There are many reasons for wanting to quit your position. Therapists who are unhappy in their current job usually feel underpaid, aren’t provided enough opportunities if they are a contractor, aren’t given enough opportunities to advance, aren’t adequately recognized, bored, stressed, or not given access to learning opportunities. Given individual circumstances, these may be legitimate reasons. However, when do you know you’ve really reached the breaking point particularly in this economy? How do you know that the time is right to say good bye?
Being undercompensated is one of the most common things that I hear among therapists – but is it really true? There are many resources on the internet that can help you determine your market value based on your location, setting, and level of experience.
If stress in your facility is creating health related problems, or causing you to lose sleep, there is cause for concern. If you can’t work out the problems at work, either directly with your supervisor or through human resources, you may have to remove yourself from the tense situation.
Your current situation may make it difficult to balance your work with all the other aspects of your life. If you have problems maintaining a work/life balance, you should first try to establish a flexible arrangement with your employer. Many medical facilities have done some amazing and creative things with alternative work schedules and even leaves of absences. If your facility is unwilling to compromise, it may be time to move on.
The best method to determining whether or not it’s time to leave your job is your intuition. Many therapists stay too long in a bad situation because of uncertainty about what will happen once they leave. The longer you stay in a bad position, however, the harder it is to leave. It is important to realize that leaving the old job behind could lead to something better in the future.
There has been a dramatic shift in market conditions related to contract vs. permanent employment opportunities in therapy staffing recently. The number of contract opportunities has decreased but the quantity and quality of permanent therapy positions has dramatically improved just in the past few months. This is a great time to leverage this paradigm shift in market conditions as an opportunity to give careful consideration to making a change. It certainly isn’t something you should do on the fly because it will undoubtedly have a big impact on your life. However, there are a lot of unique opportunities to possibly improve your current situation.
Dean Medley
Vice President of Recruiting
Medical Methods Healthcare Recruiting
904-398-4133 Office
904-398-4148 Fax
904-705-3552 Mobile
877-990-0090 Toll Free
dean.medley@medicalmethods.net
www.medicalmethods.net