Esteemed professor delivers education insights
Willa Fields, DNSc, RN, FHIMSS, has a diverse background in clinical nursing, education, research, performance improvement, management and information systems that spans more than 40 years. She is a Professor in the School of Nursing at San Diego State University. She is responsible for teaching graduate nursing classes in executive nursing leadership, performance improvement and informatics. Additionally, she serves as chair for Student Theses and Evidence-Based Projects. From 2000 to 2006, Dr. Fields was Vice President of Patient Care Systems at Sharp HealthCare in San Diego. She was responsible for the patient care computer systems, including implementation of new core clinical systems that included provider order entry. A member of HIMSS since 2003, Dr. Fields currently serves on the HIMSS Board of Directors and is the incoming vice-chair elect.
Q: What sparked your interest in health IT? Why is it important to you?
A: Typical of many [care providers]—particularly nurses—I got into health IT accidentally. My interest was in the data. After I got my doctorate in nursing [in 1990], I went to work at an acute-care hospital in the quality department, helping the hospital use data to make decisions—really, a forerunner to clinical decision support. It was the data and the ability to ask questions of the data that got me involved in the computer systems. From there, I went into health IT positions.
Why is health IT important to me as a nurse? I am in healthcare to improve the health and well being of others. One way to improve health is by using health IT tools — while giving care and then examining the care that was given across groups of patients to determine what worked and what maybe didn't work as well as we thought it would. In other words, health IT supports direct patient care and performance improvement initiatives. The federal government just came out with quality priorities, and the only way we can really meet those priorities is with data. So health IT is important to me because I think that is where the answers are.
Q: In terms of education, what is available for health IT?
A: One thing I find exciting about health IT is that it is always changing. So even though I have all these degrees, I still need to be educated in the field. And there is a ton of stuff available. HIMSS is one great example. The federal government is also a great resource for education. Right now, the National Quality Forum is putting on webinars on performance improvement and health IT. Just about every organization in the industry is hosting low-cost, readily available, easily accessible, webinar-based education on what's going on in the field and in health IT. So, education today is all about sifting through journals and surfing the web and seeking out these webinars. And of course there are conferences, continuing education, and college programs.
Q: For individuals interested in breaking into health IT or looking to further their professional development, where would you suggest they get started on the path of education?
A: To determine what education you need, you want to talk to several groups of people. For people looking to break into health IT, talk to professionals doing a job you think you may someday want to do. Find out what prepared them for the work. Then talk to someone who hires people in that position. There, they can find out what skill sets are necessary and what kind of educational background is required. Then you can start evaluating education programs since you have an idea of what is needed from the people doing the work and those who do the hiring. The bottom line is that you should talk to a number of people in the field and at different levels; you need to network — not only will you get valuable information, you are making contacts for future work positions.
If you already are a professional in healthcare, volunteer for a health IT project at your organization; every organization has a health IT project going on. And talk to people in the field about how they got into the field and what prepared them.
Q: In what specific ways has health IT education/professional development helped you in your career?
A: It's made me more knowledgeable and skilled. It's given me the background knowledge and the theoretical basis to become a life-long learner, to reach out and find the kind education that I want. I know, for example, through webinars and conferences, what the priorities are from the federal government as they pertain to meaningful use. And because I know these things, I can apply them to the real world.
Q: What kind of encouragement can you offer people looking to further themselves in health IT?
A: I hope they follow their dreams. Health IT is an exciting field for someone who wants to help people and to improve the health of the United States' population. It's an ever changing field, so you are always learning something new—new applications, new ways of doing things. It's an exploding field and I can't think of a more exciting place to be right now.
