Can Someone with a Background in... Work in the Health Informatics Field?
I often get the question: “Can someone with a background in nursing, pharmacy, project management, dentistry or (fill in the blank) work in the Health Informatics field?”
This question is often asked because health informatics is relatively new compared to other established fields such as a project manager or business analyst. In addition, many of us grew up with the mentality that when you go to school for something you should stick with that career, until your dying days.
I have posted below some of the common skills you might see advertised for the Health Informatics field.
As you can see many of these skills are not unique solely to the health informatics role and can be obtained through working in different positions. Therefore, if you already have prior experience in another role, it would behoove you to find ways to link the projects and deliverables you have worked on in previous roles, to the qualifications highlighted within the health informatics job role.
In my different roles in the health informatics field, I have worked with people from various backgrounds and rarely have I worked with someone who solely had a degree in health informatics.
The truth is, the journey to break into the field is often not linear and takes lots of effort, dedication, creativity, and maybe pivoting to another role to obtain relevant experience before landing a role in this field.
Don’t just take it from me! Many of you might know that I ran the Health Analytic Insights Podcast for 3+ years and during this time, I interviewed people with different backgrounds, who have pivoted into the health informatics field from various clinical and technical backgrounds.
In one of the podcast episodes, I interviewed Jennifer Lewis, who is a nurse and transitioned into the nursing informatics field by identifying documentation gaps that could be remedied by using technology. This provided evidence to her manager that she was ready for a more technical role and helped her transition into an informatics role.
I hope the below stories from these experts can help guide your journey into health informatics, regardless of where you are starting!
Expert Round-Up
From Nurse to Working in Nursing Informatics:
Making the Jump from Dentistry to Health Informatics:
Your Questions Answered about Pharmacy Informatics:
How to Get your First Entry-Level Role?:
Looking to become a healthcare data analyst? Check out the course here to learn more!
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One day I hope to travel to Japan to see the Cherry Blossoms instead of experiencing everlasting Winter in Canada -_-
