title: Saving your career in the 21st century.
abstract: This article addresses the fundamental and dramatic changes that case managers must undergo internally to keep pace with a rapidly and radically changing work environment as we move into the next millennium. The work paradigm is transforming from a model of well-defined job descriptions and clearly articulated career ladders within organizations to a fluid workforce in which individuals must now view themselves as a mobile portfolio of skills responding to particular needs within organizations Hence, case managers must retool their thinking, unlearn old beliefs that hinder success, and learn to manage their careers as microbusinesses within their organizations. This new model is founded on self-responsibility, entrepreneurial aptitude, vision and personal empowerment. Taking charge of one's career and consciously directing it is a dramatic departure from the norm for most individuals. There is a widely held tendency in our culture to define ourselves by our job titles. This is both an antiquated and myopic view that needs to be discarded to succeed in the future. Health care is a dynamic and evolving industry that requires forward-thinking, flexible, solutions-oriented people. The time is upon case managers to undergo a personal renaissance to artfully position themselves for success in the next millennium.
authors.affiliation: People Connection, Ltd., Denver, CO 80250, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Strickland
authors.forename: O C
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: O'Connell
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002322:Career Mobility; D019090:Case Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D011209:Power, Psychological; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D011361:Professional Competence