Professional Development Goals: Career Growth Ideas for Healthcare Professionals

Key Insights:

• Setting professional development goals offers several benefits, from improved performance to helping you stay on track in your career path.
• Professional growth ideas for healthcare professionals include finding a mentor, pursuing a specialty, building your skills, and earning your diploma or degree.
• UMA supports healthcare professionals throughout their career paths by providing a variety of services for both learners and alumni.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects roughly 1.9 million openings in healthcare occupations each year, on average, from 2024 to 2034.¹ Whether you’re currently working in the field, taking classes, or just starting to research healthcare degree programs, taking the time to set a few professional development goals offers several benefits.

Why Set Professional Goals?

Setting and pursuing professional growth goals can be a powerful experience. A survey of 12,000 workers found that those who set more goals had greater improvements in their performance. They also felt better about their work.²

Pursuing professional growth can also help you advance in your career. Keeping your goals in front of you serves as a reminder of what you want to accomplish in your healthcare journey. It motivates you to continue moving forward and can help you stay on track in your career.

“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” ~ Dr. Fitzhugh Dodson, clinical psychologist and bestselling author

9 Professional Development Goal Ideas for Healthcare Workers

If you’re having trouble deciding what you want to achieve as a healthcare professional, it can be helpful to see some professional goals examples. Here are nine to consider.

#1: Find a mentor

A mentor serves as an advisor, offering advice to guide you as you progress through your career journey. They may even help find the right healthcare career path for you.

In addition to having proficient technical skills and several years of experience in their field, qualities to look for in a mentor include:³

• A willingness to share their knowledge and connect you with other professionals
• The ability to devote time to your mentorship and adapt to challenges along the way
• An active listener who provides honest, constructive feedback
• A positive outlook with a motivational approach

#2: Join a professional organization

You can also pursue professional growth by joining an organization. Professional organizations often provide members with access to workshops, webinars, and networking events. This can help you stay current on what is happening in your field while providing access to others who may have similar goals.

The National Library of Medicine shares a list of healthcare organizations that it relies on for information. You might find one you want to join. You could also join an organization that offers healthcare certifications, such as the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) or the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

#3: Pursue a specialty

Another healthcare career goal could be to specialize or enter a niche area of your profession. For instance, someone with medical assistant training may decide to specialize in dermatology, pediatrics, or other specific areas of medicine.⁴ A person with dental assistant training might pursue a specialty in orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, or another type of dentistry.⁵

Additional schooling may be needed to learn the skills needed for specialized roles. But if it’s an area of healthcare that you’re passionate about or interested in, setting a professional development goal to obtain this training can help get you where you want to go.

#4: Learn a new technical skill

Learning new skills is a good way to stay up to date on the latest techniques, methods, and processes in your healthcare role. It even provides brain-based benefits by improving memory, focus, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking abilities.⁶ All of these can be beneficial when working in a healthcare role.

When setting goals for work, think about which skills could propel your career forward. For example, hospital pharmacies are increasingly using automated dispensing systems, which can lower prescription errors, reduce fill time, and improve patient services.⁷ So, pharmacy technicians may benefit from building skills around this technology, potentially making them more valuable in the workplace.

#5: Fine-tune your soft skills

While technical skills are important for healthcare professionals, so are soft skills. Soft skills are personal qualities or traits that can help you perform your job duties effectively. Examples include skills related to communication, attention to detail, and being a team player. Professional growth ideas that can be beneficial for people working in healthcare include:

• Becoming a better active listener
• Building your nonverbal communication skills
• Being more compassionate or empathetic
• Working on time management
• Improving your problem-solving skills

#6: Prepare yourself for a leadership position

If you have the desire to pursue a healthcare management position at some point in your career, your professional goal may be to build leadership skills. These skills can help you manage your future team, also showing potential employers that you’re up for the job.

Important skill sets for healthcare leaders of tomorrow include the ability to achieve continuous improvements and make critical organizational decisions amidst major technological changes, such as those presented by artificial intelligence (AI).⁸ People skills are beneficial too, enabling you to motivate, encourage, and inspire your team.

#7: Build your credentials

A 2025 survey found that 70% of allied health employers require their medical assistants, phlebotomy technicians, and similar roles to be certified, and 71% have increased pay for individuals who’ve earned a credential.⁹ If you don’t already have a professional certification, these are a couple of compelling reasons to get one as part of your professional development plan.

At Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA), we understand the value of certification. That’s why many of our healthcare programs include certification prep, preparing learners to sit for relevant certification exams, if eligible.¹⁰ If you want to pursue pharmacy technician certification, medical coding certification, or some other type of healthcare certification, we’re here to help you prepare for these important tests.

#8: Advance your education

Some professional goals may require that you go back to school and earn a higher-level degree. For example, if you’ve completed dental assistant training and want to progress to a dental hygienist role, an associate degree is often required to enter this position.¹

Even if you’re at the beginning of your healthcare career, thinking about where you want to be down the road can help you make decisions that will get you on that path. For instance, UMA has several partner schools that provide our grads the opportunity to pursue select higher education programs. This means that you can earn your diploma or associate degree at UMA, then may seamlessly be able to pursue your bachelor’s degree or higher with one of our educational partners.¹¹

#9: Earn your healthcare diploma or degree

If you’ve not yet obtained a diploma or degree, why not make this your professional development goal? Gain the knowledge and skills needed to work in your desired role while showing potential employers that you’re serious about your career in this field.

UMA offers both online healthcare programs and healthcare programs at our Clearwater, Florida campus. And if you’re not sure what career path may be a good fit for you, check out our Healthcare Career Guide. It gives you information about quite a few options, which may be helpful when making your decision.

UMA Is Here to Support Your Professional Growth

UMA is a healthcare institution that focuses on the whole student. In addition to providing you with a quality education, we are also here to support your academics as you pursue your professional goals upon graduating. Our Career Services team members are here to help UMA learners and alumni tighten up their resumes, prepare for job interviews, and more.

Contact us to discuss how we can help you with your healthcare career journey. We’re here to assist in any way we can.

FAQs

• What is professional development? Professional development refers to taking the steps needed to grow or progress in your career. You can decide to pursue professional growth at any stage — whether you’re just starting your career path or you’ve been in the field for decades and want to move to a more advanced position.
• What are some professional goals for healthcare workers? Professional goals examples include building your technical skills, strengthening your soft skills, becoming certified, or earning a healthcare degree. Think about what you want to achieve in your career, then create a plan to get it.
• How can I decide my healthcare career path? UMA offers several resources designed to help you decide on a career path that may be right for you. One is our Healthcare Career Quiz. Answer a few short questions, and we’ll show you programs that may be a good fit. We also offer a Healthcare Career Guide full of information about several entry-level options. Of course, you can also contact us and let us know what you’re thinking or talk about your career goals. We’re here to help, and we look forward to speaking with you!