Professional identity and career paper

Professional identity develops during the course of two to four years one devotes acquiring the master’s degree required for licensure as a professional counselor. Professional identity in general has been defined as “the possession of a core set of values, beliefs, and assumptions about the unique characteristics of one’s selected profession that differentiates it from other professions” (Weinrach, Thomas, & Chan, 2001, p. 168). A

Professional identity is the result of a developmental process that facilitates individuals to reach an understanding of their profession in conjunction with their own self-concept, enabling them to

Black (2014) states “the [educational] goal of socialization is the development of professionalism” (p. 118). My interpretation of Black’s statement is that by assembling a group of people together with the same goals, and by providing that group with the same training, education, and set of codified ethics or principles, you can assimilate that group of people into an established profession, or possibly create a new profession. One of sociologist Abraham Flexner’s criteria of a profession is that it “Has a strong internal organization of members and a well-developed group consciousness” (as cited in Black, 2014, p. 53.). Belonging to a like-minded group helps define an individual’s professional identity.

To create an effective professional identity is to first start with identifying who you are your personal character and develop from there. Fine tuning your personal identity developing a positive self-image morals values and ethical behaviors along with good self-esteem confidence and an optimistic outlook sets the foundation and a clear pathway to developing and creating a professional identity.

To establish core concepts from which to proceed, the review first sought a homogenous grounding in the definitions of profession, professional nursing, and professional identity. This was followed by a deeper exploration of studies and theories regarding what is currently known or believed about the origins of professional identity, and the continuum of its development in the nurse, from student to practicing professional. Of specific interest would be any evidence of previously identified internal or external factors that are theorized or known to have an impact on professional identity development in nurses.

This paper highlights ways in which a two-week international study abroad program to India contributed to professional identity development for a group of participating Australian social work students. A mixed methods approach was used to assess the impacts of the program overall. Pre-program and post-program evaluation surveys along with reflective workshops were used to explore students' perceptions of social justice, human rights, gender, environment, international social work and professional identity. Focusing on a sub-set of these data on professional identity, this paper explores the rich descriptions of experiences and how students' understanding of their own professional identity was influenced as a result of participation

Ms. Deang is 23-year-old female who is in a Counseling Psychology graduate program at Regis College, MA. She is a full-time graduate student and did not have a specific perspective towards her career. Ms. Deang concern was that she is not independent and struggles with decision-making. Ms. Deang reported that she wants to be a counselor, but needs help with setting goals to pursue her career in counseling. In addition, she hoped to get an insight on the success for being a counselor.

“Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn’t you have fun at work?”

Professional identity has many concepts in the academic literature. Neary (2013) mentions many different concepts and I liked the idea that co-relate three important aspects inherent to professional identity: self-concept, occupational role and expectations and acceptance of others.

Agencies that set these standards, guidelines and codes of practice play a key role in professional identity, as these are the rules that helps to create professional identity which distinguishes it apart from the various identities everyone uses in everyday lives. Professional identity in relation to health and human service delivery can be defined as a form of social identity which involves an individual’s attitudes, values knowledge, beliefs and skills which guide them to fulfil the aspects and tasks of a functioning nurse and/or midwife. This involves the self-concept of one feeling as a nurse and

Career counseling over the lifespan has more than an occupational focus, it deals with the person’s entire being with a vision that includes one’s lifespan. Career counseling takes into consideration character development, character skills, life roles, individual life and work history, goals, and obstacles. A career counselor not only assists a client with a career plan, but also with a life plan. This paper focuses on two categories of career counseling. The first focus is the history of career counseling as a field of study with the emphasis on when and why career counseling began (1800s as a study of how the shape of one’s head relates to vocational choice), who and what influenced it (Sizer, Parsons, and Davis), and how

In most of these literatures, factor analysis has been used with emphasis on non-pecuniary identity payoffs (Wolfe and Haveman, 2003). The bowl of contention has however often been factors that most align with social identity, where two major factors namely career orientation and social orientation has been debated. Stets and Burke (2000) noted that career orientation factors are those social identity variables that makes a person becomes concerned about career outcomes that match well with their social beliefs, principles and expectations. For such people whose emphasis is on career orientation, they would want the career choices they are making to give them the fullest assurance of protecting their social identities and satisfying their social ambitions (Hoff and Priyanka, 2006). There is another school of thought who have emphasised on social orientation in the search for a model for career choice and identity. From the perspective of these reviewers, social identity is stronger than career expectations and so at any point while entering a career, a person would look at his personal ability for his social status to fit into the career that is being pursued, rather than want the career to fit social ability (Wolfe and Haveman, 2003). But quite interestingly, both sides of the argument approached from career orientation and social orientation end up with

Why is career counseling important? According to the National Career Development Association (2009), when considering career options you will want to learn more about yourself and how to carry out decisions and plans for your life and future career opportunities. Career decision assessments can help individuals identify interests, make decisions, and increase personal self awareness. Counselors in mental health counseling, substance abuse counseling, social services counseling, etc. will work with individuals that may require some type of career counseling. These counselors will need to know which assessment tool to use. One career planning assessment used is the Harrington-O’Shea Career Decision-making System, Revised (CDM-R).

There are several position responsibilities listed for the Career Counselor position, including assisting student development, cultivating relationships with stakeholders, assessing progress, and other duties as assigned. Each of the position responsibilities were intentional

Sixteen months ago, I began a college career after a major life altering experience that would lead me down, what was then an unknown path in this fast track program. After putting in the time now, I am happy that I had chosen to pursue career and work counseling as my second career. While here at George Brown College I have taken a multitude of courses that given a multitude of experiences. From year one taking Work and Life: A Career Counselling Perspective I have been given the opportunity to learn so much about being the best career and work counsellor. I also realize that I do not know it all and I am still a very new career and work counsellor, and most of my true learning opportunities will come in my first few years out of school and in the real world of work.