Source
r/healthIT•
itsgitty

Laboratory Technologist looking to move into IT field, really would love some help and guidance.

Hey everyone, I’ve worked 5 years as a medical technologist and I am looking to move into a health IT area. I originally wanted to do engineering but it would likely to be too hard with my life situation. So I am now looking at Health Informatics, or Information Systems, or even data analytics? I definitely want to make more money but my transition is mainly because I have been on computers my entire life, I dabbled in HTML/CSS since I was 11 or 12, and I’ve tried learning Python and programming languages on multiple occasions but have yet to do so.

I want to make a good decision and do something that would be interesting and fun and also have a much higher salary cap. I want to do an online masters, my employer will reimburse about 5,000 a year. I’ve also considered getting IT certifications and looking for jobs without even getting a degree right now if that’s even possible.

Would really appreciate insight as to what you are doing or what you do and what the jobs are like. What my options are, etc.

Thanks for any help

Posted Jun 17, 2019, 3:33 PM UTC

68
Mycobacterium•

It’s tough because there is no blueprint. I was a tech for 10 years and just grabbed IT related projects and signaled to management that I wanted to get into LIS. I eventually did LIS part time at my hospital and used that experience to find full time LIS at other hospitals.

Get involved in the software aspects of the job and volunteer for projects.

If you are going into straight HIT rather than LIS then I have no advice.

As for what the work is like, I personally love it, a lot of examining what data crossed what interface when, test building, location building, modifying reports, etc. As for the pay, it’s typically higher in LIS than HIS...about 20k more than I made as a tech.

Being on call sucks, make sure wherever you land that it’s a shared responsibility. Don’t be one of those sad people that are permanently on call.

3
Unenthused_Tech•

Can confirm, it is very saddening to be permanently on "non-critical call" for critical systems.

2
codyscheibs•

I work with many former lab techs who now work on application support. Having front line experience is a huge asset for them and many of them had limited IT experience before starting the more IT heavy work but they all have done well. For reference they used Millennium LIS and are now supporting it but we are also moving to Epic Beaker.

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chroot_jail_breaker•

My current title is Data Specialist for a population health company owned by a hospital. I do a lot of work in Microsoft SQL Server, so if you plan on working more on the data side I recommend learning SQL. I also visualize data using Microsoft Power Bi but will be transitioning to using Tableau. So, learning how to use some visualization software may be helpful.

Sounds like your employer offers a pretty generous education reimbursement, so I recommend taking advantage of it!

1
megzak13•

I moved from Lab to interface analyst for the EHR team on the same organization. You have a very niche skill set and an advantage in that! I've since made the jump over to full time software project management after getting experience on the way interface and data transmittal works.

Even seven years since being there, I still use my lab background all of the time now. Good luck! It definitely can be done!

1
who-hash•

There are different paths as others have stated but I've typically found that most go the LIS route. That said I believe it's completely possible to work in any of the EMR teams (applications, technical, teaching, etc.). I strongly believe anyone can succeed in IT if you have a strong ability to solve problems using logic/algorithms.

I had a BS in MT and worked on the bench for a year before I moved on to the LIS team at another organization while working on my MS in CS. I made the switch for the same reasons. I knew a bench job would be safe but the ceiling for salary and advancement is low. I worked with a great group of people but I simply wasn't challenged and felt like I wasn't learning as much as I wanted to at the time.

Additional degrees are definitely not required but it was a personal decision of mine that ended up helping me career-wise. I was also in my 20s at the time and had a lot more energy to work full-time and take classes in the evenings.

I'd say explore the fields you're interested in. Try some Udemy classes and see if you like the data science fields. Learning to code from websites, forums and youtube is completely possible but I'd focus on the higher level languages.

Check all of the hospitals around. They're always hiring healthcare professionals that want to transition to IT.

Feel free get in touch if you have additional questions.

1
Mirandacake•

I worked in the lab for 10 years as an MLT at 4 different institutions. Experience in every lab department, including reading cultures in Micro and the manual workup bench in blood bank. In the last 1.5, it was in blood bank at a large hospital (1,059 beds). The blood bank software administrator was retiring, so I applied for the position. I have built two of my own PCs and am no stranger to troubleshooting. Programming experience is helpful, but not required. We’re on Epic so I had to take an exam after the interview. I “passed” and got the job. Granted, other people applied for the position and I have no formal computer science classes or major experience. Just lucky I suppose.

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[deleted]•

[removed]

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