QUESTION:
Dear Whitty Women,
I am currently in a clinical role. What are some tips to help me move to the HIT world?
ANSWER:
Dear Reader,
The Healthcare IT domain has a lot of professionals who are coming from the clinical background. Skills required to succeed at healthcare IT are similar to those that make one successful in healthcare clinical roles: passion for providing best and affordable healthcare to those who need it, empathy, being able to deal with pressure, analytical thinking, curiosity & drive, problem solving, communication, to be able to see the big picture and a passion for improving processes. In addition to those, an interest in healthcare technology and having computer skills also helps with taking the first step towards this new healthcare field.
If you are considering making this change, there are couple steps we recommend:
Observe: One of the first things is to observe and maybe even shadow your organization’s healthcare IT team members. What does their day look like, besides the parts you are familiar with, what else they do? What skills they have makes them successful?
Research: You might want to try to learn the nuances and required skills for various different roles under healthcare IT. Talking to other HIT professionals, reading job descriptions on various web sites can help. HIMSS also has a useful healthcare career pathways page that can help you determine your next steps.
Expand your skills: Once you know what is the next step for you to make the move, and what additional skills & knowledge that would help you, try to fill those gaps. Attending various trainings, getting some additional certificates depending on your path definitely helps. But also actively participating in IT projects while you are still in your clinical role, or even volunteering to become a subject matter expert for you clinical unit/ department would allow you to gain a lot of new skills, experience, and visibility.
Network: That is where we can help!! Networking is essential for career growth. While it gives you the opportunity to learn new things about the profession and collaborate, people in your network can also advise you and mentor you. As WHIT members, we are leveraging our networks, experience and expertise to deliver events, mentor programs and offer career counseling and advice to help women achieve their career goals.