You are: The Systems Translator

You don’t need a technical degree to break into this field, just the right focus and foundational skills. Begin by:

• Leaning into your strengths and translational experiences: Ever mediated or navigated a challenging work situation? Perhaps you found fundamental misunderstandings or misinterpretations between teams and you facilitated a resolution! Carry the confidence that your ability to find root causes of misunderstanding and expertise in navigating those waters are valuable!

• Exploring entry-level certifications such as Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt from a process perspective. Tech knowledge is also helpful and you can consider the following: CompTIA IT Fundamentals+, CAHIMS (from HIMSS), or Google’s free Data Analytics Certificate.

• Learning how EHR systems work through YouTube tutorials or free demo environments (if available to you). Consider starting with general healthcare workflow courses to build context.

• Consider working in a clinical operations capacity and find your way to IT. Some of the best Healthcare IT professionals in the industry start off with some sort of healthcare experience (admin and operations count too! no need for a license). Feel free to check out the “Are you a clinician looking to pivot” section so you can take a sneak peek on the next steps if you take this route.

  • Alternatively a Help Desk entry-level role makes a great first step into the Healthcare IT space. This will allow you to experience first-hand challenges that healthcare staff may face on a daily basis.

• Networking with professionals on LinkedIn or local HIMSS chapters to understand hiring paths and job shadowing opportunities.

Essential Resources:

• The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for getting up to speed faster and smarter - This book focuses on the importance of the first 90 days of a new role. Missteps in that timeframe can jeopardize or even derail your success.

  • Hardcover version

  • Kindle Version

• The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine’s Computer Age. - A very strong recommendation. If you aim to translate among teams, you need to understand the struggles and challenges clinicians face. This book is a compilation of compelling stories and hard-hitting analyses of physicians that provide insight into the challenges of technology in the healthcare sector. (links below)

  • Paperback version

  • Kindle version

• The Influential Mind - strategies and lessons on how to clearly communicate vision and align multiple disciplines; something you will likely need to get familiar with.

  • Paperback Version

  • Kindle Version

• Bridge Builders: How Superb Communicators Get What They Want in Business and in Life- a book focusing on the importance of learning to craft messages differently depending on others’ needs. A skill necessary in your career path.

  • Paperback Version

  • Kindle Version

Your clinical experience is a powerful asset. Here’s how to build on it and pivot into a technical role:

• Lean into your strengths and translational experiences. Stand out to your IT/informatics department by suggesting optimizations to workflows, or volunteer to be a subject matter expert or “super user.” If you believe your leader will be supportive, share your interest in this next phase of your career. Disclaimer, not all leaders are created equal so sharing such information will not always yield the same result for everyone, but it can make an impactful difference!

• Target roles that bridge clinical and IT skills, like Clinical Informaticist, Epic Trainer, or Clinical Analyst. These positions highly value your hands-on care experience.

• If there is any sort of Informatics Committee that you can join, it is imperative you do so! Nursing Informatics and Clinical Informatics committees are the most common kind, however you’d be surprised how much crossover there is among roles and responsibilities in these committees.

• Volunteer to help with build as a clinician builder. Some organizations have adopted this practice and the trend is growing. Keep your clinician duties while building entry-level changes in your EHR such as Note Templates, Order Sets, and more. This will make you visible to your organization’s IT team and potentially get you some EHR-specific training sponsored and paid for.

• Consider specialized training in systems like Epic (through an employer or consulting firm), or certifications in Health Informatics (e.g., AMIA 10x10, or CAHIMS).

• Document your process improvement contributions from the bedside — such as helping optimize documentation workflows, reducing charting time, or using clinical technology effectively. Keep a log of hours spent on the projects you’ve led, as well as stats on the impact of the project.

• Leverage mentorship or job shadowing with your organization’s IT or informatics department to understand real-world applications.

Essential Resources:

Success isn’t only about understanding technology, it’s about improving systems. These two books introduce you to the foundational thinking behind workflow optimization, process improvement, and reducing inefficiencies.

• Unlocking Lean Six Sigma

  • Paperback Version

  • Kindle Version

• The Toyota Way

  • Hardcover Version

  • Kindle Version

• Bridge Builders: How Superb Communicators Get What They Want in Business and in Life- a book focusing on the importance of learning to craft messages differently depending on others’ needs. A skill necessary in your career path.

  • Paperback Version

  • Kindle Version

Recommendation to all clinicians:

• The Influential Mind - strategies and lessons on how to clearly communicate vision and align multiple disciplines; something you will likely need to get familiar with.

  • Paperback Version

  • Kindle Version

Already in the field and ready to level up? Focus your next steps on deepening your expertise and broadening your impact:

• Master specialty skills such as aligning stakeholders and delivering dynamic presentations. If you aren’t already part of a governance committee, or running one, you should strongly consider doing so.

• Learn how to make data work for you. Learn how to create (or request) meaningful and impactful reports that highlight current deficiencies in your department or processes to back up your project proposals OR use reports to back up the efficacy and success of projects and initiatives you’ve led. Need Professional Billing assistance on a project? Make sure you have numbers and charge codes handy. If you’re seeking approval for a costly integration, have potential ROI and stats handy. Know your audience.

• Earn advanced certifications like CPHIMS, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt, PMP, or specialized vendor credentials (e.g., Epic Cogito, Willow, or Beaker).

• Build your portfolio with projects that demonstrate measurable impact: from optimizing a system to reducing user errors or increasing reporting efficiency. Stats, percentages, and impact make a compelling story that can pave the way to your career growth.

  • Bonus tip - interested in pursuing your PMP certification? Start logging your project management hours ASAP! As part of the certification, you must complete a certain amount of hours and they count even before you take the course.

• Get involved in strategic initiatives within your organization or volunteer for pilot programs to showcase leadership potential or at least stand out as a valuable asset that helps simplify and support processes.

• Explore other tracks or roles. Leadership is what you’re drawn to at this time and your path toward your goals and interests are unique to you.

Essential Resources:

These two books introduce you to the foundational thinking behind workflow optimization, process improvement, and reducing inefficiencies.

• Unlocking Lean Six Sigma

  • Paperback Version

  • Kindle Version

• The Toyota Way

  • Hardcover Version

  • Kindle Version

• Bridge Builders: How Superb Communicators Get What They Want in Business and in Life- a book focusing on the importance of learning to craft messages differently depending on others’ needs. A skill necessary in your career path.

  • Paperback Version

  • Kindle Version