Carrie Johnston

Today, I sit to write this at my desk at Belfast Skin Clinic, it is both a poignant and apt moment to pause and reflect on the place I find myself in professionally, a career path which would most definitely be termed ‘varied’ to say the least. Admittedly, while it does lack the linear approach of most people’s career progression, it nonetheless has been a journey which has afforded me opportunities I could only have dreamed about.

Monday 4 November 2019

Today, I sit to write this at my desk at Belfast Skin Clinic, it is both a poignant and apt moment to pause and reflect on the place I find myself in professionally, a career path which would most definitely be termed ‘varied’ to say the least.

Admittedly, while it does lack the linear approach of most people’s career progression, it nonetheless has been a journey which has afforded me opportunities I could only have dreamed about.

Having graduated with a Politics degree in 2004, I found myself leaving those heady student days behind and hurtling out in to the real world at speed, somewhat bewildered as to what to do next. While I decided on my next steps, I accepted a 1 year role as airline cabin crew. It was a split-second decision which ultimately shaped the next 5 ½ years of my 20’s and awakened a moment of discovery in me that there were places and people beyond these shores that were ready to be embraced and explored.

Looking back, I would say these were the most formative years of my career, learning what working life was about and the responsibilities, commitment and maturity required to reach my goals and achieve success.

The time came for me to hang up my uniform in 2009, when I was offered a role as receptionist in a private healthcare company in Belfast. I gleefully accepted and not content to wait for opportunity to create a path of progression for me, I carved my own path, always enquiring, always learning and determined to absorb what I could in order to make myself indispensable.
This focus enabled me to climb the ranks to Clinical Governance Manager within the following 2 years, working closely alongside the CEO and Nurse Manager and very much living out the old adage…’every day is a school day’.

The years in between have seen me traverse the jagged career landscape of NI and at times it has been punctuated with both success and the odd disappointment.

Through it all, I have been unrelenting in my pursuit of understanding how each facet works in unison to create a successful, profitable and sustainable business model.

Today I am excited to be part of the growing team at Belfast Skin Clinic, offering patients fast access to specialist dermatology diagnostics and treatments. There has never been a more worthwhile cause for me to exercise my acquired knowledge as we aim to save lives by raising skin cancer awareness throughout Ireland.

Monday 4 November 2019