How CDU career guidance works

Doctors and dentists who request individual help with a career dilemma are invited for a career guidance interview leading to an agreed action plan. Key points will be summarised in a career guidance report.

Career guidance interview

The interview normally consists of a confidential one-to-one 90 minute to 2hr interview with a follow-up option. The purpose of the interview is to clarify the issues for the individual that relate to the development of their career, to explore these in the light of their previous experience and put them in the context of their personal and professional qualities. The information that is reviewed in the interview includes:

• CV
• In-depth exploration of personal and professional motivations and qualities in the light of their previous experience
• Possible use of psychometric instruments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory which explores personal preferences and/or the FIRO-B, which looks at  inter-personal relationships
• Additional information that the individual may find helpful such as training or appraisal records, including feedback from others.

The process helps the individual to identify their key attributes and abilities and they are helped to identify the likely characteristics of their ideal job and working environment. At the same time they may, if appropriate, develop insights about why they may not have been enjoying their job and any difficulty they may have had in progressing their career.

Poor job satisfaction will be explored to identify whether the issues relate to the specific job, the specialty or the chosen career in general.

It can be helpful to identify those aspects of a future job or working environment that are likely to provide continuing motivation and those that could lead to difficulty.

Action plan

Career options and opportunities will be explored and an action plan agreed that will help the individual to make any career choices. This may focus on changes that they might want to make within an existing job or choosing a new job, specialty or career.
The action plan may include plans for;

• negotiating changes to current job
• collecting further careers information
• arranging work experience
• getting advice from other sources eg

• Royal Colleges or Specialty Regional Advisers
• Associate Deans for 
  • Flexible Training
  • SAS doctors
• Occupational Health
• Medic Support.

• choosing and applying for a new position
• identifying learning priorities and most effective learning methods for a PDP
• review and monitoring of future job satisfaction.

Career guidance report

This will include a summary of the interview and the agreed action plan, including any arrangements for review.
The report is entirely confidential and for the use of the individual.