Meet Elizabeth Knight

When Elizabeth responded with these words, I knew her story was exactly what I was looking for. I reassured her that my goal wasn't solely to showcase those who had "made it." In fact, I firmly believe none of us ever truly arrive at a final destination in our careers. I'm most interested in the journey itself—the process of being, learning, and evolving.

Elizabeth's candid admission about her current state of flux resonated deeply. It highlighted a universal truth often overlooked in career narratives: that periods of uncertainty and change are not just common, but vital parts of professional growth. Her willingness to share her story while still in this "liminal space" offered a refreshing perspective on the realities of career development.

At the time of the interview, Elizabeth had two roles. She worked as a Nurse Practitioner in a University Health Centre three days a week. In addition, she has an integrative health coaching practice called Flower Power Health. Here, she works with clients looking to enhance and optimise their running and sports performance or their health through exercise. She also works with clients who are stuck navigating the health system, guiding them on how to self-advocate. But Elizabeth admitted, “I'm actually looking to move away from the type of clinical work that I'm doing right now because I'm finding it to be a challenging environment to work in and I think working in an organisation like the one that I'm working in can feel like a bit of a clash with my values”.

Many of us have felt that at some point in our careers.

Elizabeth's journey began with a simple yet profound desire to make a difference in people's lives. Drawn to the helping professions, she embarked on a career in nursing after an undergrad in liberal arts.

Her first role was as a registered nurse in the cardiovascular ICU. It was here, amidst the beeps and whirs of life-sustaining machines, that Elizabeth witnessed the impact of compassionate care firsthand. She found herself drawn to the human stories behind the diagnoses, the hopes and fears residing within each patient.

The Dual Degree Challenge

As her passion for learning grew, Elizabeth boldly decided to pursue advanced education. She enrolled in a dual NP and PhD program, immersing herself in the worlds of clinical practice and research. "I don't think I had entirely an idea of what that path would look like when I did it," Elizabeth admitted.

"I think going to advanced practice nursing to become a nurse practitioner made sense. I went the PhD route in many ways because I'm just curious and very interested in science and research." Late nights studying and early mornings in the lab became routine as she pushed herself to expand her knowledge and skills. The challenges were numerous, but Elizabeth's determination persisted.

In her PhD research, Elizabeth focused on studying people who had symptoms like chest pain and had gone to the emergency room for treatment. “We looked at differences among people who did and didn't have a cardiac event." The findings showed that gender differences were a huge factor in determining whether people continued to use healthcare resources six months after that initial visit.

Balancing the demands of her dual degree program with her work as a nurse was no easy feat, but Elizabeth found that the intense study and focus required were well-suited to her natural inclinations.

Elizabeth admitted that juggling her advanced studies and work as a nurse was definitely a busy and challenging time. She attributed her ability to manage it all to her youthful energy and a strong support system with her partner.

Balancing Academia and Clinical Practice

After those five years, with her newly minted degrees in hand, Elizabeth transitioned into academia, eager to share her expertise with the next generation of healthcare professionals. However, this path wasn’t necessarily what she had been planning. 

She found herself juggling the demands of research, teaching, and clinical practice, each role vying for her time and attention.

There can be pressure to have a master plan, particularly among clearly defined professions within healthcare. Pressure to know precisely what you want and where you are going. But it's an unrealistic expectation. No single approach is superior. We may just be diligent about seeing what's immediately around us, try a role or path out, and alter course when circumstances and interests change.

Changing circumstances was the catalyst for Elizabeth's shifting thoughts about her career. She and her partner moved geographically, which came with changing her academic institution and the workplace culture she found herself in. The role was as an Assistant Professor in Nursing, which had a clinical role at the university as a nurse practitioner training and supervising nurses. While both were technically part-time, Elizabeth describes them as both having a full-time load.

Shifting Needs and Demands

Come 2020, Elizabeth felt a growing sense of unease combined with all the changes that came with the pandemic. "Going into an academic position, there's tension between having a clinical teaching role and having a research-focused role," she explained. She hoped the new institution would better support the marriage of education and research components. Still, despite trying, they never really came together like Elizabeth needed for professional satisfaction.

This is such a common challenge I hear about in academia. On paper, the ratio of teaching to research is one thing; in reality, it is another. Advancing your career can't be done without more research, but resources, mentorship, or collaboration capacity are not structurally in place. The pandemic upended any headway Elizabeth was making to progress her academic career.

With its rigid expectations and limited flexibility, the traditional academic path began to feel like a constraining force rather than a catalyst for growth. So, Elizabeth resigned from the academic role and remained part-time at the institution in the nurse practitioner clinical role.

Her words lingered in my thoughts as I pondered my own career path in healthcare. I had a lot in common with Elizabeth. We had research PhDs and experience educating and supporting the journeys of others. Both were weighed down by the narrowly defined ways of evolving within certain paths that simply didn't align with how we see them cohering with our lives. I wondered how Elizabeth would move forward in this season of her career.

The Shift to Health Coaching

She began to explore new possibilities, seeking opportunities that would allow her to combine her passions meaningfully. During this time of exploration, Elizabeth discovered the world of health coaching. Elizabeth was looking for a way to engage differently with the same underlying issues and interests, as the organisations she was in were not effectively facilitating the work that needed to be done. "I enjoy the coaching role and process as a way of relating to other people and meeting needs, but I can't do that effectively in 15 minutes at a time."

Through her practice, Flower Power Health, Elizabeth aligned her values with her work, creating a space where she could truly thrive. I was curious about how she chose her health coaching practice's focus and niche.

The other part of her coaching focus, helping people with movement, athletics, and lifestyle, has a dual origin. Firstly, her earlier work in the cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit showed her the end game when people don't prioritise these aspects of their lives. Secondly, as an athlete herself, this is a significant part of Elizabeth's life. She loves talking about this stuff and helping people with it. Her passion comes through in her work, and from a practical standpoint, as a runner, she knows many adults who want to get into running but think they could never do it.

The Downside of Autonomy

Elizabeth's journey as a business owner has been filled with both rewards and challenges. "I love the autonomy I have. I love that every decision that I make gets to be mine and that it can be based on the values that I bring to the table," she shares. However, she also acknowledges the loneliness that can come with running her own practice. "It would be really great to have more people who I can bounce something off of or to have somebody with complementary strengths to help me with the things that I maybe don't have as strong of a background," she admits.

Business administration. It's a leap many clinicians, myself included, make when we want to monetise our expertise as a new business owner. "When I zoom out, I can certainly see the progress that I've made, in the business and as a business owner, and it's hard in the day-to-day though because it's hard to be patient with growth, and that I think has been a learning for me," she reflects. Despite the challenges, Elizabeth's happiness and satisfaction with the work itself keep her motivated to continue on this path.

Finding the Next Step

As Elizabeth Knight reflects on her career journey, she finds herself at a crossroads, grappling with the challenge of leveraging her extensive experience and qualifications to find the right opportunities. With a diverse background that includes clinical practice, health coaching, research publications, teaching, and a PhD, Elizabeth's unique skill set is both a blessing and a curse. "I have a bit of a Pastiche of a resume," she admits, "and to say how all that stuff comes together in a meaningful way for somebody. It's almost like a little bit of everything adds up to nothing."

The pressure to make sense of her varied experiences and translate them into a cohesive narrative is not external but rather an internal struggle. 

"As I look ahead and consider my next career moves, I find myself in a challenging position. For many roles I'm interested in, I feel simultaneously overqualified and underqualified. My diverse background and advanced degrees make me highly qualified in some ways, but my lack of specific industry experience in other areas can make me seem underqualified. This paradox makes finding the right fit for my unique skill set difficult," Elizabeth explains.

She finds herself in an awkward position, with people telling her that having a PhD is not the right fit for certain jobs, as they seek someone with experience in the field in a specific way.

Elizabeth's challenge lay in effectively communicating her expertise and finding ways to leverage her diverse background. To address this, Elizabeth has been actively networking and talking to people working in different parts of the industry to learn about company structures, roles, and the language that matters. She suspects that rather than finding an existing role that perfectly fits her, she will need to find a person and an organisation that appreciates her unique value proposition.

Despite the challenges, Elizabeth remains confident in her abilities and the value she brings.

Given that a couple of months had passed since the interview and now sharing her story, I reached out to Elizabeth for any career updates.

It turns out that Elizabeth made the leap to quit her clinical job after arriving at a sense of certainty that it was the right step. With that extra space in her life, she almost immediately connected with a founder through an online community and started a role as the Head of Research at a seed-stage women's health startup.

By featuring Elizabeth's journey, we challenge the notion that only neatly packaged success stories have value. Instead, we celebrate the courage it takes to embrace change, acknowledge uncertainty, and continue moving forward—even when the path ahead isn't clear.

Elizabeth's Wisdom:

• Know your values and what matters to you - It's easy to get caught up in what others expect, but honouring your values opens doors you might not have seen otherwise.

• Be open to change - Careers aren't always linear. Sometimes the most fulfilling work comes from combining your skills and interests in unique ways.

• Keep learning and asking questions - Whether it's through formal education, talking to people in different roles, or exploring new areas of interest, curiosity is key.

Connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn and her Health Coaching practice.

If you are seeking clarity about your next steps…