Episode 03: Debunking the Non-Linear Career Path

On today's episode of Decoding Destiny, Irina sits down with Delphine O'Rourke to debunk the myths surrounding a non-linear career path. 

Irina and Delphine discuss how to extrapolate the skills you have developed over the years, how to rebrand yourself and create the narrative that tells your story. Women have a tendency to think they need to go from A to Z and anything short of that is a failure. We need to stop thinking of that as a failure but rather an opportunity to show our flexibility, resilience, grit, and willingness to take a chance. We are told we should have a linear career, work-life balance, and so many other concepts that keep bringing us down. Free yourself of what you "should" do and find the "why" in what you want to do. 

Identify what you need from your life on a daily basis - what is life-giving versus life draining. Map your path and that is where you will perform your best. Look at the skills that someone with a linear career path has and ways that you can complement or highlight that with your own experiences. Use data to help back up the argument that you are bringing a different perspective and skillset to the table. 

Build relationships. Find people who are doing something you're interested in, who have changed careers and transitioned, and see what their experiences were like. Identify people who will be your support system and provide you insight when you have decisions to make. 

The fear of failure will be there. We need to accept it and find ways to deal with it. As women, we have dealt with a lot of things worse than being rejected. We can overcome that see our identity in multifaceted ways. This is where a strong support system can help!

About Delphine O'Rourke: 

Delphine O’Rourke has tackled some of the most difficult problems in healthcare from the C-suite and board rooms of health companies. She is a partner in the firm’s Life Sciences group, a member of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Social Impact Investing groups, a health law subject matter expert, and provides strategic guidance, technical expertise and regulatory counsel to clients.

Ms. O’Rourke develops and executes regulatory solutions on behalf of entrepreneurs, growth companies, healthcare systems, public companies and investors, and works directly with leadership to leverage her clients’ innovative solutions. She focuses her healthcare regulatory practice on compliance with federal laws and regulations governing access, delivery and payment for medical care in the United States including compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, OIG civil monetary penalties law, state fraud and abuse provisions, change of ownership, corporate practice of medicine, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, laws relating to non-profit health systems. Additionally, Ms. O’Rourke is a fierce advocate for founders in women’s health and partners with them along their journey by providing them with critical strategic and legal advice.

In addition to being a trusted and invaluable advisor for companies transforming the health and wellness industry, Ms. O’Rourke is an experienced health system leader and in-house counsel. Ms. O’Rourke was Associate General Counsel of Ascension, one of the largest private healthcare systems in the U.S., and now bridges the traditional health system for her clients’ products, services and investments. Ms. O’Rourke serves on the boards of the Columbia Law School Alumni Association, The Forum of Executive Women, and The Foundation of The Forum of Executive Women. She is Vice-Chair of the Women’s Leadership Council of the American Health Law Association, member of CHIEF (a private network focused on connecting and supporting women leaders), healthcare expert for Endeavor (the wo