Episode #129: Healthcare Informatics 101: Exciting Roles for Physicians in a Growing Field
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Have you ever wished you could make improving the EMR part of your job, but shrugged off the idea because you don’t have a technical background? My guest today, Dr. Julie Hollberg, is a hospitalist and the CMIO of Emory Healthcare. She’s here to discuss how she climbed the informatics ladder and why a technical background is not a prerequisite for this role. Dr. Hollberg will discuss the various ways physicians can be involved in improving the EMR, who might be best suited for this role, and how to pursue this path if it interests you.
In this episode we’re talking about:
- How Julie got started working in the informatics field
- Why a desire to help her colleagues motivates Dr. Hollberg’s work
- How our personality type may help determine which roles are best for us
- Different types of healthcare and industry informatics roles for physicians
- Why having some ongoing clinical work is important for physician informaticists
- How conflict management is an important skill for EMR leadership roles
- Where to learn more about informatics and typical compensation for these roles
Links for this episode:
American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
Physician Transition Starter Kit – A “must have” when you’re questioning your career path. This 25-page guide answers many of your questions about career transition, nonclinical options, and how to just get started.
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"Heather taught me that 'the truth will set you free'."
I sought Heather’s guidance after practicing outpatient internal medicine for many years, as it was getting difficult to balance my role as a clinician while meeting my needs and those of my family. After our first consultation, I felt like I was seen and heard for the first time in my career. Working with Heather helped me identify my strengths, weaknesses, fears, and goals, and ultimately guided me to a non-clinical role that better aligned with my needs and aspirations. I am deeply indebted to Heather for the impact she has had on my personal and professional development. She is one of the most influential people in my life and I continue to seek her guidance years after our initial encounter. She once said that “we are happiest and most successful when we are using our skills and abilities at their highest level.” Heather will help you discover your truth. Thank you for your incredible work and friendship!
Megan Leivant, MD
"Heather’s approach was great! She would listen to me and helped me appreciate who I am."
I remember when she said ‘do your resume before our next meeting’, I was about to push back but she gently nudged me along and I’m glad I did exactly what she wanted me to do. We also did interview prep via Zoom and I was offered a great job in UM. She has continued to follow up even after I was offered this job, helping me with pointers about negotiating. I will totally recommend the Doctors Crossing and Heather to anyone feeling stuck like me and looking for a great coach! Thank you Heather!
- Modupe Oladeinde, MD
“The coaching I have had with you has been life changing."
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I met Heather at the SEAK conference. She and I revisited this question. Did I want to quit being medicine completely? She helped me to identify my needs, wants, and my vision for my FUTURE, not just in medicine, but in life!!!
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Heather helped me understand that I am more than just a doctor and that my experiences in clinical medicine are valuable in so many arenas. As a result I realized that there are other ways to use my background, still be able to help people and continue to challenge myself and grow. To that end I discovered coaching - specifically health coaching. I am on my journey becoming a health coach and truly loving it!
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What started out as an initial thirty-minute consultation call turned into an amazing four-year journey that transformed my life, personally, spiritually and professionally.
Heather helped me to discover my passions...by doing so, I discovered I still had a calling for medicine but it now came from a place of truth...
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If you are reading this as a “Type A” surgeon who doesn’t think coaching is for you, I would encourage you to give Heather a shot. I’m very glad I did!
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By feeding my creativity and interests in other realms of my professional life, I’ve found renewed compassion for my patients and myself, making every shift an opportunity to actually care for people. Thank you Heather. I really couldn’t have made these changes without your help!
- Liz McMurtry, DO
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I never would have had the courage to make the changes I’ve made without her unwavering support, wealth of knowledge and commitment.
When I first started working with Heather, I was downtrodden...I’d been practicing medicine for 20+ years and yet had never quite found my place. During the first year I worked with Heather, I left the practice I’d been working at, and recreated an entirely new professional purpose.
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"There have been a handful of people who have come into my life and changed it, and Heather is one of those people."
From the very first interaction with Heather, it became abundantly clear that she possessed a systematic approach and a methodology firmly rooted in my focusing on my goals and aspirations. Heather's coaching sessions helped me dismantle limiting beliefs and unearth the capable woman, mother, and physician within me. Under Heather's guidance, I began to dream again. I rediscovered my passion for writing, found the courage to share my stories, and even launched my own coaching practice. Today, I specialize in helping others conquer imposter syndrome and overcome burnout, empowering them to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. Working with Heather fundamentally shifted my perspective and allowed me to show up authentically in every facet of my life, resulting in a profound sense of fulfillment.
I am deeply grateful that I can continue my work in the emergency department and serve my community as a physician as well as a coach. Working with Heather was a transformative gift that enabled me to rediscover my true self, find clarity in my life's purpose, and unlock my full potential. Through her guidance, I not only reignited the powerful, confident, and bold version of myself I had lost sight of but also realized the boundless possibilities that lay ahead.
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Making a career shift can be a lonely time, and Heather was there every step of the way with encouraging words. She helped me gain a better understanding of the breadth of careers available to physicians, as well as giving me the tools to make that leap possible. My life is better than I ever thought possible. I'm happier, healthier and doing work that I love. My only regret is that I didn't do this sooner.
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Reshma Shah MD, MPH
"Heather taught me that 'the truth will set you free'."
I sought Heather’s guidance after practicing outpatient internal medicine for many years, as it was getting difficult to balance my role as a clinician while meeting my needs and those of my family. After our first consultation, I felt like I was seen and heard for the first time in my career. Working with Heather helped me identify my strengths, weaknesses, fears, and goals, and ultimately guided me to a non-clinical role that better aligned with my needs and aspirations. I am deeply indebted to Heather for the impact she has had on my personal and professional development. She is one of the most influential people in my life and I continue to seek her guidance years after our initial encounter. She once said that “we are happiest and most successful when we are using our skills and abilities at their highest level.” Heather will help you discover your truth. Thank you for your incredible work and friendship!
Megan Leivant, MD
"Heather’s approach was great! She would listen to me and helped me appreciate who I am."
I remember when she said ‘do your resume before our next meeting’, I was about to push back but she gently nudged me along and I’m glad I did exactly what she wanted me to do. We also did interview prep via Zoom and I was offered a great job in UM. She has continued to follow up even after I was offered this job, helping me with pointers about negotiating. I will totally recommend the Doctors Crossing and Heather to anyone feeling stuck like me and looking for a great coach! Thank you Heather!
- Modupe Oladeinde, MD
I must make one comment about the perils of over-use of pre-populated fields and/or checklists designed to make sign-out easier for clinicians. I have seen some reports, the result of EMR systems providing such a convenience, in which certain statements within the history are not only wrong, but are also in conflict with the patient’s primary diagnosis! For example, a cardiology report on a patient with dementia that lists the neurological status as “Alert & oriented x3”. Undoubtedly, this was a pre-populated field, and probably a statement that is accurate for most cardiology patients, even when no formal neuro assessment is done. However, for some patients, (particularly when routinely accompanied by their healthcare POA), a diagnosis of dementia should at least trigger a caution to the clinician against using the auto-fill for statements that require an actual neuro exam to be done.
Thank you for sharing your cautionary comments about pre-populated fields in the EMR Lisa! You are right, inaccurate information can become part of the medical record and create problems.