professions, including a first-year course, “Discover Health and Medicine.”
https://www.vivekmurthy.com/about

In his August 2022 article in The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, surgeon general of the United States, discusses the mental and physical challenges that health professionals face. He cites several factors that contribute to these challenges and states that “we need to build a culture that supports well-being.” From his perspective, “culture change must start in our training institutions, where the seeds of well-being can be planted early.”

Interview with Dr. Vivek H. Murthy
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I Was Once in Their Shoes: Exploring Vocation in the Health Professions

Sabrina M. Neeley Uncategorized , ,
A series of posts about a collaborative project at the University of Dayton to develop courses, programs, and opportunities for undergraduate vocational discernment in the health professions, including a first-year course, “Discover Health and Medicine.”

 “I’ve always wanted to help people” or “I’ve always wanted to be a doctor” are common student responses when I ask them why they are interested in pursuing a career in the health professions. This is true particularly among those students who were not initially accepted into a health professions major or who are struggling in classes and second-guessing themselves. Each time I hear one of these statements, it takes me back to my own experience as a teenager and as a first-year college student. I, too, was that student who decided at age twelve that I wanted to be a doctor. I was that student who excelled in science classes in high school but for whom first-year chemistry and biology were unexpected, anxiety-provoking struggles.

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