Professional Identity

As a young professional beginning my career, I did not think about what identity I wanted to have in the workplace. I did not own a personalized set of values that I wanted to live by. My goal was to find a permanent job and bring financial stability to my life. Through experience in the workplace I have found that I want to be the best professional I can be. I have a desire to continue to learn everyday so I can do my job to the best of my abilities. I strive to treat everyone as professionally as possible. I believe mutual respect in the workplace is key in having a productive and healthy work environment.

Social Media was not something I linked to my professional career. In my social media audit I completed, I soon realized that my use of social media was very low. Personal posts were only made on Facebook with the highest of privacy settings where only close friends and family could see. My twitter was used for following sports, news and politics. I do not share any personal opinions online, as I do not care for unnecessary online debates. As our program continued and my classmates posted their audit results, I started to open up to positive influence social media can play in my career as a healthcare professional.

“A major benefit of social media for health communication is the accessibility and widening access of health information to various population groups, regardless of age, education, race or ethnicity, and locality, compared to traditional communication methods” (Moorhead et al, 2013).

As a kinesiologist completing ergonomic work in a health care environment it is important to create exposure to our program. Initially some people are skeptical of the positive impact ergonomics can play in their everyday work. Social media can help us to share some skills and ideas to a wide range of groups. Exposure to our program and skill set can be helpful to many; however, I believe we must proceed with caution.

I strongly believe professional integrity is a quality all healthcare providers must possess. Sharing of any patient information in anyway is absolutely not acceptable. We all can learn from certain scenarios that happen in our work lives, however, this does not make this information ours to share.

As professionals we must realize that what we post is instantly public information, it is no longer our personal property. I believe we must do our jobs with as little emotions as possible and provide expertise as fairly as you’d want to be treated. We must uphold our professional integrity whenever in the workplace. I believe this must continue into how we portray ourselves online. People have shared their personal opinions about employers or interactions with patients online, which have cost them their careers.

“Kinesiology is the science of human movement, applying the latest evidenced-based research to improve function, health and wellness of people in all settings and populations.” (Ontario Kinesiology Association, n.d.)

Currently, I am the only kinesiologist working as such in my entire organization. I believe this comes with great responsibility. I am a small part of the approximately 13,000 Eastern Health employees but that does not mean I cannot play a significant role. Our program has the ability to help all 13,000 employees and keep them safe in the workplace. I believe by the more positive impacts I can have with staff and patients throughout the organization I can further show the need for more kinesiologists in the healthcare field.

My identity will change as I grow as a professional. I believe compassion, growth, leadership, open communication and respect will be the pillars of my career going forward. It is my goal to achieve these values everyday and I will continue to work towards these values throughout my career.

References:

Moorhead, S. A., Hazlett, D. E., Harrison, L., Carroll, J. K., Irwin, A., Hoving, C. (2013). A New Dimension of Healthcare: Systemic Review of the Uses, Benefits, and Limitations of Social Media for Health Communication. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(4). 2-9.

Ontario Kinesiology Association. (n.d.) Retrieved from

http://www.oka.on.ca/site/what-is-kinesiology