HIMSS Career Services has a plethora of opportunities for career support and growth and is dedicated to provide not only educational resources but also a vast variety of career support offerings to ensure our member’s career paths are supported. This comes at a perfect time when never have we seen so much effort being put into health IT careers; the healthcare landscape is always changing and so too is the need for our skills to be innovative, adaptable and synergistic with the healthcare landscape in order to be successful in any health IT career path out there today. 

HIMSS recently launched our new website version in support of the varying facets we see in health IT careers. This new web design offers up an ability to cross pollinate topics and synergize current HIMSS offerings. Careers today are becoming self-defining, self-aspiring and more importantly rewarding to those who think “outside the box”. So, what are some key points to consider when navigating these new frontiers in health IT career paths? Here are a few examples to get you thinking of not only how to survive your career paths but prosper.

Always learn from your environment and the demands placed on you in that work environment. Being able to be successful in career paths is not only based on your credentials but your personal skill sets and style, otherwise known as your “personal brand”. Setting realistic expectations for yourself and your career is also a plus. The sooner you realize this aspect of your career psyche, the quicker you can excel in your chosen path. Be confident to also ask yourself what you need in your environment to make you successful. Do you need additional technologies? Additional skills learned? Additional team support? And when identified, be positive in your approach because how you ask the “ask” will set the tone for your acceptance in the overall work environment. Next, don’t ever hesitate to remind your boss or those of authority of timelines, expectations set or issues not resolved. This feeds into open and seamless communication which is one of the many pillars in a successful career. Treat your job as a career step; don’t look at the current environment as the “glass have empty” but rather “the glass half full”.  Another attribute in your career quest is to understand the corporate culture of your current environment as fast as you can; this really helps because it helps you to understand the approach and ideals of your current organization and whether you “fit” into your current work environment. Finally being able to manage your own reputation in the workplace or what we like to call “your personal brand” because often times individuals will hear about you before they even meet or see you and you want your reputation to represent everything you are and want to be perceived as in your career.

And remember...Be passionate about your career path and strive to make a difference and learn, learn…learn.  Technology is only the enabler; individuals will be the “transformers” of health IT in the years to come!