| Abstract [eng] |
Research problem: what are the opportunities for self-realization of health care professionals in the pursuit of a career? Problematic questions are raised to investigate the problem: what are the self-realization career experiences of health care professionals? what are the career and self-realization opportunities for them? how do health care careers relate to self- actualization? The object of the study is the career and self-realization of health care specialists. The purpose of the study is to theoretically analyze and empirically substantiate the career and self-realization opportunities and their interfaces of healthcare professionals based on their experiences. Research methods: analysis of scientific literature in order to examine the possibilities of self-realization in a personal career, revealing their connections; a qualitative study (semi-structured interview) to reveal the self-actualization career experiences of healthcare professionals, revealing their interrelationships; content analysis. Research methodology. A qualitative research strategy was chosen for the study, applying the semi-structured interview method, using the interpretive paradigm. in 2024 12 informants from six private and public health care institutions in Klaipėda and Kaunas regions were interviewed during direct interviews between May and June. In order to make the research more objective, specialists from various healthcare fields were interviewed. The interviews took place at the workplaces of health care professionals, at a time convenient for them. Informants were selected by means of targeted, criterial selection. Data were processed using content and descriptive interpretive analysis. Main results and conclusions: 1. The theoretical approach and the conducted qualitative research prove that a career is a dynamic, unique and individual lifelong sequence of work and learning experiences, conditioned by a person's competencies, goals, desires, and opportunities. Self-realization in a career is inseparable from self-knowledge - revealing one's inner potential, discovering and realizing new abilities and opportunities in a professional environment. As the research shows, after revealing their innate qualities, talents, interests, values, discovering themselves in activities, health care professionals give priority to the horizontal career direction, the acquired learning and development experience, actualizing inner comfort, positive emotionality, satisfaction with the activity, discovering its meaning, career and harmonization of other areas of life relevant to them. 2. The study highlighted that health care professionals focus on work, learning and development, satisfaction with achieved results, rather than on career planning. Thus, the importance of career planning that provides greater protection against emerging obstacles is underestimated. However, the study revealed that learning and development open up not only career opportunities for health care professionals, but also self-knowledge. Although it is recognized that their competences, especially general ones, are significant for pursuing a career, and there is a lack of employer's interest in creating the conditions for self-realization, the study shows that both vertical and horizontal career opportunities are created for health care specialists, which meet the needs of both organizational and personal careers: they are assigned to perform more complex, more responsible, functions requiring higher professional competences, activities interesting to the employee, new positions, additional tasks, improvement of qualifications is encouraged, trainings are organized, etc. Since the needs of health care specialists are met, the career perspective is associated with its development, improving professionalism in the current workplace. In addition, the research revealed that the opportunities for career exploration were not used, so health care specialists looked for new career options in order to ensure self-realization, spiritual, intellectual and economic satisfaction, but their decision-making was more influenced by internal than external factors. Based on the experiences of healthcare professionals, in order to realize yourself, you should not be afraid of changes that lead to self-knowledge and career opportunities, try to distance yourself from external factors and use self-reflection, choose a career direction that enables the realization of your aspirations. 3. Both the theoretical approach and the conducted qualitative research confirmed the validity of self-realization and career links: career and self-realization is a lifelong development process that includes attitudes, skills, abilities, values, personality characteristics; the holistic expression of career and self-realization creates the meaning of work, fullness and quality of life, increases self-esteem and self-confidence, provides emotional and pragmatic satisfaction, motivates to achieve personal performance results, ensures continuity of career opportunities for successful self-realization of healthcare professionals. |
