Adios, healthcare

Well, my career in healthcare appears to have been short-lived since today was my last day of work. For the past few days, I've been receiving very kind notes from my co-workers, praising my work and letting me know that I've had a positive impact on the company.

It's all been very flattering and nice to hear, but I can't help but think that it would have been nice to get this positive feedback earlier in my tenure at the company.

But in the end, it wouldn't have made a difference. I've come to realize that I wanted to understand healthcare from a more academic level, or to get a better understanding of healthcare policy. Building an infrastructure to make healthcare more efficient? I guess it's not something I'm that interested in understanding.

Ultimately, this indifference about our company's purpose prevented me from becoming more engaged in my job and striving to do a better job. Add to that a boss whose blunt style was off-putting and who didn't have an appetite for strategic planning, it's no wonder I lasted less than two years.

My time at the company isn't all regrets, however. I've learned a lot about environmental sustainability and working in a very, very big company with numerous business units. I also appreciated the chance to start something from scratch and having the latitude to focus on the work I wanted. And I really enjoyed working with many of the kind, hard-working people at the company, even if I'll come away with only a few real friends.

So, I've learned that healthcare isn't for me and I'm looking forward to starting the next chapter in my career.