Negative Experience With the Administration of a

¶ … negative experience with the administration of a local hospital; since then I have appreciated the relationship between health care administration and the well-being of patients and staff. Drawn to service-oriented careers, I never had a proclivity to study medicine or nursing and therefore pursued more general academic studies including computer science and business. However, the health care field lured me and I hoped to somehow synthesize my business acumen and computer skills with my service-oriented attitude.

After researching my options and assessing my strengths and weaknesses, health informatics shone before me as an ideal academic and career path. With a propensity for business administration, I bring to the Health Informatics program a strong knowledge of management and organizational skills. I understand that health care institutions like hospitals and clinics require business acumen and strategic management for the facility to operate smoothly.

I am interested in applying my experience with business to the service industry, whether I choose to specialize in patient databases or staff management techniques and software. As computers and information technology are increasingly integral to the health care environment, I also have a large degree of IT and computer skills. I believe that Health Informatics is a career tailored to my particular talents, as I have always fully grasped the concepts behind general systems development and maintenance.

In addition to my business and computer skills, however, I am also keenly interested in helping health care centers run more efficiently. One of the most challenging problems facing the health care industry today is creating and maintaining databases. Health care-related databases have the potential to minimize errors in patient treatment and care; as such, they require trained and specialized professionals. Errors in data management can lead to deadly errors such as the misadministration of medicine or anesthesia.

A well-kept patient database system can be designed to prevent administration and health care staff errors. Moreover, electronic patient records can evolve to contain not only vital statistics and information but also digital images of X-ray and other imaging scans or digital photographs of wounds. As far as hospital administration is concerned, electronic databases are essential for human resources management. One of the greatest weaknesses in the health care system today is the inefficiency of staff to address the needs and concerns of patients and their families.

While much of this problem needs to be addressed by a humanitarian approach, I also believe that health informatics can play an integral role in improving hospital and clinic care efficiency. For example, processing patient admissions can proceed in a timely manner with advanced information technology. If workstations in hospitals are integrated and unified, doctors and nurses can update or change patient information at any location in the hospital. Inventories of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies can be thorough.