Tips for Resigning from a Healthcare Job

When it comes to resigning from a role in healthcare, the event need not be an unhappy one for anybody. Sometimes your time in a particular role or at a certain healthcare institution comes to a natural end and there’s always the possibility that you’re moving on to something even more well-suited in future. Sometimes, inevitably, resignation is not a happy ending, and the figures are certainly there to support the claim that job dissatisfaction has reached unacceptable levels in recent times.

Health Jobs, an online board for physician and nurse practitioner jobs, say that the current talent squeeze has led to a collapse in standards at some institutions as employers become more desperate for the top talent. It is also the case that levels of stress, burnout, and poor work-life balance are high – resignation is often the result.

However, one thing that can always be done well is the way in which a healthcare professional resigns from a position. Bowing out gracefully – as it is sometimes known – is always possible and well within your interests. Whatever resentment exists might be inevitable, but there is no sense in adding to it with a reckless or spiteful departure.

Bowing Out Gracefully

One of the major reasons why exiting a job well is important is that contacts and connections are important in the medical world. You might not be a physician working constantly in order to see yourself opening a private practice one day, but for your future career, keeping as many potentially useful connections as possible is a solid move.

Another reason why this is important is that current trends in the job market really do see more healthcare professionals moving back into roles or institutions at which they have previously worked. Just look at this study.

For the same reason that the future is important, you should always leave a job with a future as carefully planned as the interview you took to get the job. This of course assumes that you are leaving of your own volition, but even if this is not the case, having the future planned is vital. As a fairly obvious rule of thumb, it’s wise to be leaving a job with another one to go to. That, however, takes some foresight and forward planning.

How to Successfully Resign from a Healthcare Position

Here follows then a handful of general tips and rules to consider when the time comes to make a move:

Inform the Right Person First

There’s no point denying it – hospitals can be nests of gossip. When you are planning on resigning, you might be tempted to inform a trusted colleague or friend about your choice and the new opportunity waiting for you. But really, the first conversation about it should be with your boss. An employer who feels like they have had the rug pulled from under them is likely to harbor some resentment.

Be Flexible with The Last Day

This is much easier to do if you give good advance notice of your resignation. Once you do that, be sure to give a lot of ground when discussing when your last day will be. Your employer needs time to plan for your departure too.

Don’t Slack at The End

Simple enough really. Up until you leave, you should try to work as if you are not leaving, giving the full amount of effort right up until the last day. Employers will appreciate this – and they will remember it.

For whatever reason you are resigning, it makes a great deal of sense to do it properly. In healthcare, you need friends not enemies.