Even if you currently have a 9-to-5 job, ask yourself if it’s what you really want to be doing. If not, why not consider giving some of your time to an organization within the field that is your true passion? If you’ve always wanted to run a dinner theater, offer to do their books and learn the ins and outs of such an operation.
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National eHealth Collaborative University Launches 2012 Online HIT Education Series
Posted on 01. Feb, 2012 by Gwen Darling.
National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) today announced the start of the NeHC University Spring 2012 semester. The new semester of this popular health IT (HIT) education series will kick off on February 1 and run through June. “Last year we welcomed over 7,500 attendees to our NeHC University programs, which shows that our stakeholders find the [...]
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We’re all guilty. Jargon is ubiquitous in our writing and cutting back is as hard as turning down a piece of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. It seems even harder in the healthcare IT field because we are combining two notoriously buzzword-heavy fields. Phrases like “synergy,” “space,” and “outside the box” are just the beginning of [...]
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You Are Invited! UIC Hosts “Bridging the Gap Between Education and Employment” HIMSS12 Luncheon
Posted on 27. Jan, 2012 by Gwen Darling.
You are hereby cordially invited to: University of Illinois at Chicago’s HIMSS12 Luncheon & Round Table Discussion As jobs in the health informatics industry continue to grow faster than average, understanding what hiring managers are looking for is a must. With that in mind, we are facilitating a round table discussion & luncheon at HIMSS12 [...]
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I LOVE to read. Read, read, read, read, read. Sometimes I wish that instead of following my passion for Economics in college I had continued in my study and love of literature. I think back over this sometimes especially because I often feel that my field of study did not significantly impact my career path [...]
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You may be asking… Is he really going to try to derive some career coaching from The Brady Bunch? You must think that I am crazy, however, there is an important lesson that I have used many times from The Brady Bunch Movie that was released in 1995.
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Experts are saying that there is a need for over 50,000 Healthcare IT experts that do not exist today. This is really good news for those of us that are IT experts already. Opportunities should abound. Is all this opportunity inspiring you to want to leave the employ of your hospital or vendor and join the world of consulting? I think that’s great. I know many people that have successfully made the jump to consulting.
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The reality is that it is REALLY hard to dance around a termination on a resume. And guess what? I don’t need hand-picked great candidate references to conduct my own due diligence. NOPE – I can get almost any piece of information I need to ensure the proper vetting of a candidate. What I don’t get is [...]
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Wanted: Healthcare IT Professionals Willing To Share “A Day In Your Life”
Posted on 01. Dec, 2011 by Gwen Darling.
If you’re a regular reader of Healthcare IT Today, then you’ve probably run across our popular “Day In The Life” series (and if you’re not, welcome)! As the Healthcare IT industry continues to explode, so will the number of job descriptions it will take to handle the load. And as more and more professionals contemplate [...]
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Remote Work in Healthcare IT Consulting: Should We Take a Closer Look?
Posted on 30. Dec, 2010 by Derek Garrison.
Remote work is an appealing idea. When the topic of remote opportunities comes up on job discussion boards, I see a lot of enthusiasm expressed by would-be remote workers hoping to land a gig. Remote work is something I have personal experience with, and I must admit I’m a big fan. I spent a good [...]
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University of Illinois at Chicago Unveils Industry Insider Interviews
Posted on 24. Jun, 2011 by Gwen Darling.
University of Illinois at Chicago faculty and staff had the privilege of meeting and interviewing a variety of C-level healthcare IT industry professionals at the HIMSS11 Annual Conference and Exhibition. HIMSS11 took place February 21 –24 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. During the last day of the conference, top industry professionals [...]
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Recommended Reading: Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies
Posted on 23. Nov, 2011 by Gwen Darling.
When we launched Healthcare IT Today back in February of 2010, I was tasked with recruiting a team of bloggers who could bring varied and fascinating perspectives to all things swirling around Healthcare IT workforce and career development. One of the bloggers I recruited, Joshua Waldman, was not involved directly with Healthcare IT per se, [...]
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When looking to get into a new marketplace where you think there will be high demand, you want to consider a few obvious things: How difficult will it be to break into the new market? How long will the demand last? Will you be better off than if you just stay in the market you [...]
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I often get calls and emails from current and aspiring Healthcare IT colleagues, asking for my take on what I feel are the most promising career paths for professionals in our industry. There will always be a need for the teams of professionals who build, implement, train, maintain, and analyze, but I’m starting to see [...]
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Still Doubting a Blog Can Advance Your Career? Here’s Proof!
Posted on 03. Oct, 2011 by Gwen Darling.
Back in July, Healthcare IT Today blogger Joe Lavelle wrote an insightful post entitled, “Can a Blog Accelerate Your Career?” In his post, Joe asserts that if handled well, a blog can often be leveraged as an exceptional career advancement tool. Like Joe, I stress the importance of a personal branding strategy to the Healthcare [...]
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When Searching For Healthcare IT Jobs, Don’t Overlook Behavioral Health!
Posted on 13. Oct, 2011 by Gwen Darling.
In yet another boon for Healthcare IT jobs creation, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced this week it is awarding up to 29 new grants, totaling up to $25 million over three years, to expand use of health information technology to increase access to behavioral health services. According to the SAMHSA [...]
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It used to be that people would stay at the same job for years. But now, it’s not the same job market, not the same companies and certainly not the same employees. People leave for all sorts of reasons, they either want a change of scenery or they leave to make more money. Companies can [...]
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The Dishes are Clean – Tips for Successfully Working from Home
Posted on 19. Oct, 2011 by Cassie Thiessen.
One of my dear friends in Chicago just began working from home for the first time in her career because her office is being remodeled. Liz, welcome to the land of pajamas, flexible hours, and isolation. Working remotely, virtually, from home, whatever you want to call it is different. There’s no getting around it and [...]
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As the Healthcare IT Market is heating up, do your part to make sure that your company’s hiring practices are not being compromised by the need to hire many people quickly. I know that the pressure is high to get new talented people hired on board and productive in the “ARRA and ICD-10 Environment”, but compromising your company’s hiring process and standard is only a recipe for disaster.
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Giving back to your community and the greater world around all of us is important for so many reasons. First, it’s simply the right thing to do. And, it’s OK to be honest in sharing that sometimes volunteering has the selfish benefit of helping us with networking opportunities and skill growth in our own careers.
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The Six Degrees of EMR Healthcare IT Consultants – It’s A Small World After All!
Posted on 01. Nov, 2011 by Shirley Corsey.
One of the MOST interesting things I have discovered is how there is a human connection to just about every hospital and/or clinic location I have been assigned over these past 7 years as a nationwide, traveling Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Consultant. It’s like the Six degrees of separation and the game it’s based on, [...]
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What Does A Clinical Informatics Data Analyst Do, Exactly?
Posted on 08. Nov, 2011 by Gwen Darling.
Ever read a job title and wonder, “What does a _______ do all day, exactly? The University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC) has put together a comprehensive list of Healthcare IT industry job descriptions, and has graciously offered to share them with our Healthcare IT Today readers – thanks UIC! First up, CLINICAL INFORMATICS DATA [...]
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You heard me, and I mean it! I get it – the world economy (especially the US economy) is in the toilet. That doesn’t mean you hire a search firm to find the best talent in the land, and then offer a compensation package that is LESS THAN what they are earning today. In the [...]
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Is It Okay To Quit My Current Job Before I Have A New Job?
Posted on 18. Nov, 2011 by Joe Lavelle.
As a career coach, I get asked this question all the time and if I had to give a one word response without any other context, it would generally be “No”. In general, I do not support voluntary unemployment even for just a short time. However, I do believe that situations can arise where it is ok to quit your current job before securing a new one and I will describe some of those situations for you.
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Wow does time fly. As of this writing, I am about half way through my third to last class with UIC’s online Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSHI) program! I still remember when I started back in January 2010, thinking that I’ll be in school forever; it sure doesn’t feel like that anymore! It [...]
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Advantages of Focusing on a Specific Type of Healthcare IT Position
Posted on 21. Nov, 2011 by Erin Kennedy.
Once you’re unemployed, it can be tempting to go for that easy job that has nothing to do with your field. But maybe you should not be looking for just any job because the right one could be just around the corner. If you are trained in a certain field, it may be hard to [...]
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What Does A Chief Medical Information Officer Do, Exactly?
Posted on 28. Nov, 2011 by Gwen Darling.
Ever read a job title and wonder, “What does a _______ do all day, exactly? The University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC) has put together a comprehensive list of Healthcare IT industry job descriptions, and has graciously offered to share them with our Healthcare IT Today readers – thanks UIC! CHIEF MEDICAL INFORMATION OFFICER (CMIO) [...]
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Some people think that resumes are nothing more than a list of your accomplishments, the jobs you’ve had, and the number of places you’ve worked. But, it’s not that easy to construct a resume that markets you to your prospective employer. A resume should be designed to sell you and your potential to an employer. [...]
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Want a More Organized 2012? Do These 3 Things This Week ~
Posted on 02. Jan, 2012 by Gwen Darling.
Many of us make vague, general resolutions for our personal lives (I want to be happier, healthier, etc.), but when it comes to my business, I find that very specific, concrete tasks work well for me. Here are the top three on my list of to-dos to kick off the New Year with organized, focused, [...]
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Contrary to the occasional rant about them, cover letters never go out of style. In fact, they should be considered one of the most important elements of the job seeking process. Unlike the resume, a rather cut and dried dissertation on your experience and training, the cover letter is your chance to convey more than [...]
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I’ve been thinking a lot about smoking lately. My hometown of Boise, ID just joined, although late to the party, the ranks of many other cities around the nation by banning smoking in bars. As a patron, I appreciate the smoking ban and remember the days when I would wear clothes that already needing washing [...]
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Upcoming Career Webinar: Positioning Yourself For Success In The ICD-10 Marketplace
Posted on 13. Jan, 2012 by Carter Groome.
Most likely you’ve either heard about or are up to your elbows in the mandated transition to ICD-10. In case you’re a little foggy on the whole ICD system, here’s an ICD primer, courtesy of the CMS and the AMA: ICD stands for “International Classification of Diseases,” and the 10 refers to the fact that [...]