Maybe I’ll write to you from there: the journey of an undergraduate health information management student Sadiya Askar
For the past three years, I have been studying health information management at La Trobe University in Bundoora, Victoria. In December 2019, I graduated with a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Medical Classification)/ Bachelor of Health Information Management. This double degree course is a four-year undergraduate program which I joined after completing my Associate Degree in Health Sciences at RMIT University. Over those three years, along with many late nights, numerous assignments, and several stressful exams, I have had the opportunity to complete three professional placements, study abroad, be elected President of the Health Information Management Student Association (HIMSA) and last, but not least, made numerous lifelong friends and professional networks.
Professional placements My first placement was in a hospital with a paper-based medical record, my second in a hospital which used a hybrid medical record and my final placement involved the implementation of a new electronic clinical system, across several hospitals in Sydney, New South Wales, to replace paper medication charts with a fully functional electronic system. I was able to experience the full circle of records management, from paper to electronic, during my time as a student. My first professional exposure to the health information industry was from my first placement in second year. Here I learnt the basics of medical records management within a hospital where I first used a patient administration system and filed paper medical records (by terminal digit filing). This placement provided me with the foundation of hospital workflows from admission to discharge and solidified my learnings from university.
For my second professional placement, I was placed within the Clinical Information Systems Support Team within a large public hospital. I was involved in a project where I migrated test plans from a word document to an electronic testing system, while simultaneously running the test scenarios on the scanned medical record information system itself. This task was initially very daunting as I had no experience in conducting systems testing, leading me to question whether I would be able to complete the task independently. However, I approached the experience with an open-mind and took on the challenge, as any health information management student would, and completed the task to a high level, which surprised my placement supervisor. This placement experience sparked a deeper appreciation of the health information management industry. I had this ‘light bulb’ moment where I was extremely proud and excited about my choice of career. Final year placement projects are 11 weeks long and take place in second semester of fourth year. I took myself out of my comfort zone and requested to go interstate for three months so I could experience the health information management profession outside of Victoria. The placement project assigned to me involved the implementation of a new hospital clinical system, which was an additional module to the existing electronic medical record within the organisation. My tasks revolved around change management, project management and staff training. Throughout the placement project, my project team and I faced many unforeseeable challenges, as expected with any largescale electronic medical record project. I was able to apply my education, knowledge and skills to real-world situations and overcome the challenges and difficulties that arose, enabling me to be a key member of the project team, even as a student.
31 HIM-INTERCHANGE • Vol 10 No 1 2020 • ISSN 1838-8620 (PRINT) ISSN 1838-8639 (ONLINE)
