Hello Reader,
We need to talk about the guilt.
You know the one I mean - that heavy feeling when you’re lying awake wondering if healthcare is slowly destroying you, followed immediately by shame for even having that thought. “I went into this to help people,” you tell yourself. “What’s wrong with me?”
Nothing. Nothing is wrong with you.
This week, coach Vicki Landers joined me to explore what thoughtful career transitions look like in healthcare. Not the dramatic “I quit!” moments we see on social media, but the intentional, values-driven pivots that actually work.
Start with Your Why, Not Your What
When someone tells Vicki they need a remote job, her first question isn’t about job boards or salary negotiations. It’s simply: “Why?”
“A lot of times we’re making these really big rash decisions based upon our perception of something that’s not as big of a deal as we think it is,” Vicki explains.
Sometimes that “desperate need” for change comes down to schedule flexibility for your kid’s sports. Sometimes it’s feeling unheard by leadership. Sometimes it’s outgrowing your current role. The solution might be smaller than a complete career overhaul.
Your Identity vs. Your Skillset
We’ve been trained to introduce ourselves as “I am a nurse” or “I am a physician.” But Vicki challenges this thinking: “You’re not training to be a person who does. You’re training to be a: a physician, a physical therapist, a nurse.”
The problem? Labels make containers smaller.
Your medical training taught you to think, to solve complex problems, to work under pressure. Those skills transfer everywhere - from healthcare tech to consulting to leadership roles you haven’t even imagined yet.
The Financial Reality Check
Let’s be honest about money. Clinical work pays well, and pivoting often means temporary income reduction. But Vicki asks the hard question: “Are you accumulating money to use it meaningfully, or just working for a bigger bank account?”
Some of her clients realize they’re not even using their current income in ways that align with their values. Others discover that downsizing their lifestyle could create the freedom they’re craving.
The key is making financial decisions intentionally, not just following the generic advice everyone gets.
The LEAP Framework
Vicki’s approach to career transitions follows four steps:
Learn: What brought you to this point? What’s the real discomfort driving your desire for change?
Explore: What do you want your life to look like? What are your actual values beyond what you think you should want?
Adopt: Design a pathway toward your goal. You can’t run toward something if you don’t know what it is.
Problem-solve: Address the obstacles - mindset, support, finances, or timeline.
You Don’t Have to Choose Just One Thing
Here’s what I wish I’d known earlier: transitions don’t have to be on-off switches. You can embrace “both/and” thinking. You can gradually shift your portfolio of work while maintaining some clinical practice. You can add coaching or consulting while keeping your day job.
The clinicians who pivot successfully aren’t the ones who had it all figured out from day one. They’re the ones who gave themselves permission to explore, to experiment, to grow into their next chapter.
Your training isn’t wasted when you pivot. It’s the foundation that makes everything else possible.
🎧 Listen to the podcast sneak peek episode below and listen to the full episode on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Podbean, or Amazon Music.
What's inspiring us this week:
The sheer fun of it. Alysa Liu's gold-medal Winter Olympic figure skating performance. It's a lesson in doing things for intrinsic value to you, and you show up for you, and you have fun along the way. It's not about competition, it's about being the fullest expression of yourself.
The Practice: Celebrating Wins
We get more of what we focus on. The practice of gratitude and celebrating the goodness of life is the first step in changing our brains, mindsets, and circumstances for the better.
Sunny warmer weather is always a boost to the mood! More daylight and the peek of spring around the corner!
Stay mindful and keep leading,
Lillian
Founder & CEO
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