Tara Anderson

I attribute my success to not being afraid to try something new and seeking every opportunity as a new way to grow and advance myself. When I think back to all the different nursing roles I had, I didn't change because I didn't like any of them. I moved within my career because of life changes - we moved, so I wanted to find a job closer to home, or I started to have kids and didn't want to work nights anymore. It was about going with the flow with what happens in your life and adjusting as needed, being open to those new opportunities. One of my organizational development leaders made a comment that really resonated with me: Don't chase titles, chase your skills and leverage those skills. That's something I took with me to my career here as I mentor other individuals just out of college. I encourage people to learn every business aspect they can, be willing to make a lateral move before making the vertical move, and become more well-rounded to see the bigger picture versus just chasing that title.

The best career advice I received was from one of my organizational development leaders who told me: Don't chase titles, chase your skills and leverage those skills. This really resonated with me and is something I've taken with me throughout my career. I now share this advice as I mentor other individuals who are just out of college. When they tell me their career goal is to advance to senior manager or director, I encourage them to focus on becoming more well-rounded first. I tell them to learn every business aspect they can, spend time in different areas, and be willing to make lateral moves before vertical moves. It's better to have opportunities in different areas that will make you see the bigger picture, rather than just chasing that title.

I would tell young women entering healthcare to learn as much as you can and take every day as an opportunity to learn something new. Keep an open mind, because nursing and healthcare offer so many different routes you can go. You might become bored or complacent in one area, but seek out a new opportunity. Always bring your A game to everything you're going to do. Chase those skills, leverage the skills, and leverage the networking that you do with other people. The more you can network and put yourself out there, it's going to lead to other career opportunities down the road. I tell my girls today, who are in their twenties, you treat every interaction like it's an interview, because you don't know who you're talking to and the opportunity that might come out of it.

I'm seeing a trend over the last 12 to 18 months where there are more and more mandated models that hospitals have to participate in, as well as more voluntary models and options for hospitals to participate in from a value-based care perspective. With the ever-changing landscape and the need to be flexible and on your toes to all these changes, I think there's going to be an increased demand and opportunity for more healthcare professionals like me who worked previously on the industry side to step up and advise and help our colleagues who are struggling. Many are saying, 'Hey, we have to do this, we haven't done it before,' and we can help pave the way for what the future of healthcare is going to look like.

The values most important to me are being honest and developing trust, not only with your team but with your clients. Listening is so important to me, and with that listening comes having an open mind to things. I think you have to be open to change when you're working in healthcare, because change is the only constant. I also believe in surrounding yourself with people who want to learn and want to mentor, and being open to learning from others every day. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new, and you just have to let yourself be open to it. We surround ourselves with intelligent people, and you can learn a lot from them if you're willing to listen and keep your mind open.