Opt-out from Public Hospitals: Using Kaleidoscope Career Model to understand women's career transitions in China

Seminar abstract

Our women physicians’ career transition journey start with opt out from public hospitals and end with opt in a private hospital. Dr Wang will discuss the reasons that whether as most Western media reports and existing studies suggest, or are the reasons more complex because of different cultural impaction? A second objective is to extend the application of the KCM in non-Western countries and make contribution to expand the literature of current career theories.  

Design/methodology/approach- Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 Chinese women physicians working at a private hospital located in Shanghai. All informants are working in a private hospital but had years of working experience at public hospitals.  

Findings- The data shows that opt-out from public hospitals and then transfer their careers to the private hospital is the common way to process a career transition for the women physicians. Consistent with the KCM, Dr Wang find that the changes in priority for needs of challenge, balance and authenticity are significant in career transitions.

High work pressure and intense working environment were recognised as the main reasons for leaving public hospitals. While the desire for achieving work-family balance are the main reasons for opting in a private hospital. A family-oriented authenticity arises among our women physician that is different from the original KCM suggested. This family-oriented authenticity considered being as important as balance needs, leading the whole career transition process of our women physicians. 

The paper this presentation comes from, offers contributions to the areas of career transition and the development of Kaleidoscope Career model.

Firstly, shed light on the impaction of cultural factors of women's career transitions. This kind of research is very limited in the existing literature. Moreover, this study provides a critical theoretical contribution to the development of the KCM.

Secondly, the researchers provide an empirical test of the KCM in the non-Western context by showing that it is significant to revisit the concepts and parameters when using the KCM to understand careers in a non-Western country due to the different cultural and background.

Thirdly, they offer practical implications for hospital to maintain and attract women physicians especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Booking

This seminar is free to attend with no need to register in advance.

 We warmly invite you to join in with your friends, colleagues and classmates.

Join this seminar online on Wednesday 23 June at 1pm.

Speaker bio

Shuo Wang is a Lecturer of Business and Management in the Strategy, Operations, and Entrepreneurship Group within Essex Business School.

Before moving to Essex, she worked in the department of HRM & Leadership at Newcastle Business School, where awarded her PhD in Human Resource Management.

Shuo has accumulated rich work experience in supervising students’ dissertations, and delivering high-quality student-centred and research-informed teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Her research includes (but not limited to);

• career development,
• healthcare workers & medical careers,
• women's careers,
• work-life balance,
• emotions at work,
• occupational psychology.

Her current research focuses on female medical professionals' career development in China.

Her work has under reviewed by top rank journals, such as

• Applied Psychology (4* Journals of Distinction),
• Career Development International,
• Asian Journal of Women's Studies, etc.

She is the main participants and coordinator of two running projects funded by National Social Science Foundation (China).