Deborah Smith, RN, CNOR
When a boss hears someone say, “Joe is very dependable, honest and doesn’t need someone to tell him what needs to be done,” they are talking about his character. A person with “character” is said to be self disciplined and takes responsibility for his own actions. Character can mean several things to several different people. But in this article, we are looking at the structure of character. A character structure is a system of relatively, permanent motivational and other traits that are manifested in the specific ways an individual relates and reacts to others, to the environment and what stimulus is needed.
Sam Ewing, an American humorist, once said, "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all." Does one of these describe us? Elmer G. Letterman told us "Personality can open doors but only character can keep them open." In today’s economy, people are scrambling for jobs. Regardless of your skills, the employers will be looking for the "best bang for their buck."
The healthcare industry has always held pride in the fact that in order to work in this field, you not only had to have skills but you needed to have some internal factors that allowed you to do the right thing. Unfortunately, due to the lack of skilled workers, the healthcare system has on occasion fired people for numbers or body count. It was a matter of quantity, not quality that spear-headed this approach to hiring practices. We, as the current recipients of healthcare, need to demand that the professional workers of today be held to a higher standard. We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard. This should include a person’s character.
People are returning to school to train for a second career. Many are entering the medical field because of job availability. Now is the time to take a look at those entering the field and those in the profession. Regardless of the years you may have been in your current position, it will be the employer that will be examining their current staff against those new professionals.
Employers want staff members be to be skilled, yet they also need them to be team workers, team leaders and team oriented. People need to be responsible, they need to be accountable but most of all they need to have character. Someone’s life may depend on it.
