You’ve Climbed the Ladder—But Is It Leaning Against the Right Wall?
Career growth in healthcare often looks like climbing a ladder. You start at the bottom, build your skills, take on more responsibility, and work your way upward. Each step is hard-earned. Each promotion is celebrated. Each new credential represents years of dedication.
And yet, some healthcare professionals reach a certain point and feel something unsettling: this ladder I’ve been climbing—is it leaning against the right wall?
Healthcare is full of milestones: completing your degree, landing your first role, moving into leadership, earning advanced certifications. On paper, these steps look like success. They’re what you were told to aim for. They’re what everyone around you admires.
But success on paper doesn’t always equal fulfillment in practice.
You may find yourself asking:
Why don’t I feel as satisfied as I thought I would at this stage?
Is this really the kind of difference I wanted to make?
If I keep climbing, will the view ever change—or will it just mean more of the same?
A ladder leaned against the wrong wall still takes you higher—but higher isn’t always better. If the structure you’re climbing doesn’t lead you closer to your true purpose, each new rung can actually pull you further away.
In healthcare, this can look like:
Moving into management when what you love is patient connection.
Spending more time on spreadsheets and less time on mentoring.
Advancing your role but feeling less and less aligned with why you started.
It’s not that advancement is bad—it’s that advancement without alignment can leave you empty.
Nurses and clinicians are especially sensitive to this tension because their work started with such a strong sense of meaning. When promotions or career growth dilute that meaning, it feels like a loss.
Unlike some industries where a title or pay raise might be enough, healthcare workers crave more. They need their work to resonate with their values. Without that connection, even “success” can feel hollow.
It takes courage to pause mid-climb and ask yourself: Is this the wall I want to be on?
Because stopping to reassess goes against everything we’re taught about career progression. We’re told to keep moving up, keep proving ourselves, keep adding to the resume. But here’s the truth: the bravest thing you can do is realign, even if it means adjusting your climb.
Realignment doesn’t mean throwing away what you’ve built. It means asking: How can I use my skills, experience, and passion to climb in a direction that feels right?
That might mean:
Pivoting toward roles that emphasize mentoring, coaching, or leadership development.
Expanding outside of the clinical setting to influence broader systems.
Building a parallel path, like starting a coaching practice, while still using your healthcare expertise.
The key isn’t abandoning your ladder—it’s moving it to the wall that actually leads you to the future you want.
You’ve worked too hard to keep climbing blindly. If the ladder feels unstable, if the view doesn’t inspire you, if the climb leaves you restless—it might be time to step back and check the wall.
Because success isn’t just about height. It’s about direction. And the right wall will always lead you closer to your purpose, not further away from it.