INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the RN Technologist site, where innovation meets advocacy. As an informaticist, my mission is to find ways to help health care providers work smarter – not harder – through technology and workflow optimization. As a nurse, my goal is to find ways to augment care principles, so that individuals may perceive a greater sense of well being under my team’s care. Overall, my objective is to achieve desired outcomes through optimal workflow and innovative technology design, discovery, and implementation.

BACKGROUND

In my earlier years, I developed foundational knowledge in electronic engineering, computer hardware, computer software, programming theory, and networking principles. During the “dot com era,” I worked for Infinity Interactive in New York City as a consultant. I developed application modules and websites for reputable companies. Notable clients included Pepsi and BMW. I enjoyed my time at Infinity Interactive, where I sharpened my programming skills and became comfortable with structured query language; hardware repair & troubleshooting; and database connectivity.

Later, I decided to attend Adventist University of Health Sciences in Orlando Florida to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Nursing (BSN). I completed practicum in the intensive care unit at Advent Health Hospital in Altamonte, FL. I went on to gain clinical experience as a bedside nurse within the Advent Health system. I was exposed to a variety of different units – and in turn various skill sets – over the course of 5 years including time on a multi-system progressive care unit (MSPCU), a neurological progressive care unit, and a cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU).

Next, I decided to return to my alma mater, Adventist University, where I spent time as a clinical adjunct, during the completion of a master’s degree in clinical informatics. I was a clinical adjunct for Foundations of Nursing – as well as Adult Health I, II, & III. I assisted in simulation labs regularly and conducted both virtual and live planned lectures on multiple clinical topics. Additionally, during clinical hours, I held NCLEX examination preparation sessions; dosage calculation sessions; and coaching for nursing plan development.

During the completion of my BSN, I was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau. I am also a current member of Health Informatics Management Systems Society (HIMSS). As of Februrary of 2022, I have also acquired my MSN in nursing informatics (NI) from Chamberlain University, where I finished with a 4.0 GPA.

I returned to Advent Health Waterman to complete my practicum alongside the former Director of Nursing Informatics – and the current Regional Director of Operations – during the implementation of the EPIC Electronic Medical Record (EMR). During this time, my education was focused primarily on leadership.

PRESENT

Immediately after graduation (and also, a surgery and a short vacation), I secured a position at The Villages Health in The Villages, FL as a Senior Clinical Applications Specialist. The Villages is primarily a Fee for Outcome system. We have 10 care centers: eight primary care locations and two specialty care locations. We also have employed multiple hospitalists working at the adjoined affiliate hospital.

This unique set-up has allowed me to further understand Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) quality measures, programs, & guidelines – and how measures are documented utilizing Hierarchical Condition Category Coding (HCC). Conversely, I realized that in the hospital setting our hospitalists billed for professional fees separately from the hospital itself. I learned aspects of the referral process, scheduling, credentialing, prior authorization, insurance, and claims.

I taught myself the native Electronic Health Record (EHR) – Athena – in a relatively short time, and I began to use combined knowledge to customize encounter plans, coded procedure templates, and accelerators to support reporting initiatives. I soon began understanding back-end configurations. It was then that I implemented and customized the Fibroscan service line to meet the needs of the head provider and trained specialty medical assistant on the requested workflow. Later I customized the documentation for the medical assistant (MA) by shadowing her and using “the user story method” to identify needs.

When working with the training team, I quickly was brought to speed on the baseline training for our EHR, and I immediately began assisting in the development of our training curriculum from the ground up under the tutelage of our veteran trainer of over twenty-five years – Jan Crosser. I learned how to assess the needs of learning types and how to design and implement an organizational training curriculum from end to end. This included requirement gathering, collaboration, materials, scenarios, system set-up, curriculum development, stake holder buy-in, change management, instructional design elements, medium selection, logistics, dissemination, implementation, and monitoring.

Later, I became involved in querying data and ultimately, I became a liaison between departments and data teams, because of my knowledge of structured query language (SQL), Snowflake, Athena, and an increased familiarity of clinical operations in both ambulatory and hospital settings. This allowed me to begin to recognize areas for improvement and recruit data teams to automate manual processes.

As I became more involved in projects, I would mock-up project charters and RACI charts to familiarize myself with each project. I learned – and eventually certified in – agile project management methodologies and began incrementally implementing them in the projects that I became involved in. Eventually, I was placed in charge of the Behavioral Health service line optimization project by request of Behavioral Health leadership. I am currently in the process of overseeing multiple projects within the program and capitalizing on agile prioritization modalities as well as enjoying the adaptability of agile backlogs, sprints, and Kan Ban charting to manage resources and tracks weekly sprints.

In this position, I gained exposure to so many more different aspects of NI and Information Technology (IT) including perhaps, even more than what I have already mentioned. These areas include:

  • Athena EHR management and configuration
  • Location build & implementation
  • Project management and leadership
  • SQL, Power BI, and data analysis
  • Document creation and text macro creation utilizing HTML & Athena’s proprietary Magic Words syntax
  • Business & workflow analysis
  • Workflow, operating procedures, job-aids & technical documentation
  • Device & application integrations
  • Curriculum development
  • Training multiple classes for providers and clinical staff
  • Provider shoulder to shoulder visits and optimizations
  • On-site support
    • Working in conjunction with specialized IT teams
      • Successful ad hoc troubleshooting on unknown hardware & software
  • IT and EHR troubleshooting & support help desk
  • Solarwinds ticketing system
  • User administration
  • Student learner on-boarding
  • face to face on-boarding
  • Administration of over 300 applications including: Athena, Active Directory, OnePacs, and Okta
  • Major to minor troubleshooting for over 300 applications
  • Coordinating & scheduling classes, shoulder to shoulders, on-site visits, lunch & learns
  • HIE, CCDA, & HL7
  • Application Program Interface (API) integration projects
    • PDF & Analyte Values
  • EHR provider builds

I have the privilege of working closely with stakeholders and executives to observe organizational initiatives and strategies. I work directly with my Manager and Vice President of Information Technology to create plans, presentations, and materials to assist in meeting high priority objectives and informing stakeholders. As of November 2024, I have been promoted to Senior IT Clinical Applications & Training Specialist.

I am very thankful for all of these experiences and even the ones not mentioned. I greatly appreciate the opportunity for constant growth and the avenue to positively influence clinical workflows and patient outcomes – whether directly or indirectly. I am an advocate at heart, and I will always seek opportunities that allow me to serve someone who needs it.

INTENT

While gaining experience in the acute bedside setting and learning to teach, I became aware that there were many gaps within the understanding of clinical processes. In response, I attended Chamberlain University to obtain a master’s degree in nursing informatics. I hope to use the unique skills and education, which I have acquired, to make a positive impact on healthcare practices through innovation based on visceral experience and exposure to back-end technical operations. Additionally, I am interested in gathering, disseminating, and utilizing evidence-based knowledge to prevent and reverse dis-ease through the implementation of root-cause framework and the promotion of preventative and holistic modalities.

CREDENTIALS & CERTIFICATIONS

  • Master of Science in Nursing Informatics
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing
  • Licensed Registered Nurse
  • Google: Agile Program Management Certification
  • Athena Foundational Certification
  • Athena Clinical Certification
  • IBM: Generative AI: Introduction and Applications
  • Google: HL7 to FHIR Data with Healthcare API
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) – Active
  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) – Active