A Millennial’s Perspective: Career Lessons 101

By Priya Sharma, BSN, RN
Labor and Delivery Nurse
Methodist Richardson Medical Center

My name is Priya Sharma and I’m a millennial.

Our generation is earning quite the reputation for getting married later in life, traveling the world in our 20s, and always looking for the next best thing.

I started my career as a labor and delivery nurse at Methodist Richardson Medical Center in February 2015. After one year, I started wondering what my next move should be. Mind you, nothing was wrong at my current position, but I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I was young and childless. Ah, become a travel nurse. Exciting. Go see the world, right? I quickly signed a contract, packed my bags, and moved to a small town in Nevada.

What was I thinking?

At first, the 13-week contract sounded like it would fly by – after all, it was shorter than a semester in nursing school, right? But time dragged on. I was busy, but I didn’t have a lot of support. The workload and patient assignments felt unsafe. After just three weeks, I realized an important lesson — the grass isn’t always greener. I was very unhappy and craved my home in Dallas. I decided this wasn’t the opportunity for me and broke my contract. This town in Nevada didn’t even know what Uber was. Seriously.  

So what did I learn on my journey?

As a nurse, career opportunities are usually plentiful. That means nurses can move locations and normally find jobs anywhere. What I learned, though, is that a job isn’t a job. My advice? Once you find a career at a hospital or company that you love, don’t ever leave. The sense of routine and normalcy is a very comforting and a blessed thing that shouldn’t be taken for granted. A career that gives you purpose, peace, and a family of co-workers whom you genuinely love and care about is worth its weight in gold.

For me, that hospital family is Methodist Richardson. In fact, I don’t know who I am without them. And no amount of money can buy that.

Coming back to Methodist Richardson was like coming home.

The good news is that I never completely left Methodist Richardson. It’s like I knew in my gut not to leave so I kept my PRN status through my travel nurse journey. I was so blessed to be able to start back as a full-time labor and delivery nurse. And when I returned, it was like a party when I came in the front door. My family of co-workers welcomed me back with open arms.

Everyone here has your back, and it’s such a family atmosphere. If there’s something you need, you don’t have to press a call button because other team members are behind you, ready to help.

I believe anything is possible at Methodist Richardson because everyone believes in you before you even believe in yourself. You can work your way up and achieve dreams you didn’t know you had. It’s where you want to be.

If you’re searching for an organization that will allow you to grow your career with the support of an award-winning team, visit Jobs.MethodistHealthSystem.org. And you’ll never want to leave.

© Methodist Health System

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