Sometimes, a career vision and professional goals become clear only when one has started walking along the chosen path.
This happened to me too, when I realised that I had chosen a suitable direction and this inspired me to seek more. I always grabbed all the opportunities that opened up for me – I knew that every new acquaintance, conversation or new knowledge would come in useful in the future. People who are close to me, who inspire me and help me go forward even at the hardest of times are the greatest asset on this path.
In my last years at school, I had no clear vision about what I was going to do next. The people around me were certain that studying was the only way to go, and my friend talked me into choosing a nursing career. My mum, who was herself a nurse, tried to talk me out of it saying that it was not a prestigious vocation, the work was hard and wages were low. Disregarding her fears, I entered Kaunas University of Applied Sciences.
I was a good student. Even without making the effort to get good grades, I graduated from the University cum laude which I became aware of only on the day I received my diploma. Apparently, it helped that I had always been a responsible student and had studied a foreign language in addition to the cornerstone disciplines of my studies and in the future I wanted to work abroad.
However, the dream to start a career in another country crashed due to personal reasons and after graduation, I found myself in a kind of vacuum. Seeing that I had to do something, I started working in the dialysis unit at the Hospital of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) Kauno Klinikos. Initially, this difficult work was very exciting and helped in developing both practical skills and personal qualities. I could describe this as the best vocational school where I gained vital experience and met people who shaped my values.
After some time in the dialysis unit, I had grasped the specifics of performing the procedure and felt I had stopped improving myself. I knew that I needed new challenges. I returned to academia and this time chose Bachelor’s studies in nursing at the university. Irrespective of my determination to continue the studies, I had no clear professional vision then either – I only knew that once I completed my Bachelor’s studies I would go on to do a Master’s degree. I realised this latter ambition and graduated with a Master’s degree in Public Health Management from LSMU.
My university years were among the most intense in my life. To support myself, I continued working as a nurse in the dialysis unit and simultaneously built important personal relationships. Living a fast-paced life, I made friends and met ambitious colleagues, where practical knowledge was supplemented by theory. I took advantage of every opportunity to improve myself as I knew it would help me in the future. Slowly but surely I started seeing my career vision and worked resolutely to realise it.
I was not wrong: just four months after completing my studies, I received an offer to apply for a position as country manager for nursing in an international company. This was well beyond what I had hoped for but coincided with my vision for my professional career.
The greatest challenge when I opened the door at Diaverum was to reorient myself from hands-on work to managerial work. I had strong practical skills and knew the specifics of nursing but I lacked project management, communication, change introduction, and leadership skills – skills that were absolutely essential for a management role.
That is why I braced myself for a second Master’s degree and this time the studies were not in medicine, but in management. I studied the applied organisational psychology and leadership, modules of the Executive Master in Management, at ISM University of Management and Economics. I decided to study when I realised that it was never too late, especially when you know that the knowledge acquired will help you in doing your job and help you to avoid growing stale.
I have now been working as a country manager for nursing at Diaverum for 10 years. Since 2013, I have been involved in EDTNA/ERCA (European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association). Corporate values and internal culture promote the growth and development of every employee. While working here, I have met a lot of ambitious people who inspire by their example to change and seek for more. When you are surrounded by strong personalities, you change yourself too -– you feel the desire to inspire, encourage and prompt others.
It is really important to have a goal and to strive for it decisively, irrespective of whether these are personal needs or a career vision. Indeed, everyone is capable of many things, but not everyone uses the opportunities. With reliable partners at your side, even the largest dreams can come true. The key is not to let the difficulties extinguish the spark of changes – they are temporary but strengthen us permanently.