I want to get into informatics

We frequently get questions posted to this forum such as:

How do I get started in Nursing Informatics?
How do I get an entry level position in healthcare IT, NI?
How do I get a job in HIT, NI, IS.

The interview questions below give you an idea of some of the basic skill sets and role expectations for an average job in nursing/clinical/healthcare information systems. Several of these same questions would be asked if a hiring manager were interviewing a project manager, a clinical informatics specialist, a Nursing Informatics liasion, an implementation specialist, a applications specialist, a nurse informaticist or an IT trainer. I (as a former hiring manager) have asked these questions of candidates........ and been asked similiar questions as a candidate for various positions I've applied for in the past.

If you can answer 50% or more you have a good handle on what practicing in this specialty entails. If less than 50% -this should give you a starting point as to what skills you lack (and will need to acquire) for entry into and practice within this specialty. Good Luck!

See below for an example of interview questions for a clinical analyst position. Courtesy of Joan M. Smith, MSN, RN-BC, Clinical Project Leader submitted to the CARING listserve in Oct 2008


Interview Questions:


What clinic software applications have you used / built / maintained /
or supported?

How in past positions did you communicate with the clinical expert users regarding clinical content and design?

Who was responsible for approving system changes before you moved them
to live?

How do you tell a physician that the clinical system was not designed to doa particular function (such as keeping him logged into the clinical application at all times)?

Describe any creative things you may have done with clinical
software...for example you were able to configure it to do something
that it was not originally designed to do.

How autonomous were you in your role supporting the clinical
application?

Did you serve as an internal consultant to the clinicians, and
serve on clinical documentation committees?

Did you deal directly with vendor support?

Did you write and publish end user system procedures? Down
time procedures?

If the job description includes interfaces:

What interfaces (between which types of clinical systems) have
you supported?

Describe how you have tested a clinical interface in the past.

If the job description includes report writing / data retrieval:

What report writing applications have you used and to what
extent is your proficiency?

How do you verify the accuracy of the reports you have
generated?

If the job description includes training end users:

Have you ever created or developed computer based
instructional training programs and if so for what application and using what product?

Describe how you would prepare for a computer training class to teach order entry (or what ever topic is appropriate).

Preparation of training agenda.

Preparation of training handout and materials.

System preparation, loading training patients, loading users
etc.

Equipment testing of database, and peripherals.

What do you do to keep the class on alert and on track?

What would you do at the end of the class to demonstrate that
the participants had acquired a level of competency?

What Microsoft applications are you proficient in using?

Microsoft Project? How expansive was/were the project(s)?

Microsoft Visio? Share with us process flowcharts you have
created.

Microsoft Access? Share with us databases you have designed
and the reports you created from the data compiled.

Microsoft PowerPoint? Share with us presentations you have
created.

What was the most difficult situation you have encountered as an
analyst?

How did you deal with it at the time?

If you had to do it all over again what would you do differently?