You are: The Instructional Engineer

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: Have you ever worked in customer service? Have you ever taught a class room full of people, or presented in front of a large audience? Carry the confidence that your motivation to teach and support, and ability to create solutions are valuable assets!

• Exploring entry-level certifications such as Google’s IT Support Certficate and Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt or Green Belt.

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

• Consider finding a Help Desk entry-level role as your 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.

  • It is possible to find an EHR Trainer role without direct experience, however some sort of teaching background or credential will be a likely prerequisite or preference by an employer.

• 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. - 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

More specific to your aspirations:

• Switch: How to Change Things when Change is Hard - Great insights and strategies on embracing and facilitating change.

  • Hardcover version

  • Kindle version

• Who Moved My Cheese? - a simple, amusing, yet enlightening read that is referenced to often, especially during times of change.

  • 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 Support Analyst. These positions highly value your hands-on care experience.

• 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.

  • You may also consider volunteering for an onboarding process for your department specific to EHR fundamentals.

• 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.

• 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

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 a specialty area such as Adult Learning Theory, Human-Computer interactions, concepts covered in “Train the Trainer” courses.

• Earn more module certifications like Epic Willow or Ambulatory, or eClinicalWorks, depending what you have access to.

• Build your portfolio with projects such as creation/maintenance of a SuperUser Program, or help take a larger role in system-wide education efforts such as New Employee Orientations (NEO).

• Get involved in strategic initiatives within your organization or volunteer for pilot programs to showcase leadership potential in your specialty.

• Explore other tracks or roles. Traditionally roles are categorized as Credentialed Trainers, or Principal Trainers. Aside from leadership, there is also the avenue of implementation support or eventually making your way to an Analyst role if your goals change over time!

Essential Resources:

• Switch: How to Change Things when Change is Hard - Great insights and strategies on embracing and facilitating change.

  • Hardcover version

  • Kindle version

• Who Moved My Cheese? - a simple, amusing, yet enlightening read that is referenced to often, especially during times of change.

  • Paperback version

  • Kindle version

• Learning Engineering Toolkit - For a deeper dive on Evidence-based practices from the learning sciences.

  • Paperback Version

  • Kindle Version