ABSTRACT
There is evidence that viewing one’s health career as a vocation can lead to happier patients and practitioners, yet most students are not formally trained in ongoing vocational discernment in graduate health science curriculums. Ongoing vocational discernment is needed and can easily be implemented into most existing programmatic structures. Vocational discernment should be introduced early and should be ongoing throughout the curriculum. Students should be introduced to vocation during orientation and be provided with opportunities for vocational advising, experiential learning, and peer feedback. Guided and strategic reflection is paramount to the student’s individual success of vocational discernment. Strategic reflection should be structured, individual, continuous, progressive, and flexible. After graduation, students should be equipped with the ability to discern changes that may occur in their chosen health science vocation.
