Quick certs to spice up resume for Epic application analyst job

[dmjacobsen]

I posted this over on the usually-very-busy forum for all nurses, but no bites yet and I just want as many opinions as possible.

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Trying to figure out what the next step in my career will be. Before my nursing career, I was an aspiring IS guy, but never snagged a job higher than helpdesk support. I missed the 90s IT bubble and by the time I'd gotten into the field in the late 90s/early 00s, everyone wanted a CS degree.

Nursing informatics has always been interesting to me. I know it's not a true IS job, but I think I'm definitely prepared experientially for a position that bridges the gap between nursing and IS knowledge bases.

Now, my organization is expanding -- just bought four hospitals in another region -- and thus our EHR group at corporate is expanding. They're hiring for Epic application analysts with RN experience. The only problem that I foresee is that the job listing states "training in information systems required".

So, the question is -- are there any somewhat valuable certifications that I can get to validate my IS/IT knowledge, to make me more competitive for the job? I'm not talking about cramming for some IT cert that I have no knowledge in, just to get some paper. I mean something that will validate intermediate-level IS experience that I already have, that could apply to a nursing informatics/application analyst position.

In the stone age of my career, I got my A+, Network+, and a few other certs, but those aren't really applicable and they're all outdated anyway. I was thinking about CompTIAs Healthcare IT Technician, but is there anything better?

[mednat]

I'm not familiar with healthcare IT, but in general...

Certifications rule in IT, however on the development side companies are usually more concerned with your portfolio. Do you have any projects you have worked on that you can put on github or provide code samples for?

[alzee]

Do you have any projects you have worked on that you can put on github or provide code samples for?

Agree.

A few good projects like this and you don't need a HS diploma, let alone a degree or any certs. Don't be discouraged from applying for a position simply because it says some degree or other is required. Apply anyway. Most of the time the requirement isn't firm, and even when it is, you've lost nothing by sending your resume in.

[dmjacobsen]

I'm not familiar with healthcare IT, but in general...

Certifications rule in IT, however on the development side companies are usually more concerned with your portfolio. Do you have any projects you have worked on that you can put on github or provide code samples for?

So, this position isn't really a coding position, although I understand the name "application analyst" can sound misleading.

This position is more of a project management/liaison type of position, where you have a technically-inclined clinical person talking to nurses, physicians, etc. and then taking information about their needs and translating it into what the coders need to develop. PMP, for example, would be a great cert for this position, but I don't have actual project management experience.

[Toastmaster]

You can take the FREE Yellowbelt Six Sigma cert that's in my sig. Six Sigma is a collection of tools that honestly appear to be used as part of project management, focused around "Quality" aka defect reduction in any output via a careful analysis of the processes involved to make "it".

S

This position is more of a project management/liaison type of position, where you have a technically-inclined clinical person talking to nurses, physicians, etc. and then taking information about their needs and translating it into what the coders need to develop. PMP, for example, would be a great cert for this position, but I don't have actual project management experience.

[TrailRunr]

I'm familiar with Epic, but mostly on the IT side rather than clinical. I would not worry about IT certs. In IT, experience is king and IT certs matter. But not in this case. I think they're looking for any evidence that you did acquire some IT knowledge like a class. The reason for this is that you are going to have to pass an assessment test designed by Epic that's like an IQ/SAT test to get the job. Part of it is programming, but the constructs of the exam's language will be taught to you during the exam. There is a math section as well as an English language section. The time that it takes for you to finish factors into your score. This is not a hard test for a well-rounded college educated person who understands basic logic, but I've seen college graduates and MBAs fail this exam. Most folks who already work at a hospital are reasonably bright and should not worry about passing. There is no way to prepare for the exam other than to take an intro programming course (programming language doesn't matter) and taking a programming class might be overkill. Everything else you need to know for the job will be taken care of after your Epic training and certification.

[dmjacobsen]

You can take the FREE Yellowbelt Six Sigma cert that's in my sig. Six Sigma is a collection of tools that honestly appear to be used as part of project management, focused around "Quality" aka defect reduction in any output via a careful analysis of the processes involved to make "it".

Thanks. I actually have this cert through the same company (6sigmastudy) but I might review the material just to brush up on it, since it's been almost a year.

[dmjacobsen]

I'm familiar with Epic, but mostly on the IT side rather than clinical. I would not worry about IT certs. In IT, experience is king and IT certs matter. But not in this case. I think they're looking for any evidence that you did acquire some IT knowledge like a class. The reason for this is that you are going to have to pass an assessment test designed by Epic that's like an IQ/SAT test to get the job. <snipped for brevity>

That makes sense. I just don't know if my 2-hour Nursing Informatics course in my BSN is going to cut it, and I don't have the time to try to take an actual college course before the interview process begins.

[rebel100]

Think I would hit my network.... Find someone doing that job and go shadow them. Get them to help you get ready and hopefully along the way you impress them enough that they champion your hire.

The most recent I've witnessed is Allscripts. A moderately competent physician practice ops manager got the job....because she was basically capable and had the right connections.

Good luck!

[rebel100]

Interesting read here, though it doesn't really answer your need: How to Become Epic Certified