expectation

What Do You Expect from Your Profession

I want to finish this series on expectations by talking about your future professional career. Just as your expectations for your education and instructors impact your level of academic motivation and satisfaction, your expectations for your profession are important to your success in your professional and personal life.

Why Did You Choose Your Program

If knowing why you are here at UAMS was significant in maintaining your motivation to work hard and do your best to be academically successful, then knowing why you have selected your program is going to be important in your future success and satisfaction. So, why did you choose your program? What attracted you? What do you expect your profession is going to do for you?

Everyone has their own reasons for going into a profession. Some want to make a difference in quality of care patients get. Others enter a program to gain experience necessary for a future job. I had one student tell me that she wanted to become an Emergency Medical Technician to gain experience that would help her get into a Physician Assistant program. An RN was seeking a master’s degree to move into nursing administration. These students had good reasons and clear expectations for their programs. It helped them stay motivated when things got difficult.

What Have I Done?

How much did you know about your future profession when you chose your program? Had you done your research? It’s awful to begin a program, and realize half way through that it isn’t right for you. It may be more challenging or less interesting than you thought it would be. How prepared were you for your program?

Learn all you can before about the profession before you start the program. Ask about the challenges, the demands, and the rewards so your expectations are better aligned with reality. Don’t make assumptions based on your past academic performance. If the program administrators tell you that the program is rigorous or challenging, believe them. They want you to be as prepared as possible when you enter the profession.

Focus On Your Life Goals

Make sure that your chosen profession will fit in with your future life goals. I have friends who chose a career in nursing for the flexibility it gives them. They both work coverage shifts. They don’t have a guaranteed schedule, they just fill in as needed. One is a dedicated endurance athlete, and the other loves to travel and works all over the country. Their professional choices aligned perfectly with their life goals. My primary care is provided by a Physician Assistant. She works 9-5 Monday through Friday, so she is home in the evenings with her husband and kids. She chose to become a Physician Assistant because she wanted to have time with her family. Again, her career choice and life goals were well matched. This has allowed her to be successful.

Your expectations for your profession are another part of your motivation to work hard and be successful in your program. When you know what you want, it’s much easier to stay focused. So know why you chose your profession, and what you expect to get out of it. It will make your academic journey more purposeful and enjoyable.

What Do You Expect from Your Instructors?

Last week I asked you what you expected from your education. I asked you to think about why you are here at UAMS, and whether your experience is meeting your expectations. I also advised you to reflect on and alter your expectations from time to time, because when your expectations are aligned with your experience, your motivation and satisfaction increases. And, motivation and satisfaction are important for academic success.

This week, I want you to think about what you expect from your instructors. Instructors tend to be the most visible representatives of a college or university, and students will often base their evaluation of their program on their opinions of their instructors. And, while instructors have a lot of expectations for their students, those same students arrive in class with expectations for the faculty.

What Do You Expect from Your Instructors

The expectations you bring into the classroom are often influenced by your experience with your previous instructors. You will probably want them to do the things your favorite instructors did in the past. For example, you might have had an instructor whose passion for their subject inspired your curiosity, or sparked your interest in your current field of study. It would be natural for you to expect the same passion from your instructors at UAMS. At the same time, we all remember that professor whose class we endured, probably because it was a requirement. It may have been an important course, but you missed out because of the way it was taught. You are probably expecting your instructors to do better than that in your current program.

Keep in mind that your instructor can’t be aware of the expectations you bring into his/her classroom. Every student is different, and their expectations are unique to their personality and prior experience. In addition, student expectations are rarely shared with the instructor. These factors often lead to a disconnect when expectations make contact with reality.

When Expectations Meet Reality

So, what should you do when reality doesn’t live up to your expectations? First, remember why you are here and what you want to get out of your educational journey. Renewing your commitment to your academic journey will help reduce the impact of misplaced for unmet expectations.

Second, reach out to your instructors. Ask questions, engage in discussion, and seek guidance. They are masters of their professions, and they want to help you achieve your professional and academic goals. They have chosen to teach – to invest in future generations of professionals – and they want to do their best. So, don’t decide to disconnect. Reach out instead.

Finally, remember what you have the power to change. You can change how you react and what you do. Take steps to make your learning more satisfying and enriching. Connect with your peers to go deeper into the content. Look for places to volunteer, where you can interact with professionals on the front lines. Find opportunities to connect what you are learning to real world experience. You don’t have to make a huge time commitment to deepen both your learning and experience.

You bring expectations of your instructors to class, and sometimes the reality will far exceed those expectations. When it doesn’t, don’t become discouraged. Know why you are there, what you want, and take steps to make things better.

What Do You Expect from Your Education?

Why are you at UAMS? No, really, why did you choose us for your education? Educators talk a lot about expectations, usually referring to the expectations they have for their students. But faculty expectations for education is only part of the equation. Students bring their own expectations, and they should be examined as well.

It’s Your Education

Okay, so it’s your education. What are you expecting? You started this journey for a reason. What was it? What are you expecting to get out of it? These questions will determine the time and effort you are willing devote to your schooling, so you need to ask yourself, what do you expect?

Look, a health sciences education isn’t easy. There are books full of facts that your instructors say that you need to know. You are expected to learn a wide variety of procedures that will need to become second nature. You have to grapple with ethical issues that will inform your future practice. Will it be enough? Will you be ready? Or, is it all too much? The answers to these questions depend partly on your expectations.

If you don’t know why you are here, or what you want, you won’t be able to answer these questions. Sometimes, people choose a path because they don’t have anything better in mind. They adopt a “why not” attitude. They drift through courses, not unhappy, but not fully engaged either. Without a set of reasonable expectations based what they want out of their education, they can’t be truly successful.

So, do you know what you expect and why?

Examine your Expectations

Take time to think about your expectations for your education. How informed are they? Did you know what your education would be like? Will it get you where you want to be? Were you realistic? If you know why you are here and what you want, but find that some of your expectations were unrealistic, then maybe you need to modify your expectations.

Expectations should change a bit when they encounter reality. Like so many things in life, you rarely know what to expect until you have at least some experience behind you. So expect to make some adjustments. When your expectations are aligned with your experience, your motivation and satisfaction increases. If they don’t align, you get frustrated, your courses seem pointless, and your motivation plummets. So, stop often to adjust your expectations.

Own your expectations, and be aware of how they affect you. Stay engaged with your education. If something seems pointless, ask about its significance. If you are inspired by an idea or assignment, connect it to as many other experiences as you can. Look for ways to have your expectations met, and don’t wait on others to do it for you. After all, it’s your education.