Nerd Wanted
A few months ago we bit the bullet and began a search for a full-time IT person. Technology is moving so fast, and we were having too many communication problems with the company we were using. Finding someone who would cater to our specific needs seemed like the next logical step, but of course that was easier said than done.
The first person we found was extremely tech-savvy, but lacked interpersonal skills. In the extreme. He couldn't even make eye contact. Luckily, he left for a better job offer almost immediately.
The next candidate we hired part-time on a trial basis. They were referred to us by a fellow employee, and at first he seemed ideal in that he knew his stuff and could communicate effectively. Unfortunately, he was overburdened with a difficult family life and we caught him sleeping in his office more than once.
As with most things, I learned through painful trial-and-error, so my next step was to establish a solid criteria for the IT person we were looking for:
- Salary - I researched what the local rates were and established a criteria for a competitive salary. To attract top talent in the IT field, you have to make it worth their while.
- Job Requirements - I put in writing what we were looking for in an IT person. What our system requirements were, and what innovations we were hoping to make. Also, I summarized past problems and recurring issues.
- The Future - I wrote down some goals and baselines I hoped the IT person would establish over the course of the first year or so, making it clear that the position would only expand as we incorporate more technology.
- Training - I made it clear that we would gladly allow the IT person some latitude in furthering their education and attending seminars or workshops related to their field. Also, any education the staff needed to keep pace with changes would be duly considered.
The third time seems to be the charm. The woman we hired is extremely gifted when it comes to the technical, but she also has a warm, down-to-earth personality. She explains things in a direct, easy way free of jargon and attitude. She also worked part-time as a nurse's aide in college, so she has some knowledge of the medical field.
Like most practices, we're striving to become as paperless as possible, so I think having an in-house IT person is a smart move. The more intricate and involved we become in tech matters, the more important it becomes to have someone who is specific to our needs and wants.
What about your practice? Do you have your own IT person or do you outsource that work? I'd love to hear your perspective.
posted by Anne @ 10:48 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
We have the benefit of one of docs being extremely tech savvy. He's been doing it for many years. It's often been a painful learning experience, but it sure helps when something breaks.
That being said, direction from the administrator and senior physicians is very important. Tech folks tend to think they know how things should be; some chosen paths may not be ideal (converting many users to Linux turned out to be a headache). We have quarterly meetings with him to define objectives.
Tech folks are also not great project managers. When we adopted our emr, we had a computer committee composed of 3 senior administrative staff (including the administrator) and several physicians. I as the administrator was the project manager and kept everything moving along. The physicians helped clarify what needed to be done, and the other staff helped implement. The IT person was there to provide input and finally to ensure everything worked the way it was supposed to. The install went very smoothly.
Subsequent projects have not been as tightly managed, and have accordingly not gone as well. We're trying to make sure the paradigm is the successful, managed one, not one of the loose variety.
We are connected to a hospital by location only and we "borrow" their IT person on his off time. The good part is he knows his stuff, the bad part is we have to wait until he is available, but we aren't big enough to hire even a part-time person, we are kind of stuck.
You make some very good points. We have 4 support people and one IT Manager. We seem to have a hard time finding and keeping good IT managers and IT people but it has become obvious that it is normal to have these difficulties.
Take a look at a good article in Physicians Practice magazine: http://www.physicianspractice.com/index/fuseaction/articles.details/articleID/1132.htm
Marsha :-)
I am a contract IT person. I do 95% of my support from my desk because I have remote access set up and I have the ability to hit almost all my workstations from within the LAN. I can support 100 workstations by myself without ever going on site. You should look for someone like me to handle your support. I've done IT support for 20 years and can tell you that now is the easiest time in the history of IT to support users. And, even though I'm not an employee, my cost generally runs 1/3 the cost of employment to handle the support of the clients I have.
Look at remote consulting. It may work well for you too.
Yeah. Half the doctors I know are cocaine addicts, and money wenching beasts. I think they will do whatever gives them more money in their pockets, and at the same time could care less about the patients. It's about when their next high is, or golf game, or new beamer or lexus!!
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