I will address my goals from the first page of my blog – the Professional Growth Plan post – and see how I did:
Goal #1: Completion of this degree. Unless something REALLY goes wrong, I think it is safe to assume I have reached this goal.
Goal #2: Careful selection of my last two duty stations in order to become an intricate member of their Educational and Training Team. Due to my mothers and my mother-in-laws’ recent illnesses, careful selection become more of a logistical move rather than a career move. Hence, we have accepted orders to Pensacola and my husband and children will reside in Nashville. I am going to be a “Geographical Bachelor” and by doing so, Paul, will be available for his mother. I will also be closer to my mother in Louisiana. I passed up orders to Camp Pendleton as the Dean of Students for Fleet Medical Force (FMF) School; this would have been great for my military and civilian careers. Finally, we decided due to the health of our mothers, I will retire after this tour in Pensacola. So, rather than saying I didn’t reach this goal, this goal was negated due to circumstances out of my control. I am alright with this because I don’t feel like I had a choice and sometimes it is easier that way. Our mothers are ill, what are my choices, not going home to take of them; I think not.
Goal#3: Incorporation of a variety of leadership styles, not just Transitional. Along those same lines, try to be more objective than personal and try to see the big picture or the “Vision.” I believe that being able to label my style was the first step. And, although, I know that I will always be a personal leader, I need to be more objective overall. You would think I would be objective having been in the Military so long – but, I think that is why I have been so successful because of the personal way in which I lead. Vision, as stated previously, is harder for me to focus on and I have decided to use my peers to help me stay on the straight and narrow when it comes to this. I have always been able to support the mission, but more objectivity in this area on a day to day basis would be more beneficial to my department and my Command. To do this, I have to back away from the personal way in which I manage and look at the bigger picture.
Goal #4: Lasting contributions for “Mobile” Sailors and Marines, focusing on enlisted to commissioning programs, along with Duty Under Instruction (DUINS) applications. This is one area that I will personally focus on when I get to my next duty station. Although I have mentored numerous junior personnel on advancement and commissioning programs, I would like to create a more formal avenue for guidance by not just handing them the Instruction (policy) and having them sort it out on their own. I would even like to get a blog page going, but I would have to have this blessed by the powers that be. Anyway, this has been a goal of mine for years and I will finally be in a position to bring its conception to the table. Very exciting!
Goal #5: Successful transition into the civilian sector after retirement from the Navy. Possible routes include teaching at a Community College in the Medical Assisting Department and with the curriculum. Teaching K-12, coaching, and coordinating the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at the high school level is yet another avenue. Or another possibility would be working as a Health Care Administrator (HCA) at the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital or a civilian hospital. Since I will be transferring to the civilian sector sooner than I expected, it is imperative that I decide what I want to be when I grow up. After the past couple of months of my internship, I now understand that I am not qualified to teach Medical Assisting.
Currently, I am looking into the Emergency Medical Technician and Health Courses at the Community College and Vocational levels. This is more suited for my background and qualifications. Teaching, coaching, and ROTC are not an option, unless I go back for my teaching credentials for K-12 and I am not sure I want to dedicate that much time to a second career. It would put me teaching all day and then coaching or doing ROTC into the early evenings. This may work for a few years, but another goal of mine is to be available to my children when they become parents; to help them transition and stay on track for their individual goals and aspirations. So, as much as I hate to say it, I may take the easy way out. And that would be to retire and go straight into the civil service at the local VA. Entry is easy, hours are good, benefits are great,and the pay is exceptional for someone with my education and experience. Plus, I could retire again and have two retirements. This type of job, although challenging, would not be my first choice – it is not my passion – but, I would be able to be there for my family. This includes my husband, who gave up his career when I became commissioned and my children who have had to share me with the Navy their entire lives. Also it would allow us to take care of our parents and our future grandchildren with relative ease.
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Program Learning Summary – Goals
I will address my goals from the first page of my blog – the Professional Growth Plan post – and see how I did:
Goal #1: Completion of this degree.
Unless something REALLY goes wrong, I think it is safe to assume I have reached this goal.
Goal #2: Careful selection of my last two duty stations in order to become an intricate member of their Educational and Training Team.
Due to my mothers and my mother-in-laws’ recent illnesses, careful selection become more of a logistical move rather than a career move. Hence, we have accepted orders to Pensacola and my husband and children will reside in Nashville. I am going to be a “Geographical Bachelor” and by doing so, Paul, will be available for his mother. I will also be closer to my mother in Louisiana. I passed up orders to Camp Pendleton as the Dean of Students for Fleet Medical Force (FMF) School; this would have been great for my military and civilian careers. Finally, we decided due to the health of our mothers, I will retire after this tour in Pensacola. So, rather than saying I didn’t reach this goal, this goal was negated due to circumstances out of my control. I am alright with this because I don’t feel like I had a choice and sometimes it is easier that way. Our mothers are ill, what are my choices, not going home to take of them; I think not.
Goal#3: Incorporation of a variety of leadership styles, not just Transitional. Along those same lines, try to be more objective than personal and try to see the big picture or the “Vision.”
I believe that being able to label my style was the first step. And, although, I know that I will always be a personal leader, I need to be more objective overall. You would think I would be objective having been in the Military so long – but, I think that is why I have been so successful because of the personal way in which I lead. Vision, as stated previously, is harder for me to focus on and I have decided to use my peers to help me stay on the straight and narrow when it comes to this. I have always been able to support the mission, but more objectivity in this area on a day to day basis would be more beneficial to my department and my Command. To do this, I have to back away from the personal way in which I manage and look at the bigger picture.
Goal #4: Lasting contributions for “Mobile” Sailors and Marines, focusing on enlisted to commissioning programs, along with Duty Under Instruction (DUINS) applications.
This is one area that I will personally focus on when I get to my next duty station. Although I have mentored numerous junior personnel on advancement and commissioning programs, I would like to create a more formal avenue for guidance by not just handing them the Instruction (policy) and having them sort it out on their own. I would even like to get a blog page going, but I would have to have this blessed by the powers that be. Anyway, this has been a goal of mine for years and I will finally be in a position to bring its conception to the table. Very exciting!
Goal #5: Successful transition into the civilian sector after retirement from the Navy. Possible routes include teaching at a Community College in the Medical Assisting Department and with the curriculum. Teaching K-12, coaching, and coordinating the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at the high school level is yet another avenue. Or another possibility would be working as a Health Care Administrator (HCA) at the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital or a civilian hospital.
Since I will be transferring to the civilian sector sooner than I expected, it is imperative that I decide what I want to be when I grow up. After the past couple of months of my internship, I now understand that I am not qualified to teach Medical Assisting.
Currently, I am looking into the Emergency Medical Technician and Health Courses at the Community College and Vocational levels. This is more suited for my background and qualifications. Teaching, coaching, and ROTC are not an option, unless I go back for my teaching credentials for K-12 and I am not sure I want to dedicate that much time to a second career. It would put me teaching all day and then coaching or doing ROTC into the early evenings. This may work for a few years, but another goal of mine is to be available to my children when they become parents; to help them transition and stay on track for their individual goals and aspirations. So, as much as I hate to say it, I may take the easy way out. And that would be to retire and go straight into the civil service at the local VA. Entry is easy, hours are good, benefits are great,and the pay is exceptional for someone with my education and experience. Plus, I could retire again and have two retirements. This type of job, although challenging, would not be my first choice – it is not my passion – but, I would be able to be there for my family. This includes my husband, who gave up his career when I became commissioned and my children who have had to share me with the Navy their entire lives. Also it would allow us to take care of our parents and our future grandchildren with relative ease.
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