As prevention professionals, participating in continuing education, mentoring and other professional development activities are an opportunity to increase our knowledge and deliver more effective services to our communities. It may be a requirement of our jobs. For preventionists, it is a key regular step to building a career. However, creating a personal professional development plan can seem challenging, whether it’s finding time within our schedules or balancing family obligations, deciding which trainings to select, or overcoming difficulties and finding the motivation to continue. Here is an opportunity to come together and discuss these challenges, share strategies, lessons learned, and get advice from fellow prevention professionals trying to reach their career goals.  

 
In this 90-minute webinar, we will review the benefits of creating and regularly reviewing a professional development plan. As a follow-up to the introduction to professional development and certification webinar series hosted by the Northeast and Caribbean in October 2022, this session will review the key components to include in creating professional development plans, identify goals and needs for short- and long-term professional growth, as well as sharing success and challenges that arise during the process. We will provide the opportunity for participants to share their plans, ask questions and crowd-source solutions and strategies from their peers, as well as answer questions on updating professional development plans.  

During this webinar we will: 

• Revisit personal professional development goals and strategies considered or started  

• Assess and identify successes and challenges in personal development plans 

• Explore strategies to overcome professional development challenges 

• Explore potential career pathways and approaches to a career in prevention 

• Develop a personal 6-month professional development plan

We will host the next session of this series in October as an opportunity for participants to revisit and share updates on their professional development plans and hear from colleagues.