How to Get Your Foot in the Door of Hospital Practice: First Steps
updated 1.27.2021
Are you a student, educator, or integrative health practitioner interested in hospital-based practice?
If so, I recommend you start here, with the First Steps Resource. This resource, an e-book + workbook combo, was written by the founder of The Hospital Handbook Project (HHP), Megan Kingsley Gale. It includes a pdf copy of the booklet, Get Your Foot in the Door of Hospital Practice: First Steps for the Acupuncturist or Integrative Health Student Interested in Hospital-Based Practice and its workbook, First Steps Companion Workbook.
The focus of First Steps is on students of acupuncture programs and clinicians with a master's or doctorate degree in acupuncture and traditional Asian medicine. However, many of the tenets apply to related integrative health clinical fields.
Defining "Hospital-Based Practice" and “Hospital and Healthcare System-Based Practice”
At the HHP we define this as any work in a facility or organization that is accredited by or is eligible for accreditation by The Joint Commission (TJC). TJC is a nonprofit quality assurance and safety vetting organization based in the U.S. TJC accredits a variety of organizations, including hospitals, ambulatory centers/facilities, county clinics, FQHCs, federal health facilities, and some hospice organizations.
The First Steps resource is tailored to the student, educator, or practitioner interested in hospital-based practice. It summarizes advice for some of the questions Megan most often received when starting the HHP including, “I want to work in hospital-based practice, how do I get my foot in the door?”
When you buy the resource from our website shop, all proceeds received from this resource (after processing fees) go directly to support the basic operating costs of The Hospital Handbook Project, a not-for-profit community resource project.
Other HHP resources I recommend for students, educators, or interested practitioners:
Go to the First Steps resource page for latest updates on recommendations.
If you are a current hospital-based acupuncturist, whether a new hire or established at your workplace, we have developed a separate set of resources for you.
If you are a program manager or hospital admin, go to the following resource landing page:
Thank you for supporting the HHP, a not-for-profit community resource project, by purchasing access to one or more of the above resources. If you are just a fan of this work and prefer to support in virtual cups of coffee instead, you can do so at this link.
Thank you!
Megan