Dr. Helen Ofosu’s Tips on Building Resiliency in Your Health Care Career | Caring Support

In a study conducted by the Mental Health Commission of Canada where they surveyed healthcare professionals of different disciplines and workplaces ( registered nurses, physicians, and other hospital and public health professionals), it was determined that 37% of Canadian healthcare professionals are experiencing burnout, 47% are considering leaving the profession, and only 60% are satisfied with the quality of care they provide. This then emphasizes the need for healthcare professionals to find ways for psychological self-care and to build resiliency in their healthcare careers.

In this article, we’ll recap key points discussed in this Caring Support Podcast episode, gleaning from the workplace advice provided by Dr. Helen Ofosu offered for those wanting to get into or continue navigating their healthcare careers in Canada. Specifically, they discussed the following:

• 01:05 — Dr. Helen’s career as a psychologist, coach and consultant
• 03:36 — Dr. Helen’s inspiration for writing her book, How to be Resilient in Your Career, Facing Up to Barriers at Work
• 05:17 — Red flags people should be watching for during interview processes
• 09:59 — The Imposter Syndrome
• 14:56 — What “micro-kindness” is and how it can help improve workplaces
• 20:39 — Dr. Helen’s advice on facing barriers at work
• 26:56 — Signs to look out for that it’s time to move on from your current job
• 29:35 — Promotion of Dr. Helen Ofosu’s book and Caring Support’s Marketplace

‍Getting to Know Dr. Helen Ofosu

Dr. Helen Ofosu is an award-winning psychologist who initially worked as a federal public service personnel psychologist. According to her, her experience in this position helped her learn a lot about career development and evaluating people for job opportunities and access to developmental opportunities. Eventually, this experience made her decide to gradually transition into becoming an entrepreneur who helps solve challenging work-related problems for individuals and organizations.

Dr. Ofosu is also a strong advocate of taking care of the well-being of citizens of African descent, evident in her community involvements, which include being part of the advisory board of Black Mental Health Canada and being a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce.

About Dr. Helen’s Book: What’s Her Inspiration?

Dr. Helen Ofosu’s book, How to be Resilient in Your Career, Facing Up to Barriers at Work, is a critically acclaimed, self-help resource perfect for psychotherapists, social workers, or other people who support people who struggle with career issues and the professionals themselves that want to resolve their own career issues.

Drawing knowledge from Dr. Helen’s 20-year experience, this book outlines common setbacks and obstacles that one may face during their career and offers practical and easy-to-follow advice to resolve these problems.

According to Dr. Helen, her inspiration for writing her book is two things: one is writing a book that she needed before, and another is providing value for professionals who come up to her and encounter common-themed career challenges in their lives.

Understanding the Impostor Syndrome

Dr. Helen and the hosts discussed impostor syndrome, a mental health issue that describes the failure of an individual to believe in their capacity to achieve and deserve success. Moreover, Dr. Helen described impostor syndrome as “being when you have doubts about whether or not you belong somewhere where you’re up to the task, despite the fact that you’ve done all the right things, you have objectively the right skills, the right experience.”

Dr. Helen also further breaks down impostor syndrome into what she considers are two types:

1. Traditional Impostor Syndrome: This is the type of impostor syndrome that’s felt inward, where the person has their own self-doubts.
2. Impostor Syndrome Experienced by Underrepresented Groups: This is the type of impostor syndrome that’s not the person’s own feelings, but rather, being uncomfortable with how others treat them — like they don’t belong in the workplace.

“Micro-kindness”: What It Is and How It Can Help Improve Workplaces

Dr. Helen’s idea of “micro-kindness” came to her when she read an article that her friend had written about big things that can make a workplace improve, where she realized that “…while we wait for all these big things, aren’t there little things that each of us can do to make a workplace better?”

“Micro-kindness” is kind of like a positive counterpart of microaggressions. This is the idea that, when we’re kinder, even in small ways to everyone we interact with, even in the absence of some of these big systemic changes, every work environment is going to be a lot better for it.

Dr. Helen’s Advice on Building Your Resiliency

Dr. Helen provided and laid out comprehensive pieces of advice on building your resiliency through her book, How to be Resilient in Your Career, Facing Up to Barriers at Work. The Caring Support Podcast, however, was lucky enough to be able to get some general advice from Dr. Helen that a dietitian, a pharmacist, or any other healthcare worker in Manitoba, Alberta, and other provinces in Canada can implement in their professional lives to help them navigate their workplaces and build their resiliency.

During the Interview Process

It is said that a candidate can identify red flags of a toxic workplace as early as during the interview process. When asked about the “red flags” that people should be watching for during the interview process, here are some of the critical ideas that Dr. Helen pointed out, which she said are telltale signs that the job you’re applying to might have a toxic workplace:

• Poor Leadership: If you’re going for an interview and the person who’s interviewing you doesn’t even seem to know who you are, doesn’t seem to have looked over your resume, your cover letter seems distracted, or even the person who you’re supposed to be reporting to doesn’t participate.
• Poor Decision-Making Process: If you seem to be going through step after step, and the process seems never-ending (unless it’s an organization with very specific circumstances like strict security protocols and trade secrets).
• Not Disclosing Why They’re Hiring: When they’re very cagey about why they’re hiring, and there’s no real straightforward answer, or you keep hearing that they’re forever hiring but not growing, all of these things should make you think twice.

On Facing Barriers at Work

Professionals often face barriers at work, and healthcare workers are no different. With barriers ranging from communication to the proper use of personal protective equipment, healthcare workers face different barriers at work that can affect the way they perform their tasks. Dr. Ofosu weighed in on how professionals can successfully face barriers at their workplaces and cited the following tips:

• Read Dr. Helen’s Book: Dr. Helen cites her book as a complete tool that can help professionals navigate their workplaces and build resiliency. Different chapters per book tackle different areas overlooking a common career challenge and offer tips on how a professional should go about their lives in their workplace.
• Stay True to Ourselves: In her own words, “But I think that’s a big piece is not being totally swayed by what other people think and focusing on what we know is true about ourselves. Because if I had stopped or if I had focused too much on various stereotypes that people might attribute to me without knowing me, I’m not sure where I would where I’d be.”
• Build Great Relationships: According to Dr. Helen, it’s not usually the smartest person who becomes successful at their jobs, but rather, it’s usually the ones who build great relationships. Moreover, according to her, she would rather choose someone with an average GPA but a great personality rather than someone with a high GPA but with a lacklustre personality.

Signs to Look Out For that It’s Time to Move on from Your Current Job

Finally, the hosts and Dr. Helen discussed a very difficult decision on the part of every professional — determining when it’s time for them to move on from their current job. While there might be diverse reasons why people contemplate leaving their jobs, like wanting to feel respected and wanting a higher salary, here are three key signs, according to Dr. Helen, to watch out for to finally decide to make the big career decision:

• No Professional Growth: If you’ve been there, done that, and you’re not learning anything in your new job, it probably means it’s time to find the next opportunity where you can continue to grow and develop as a professional.
• Lack of Financial Growth: If you seem to have plateaued income-wise and there’s no real room to grow, especially now with inflation being as high as it is, it’s worth reevaluating and seeing what else is out there.
• Not Being Treated Well: If you’re not treated well and don’t feel comfortable there, that’s another good signal that it’s time to move along.

Find Your Dream Job with Caring Support

This Caring Support Podcast episode with Dr. Helen Ofosu is a great starting point for people looking for ways to improve and overcome their career issues. Dr. Helen provided amazing insights and advice for a health care professional to effectively navigate their workplace and be the best that they can be.

At Caring Support, we’re committed to helping health care professionals find the right job that suits their qualifications and the values that they’re looking for. We strive to maintain good connections between candidates, their post-secondary institutions, and their future employers. Join our platform now for free and experience these benefits within reach.

Originally published at https://www.caringsupport.com on September 7, 2023.