Rachel
systems researcher at Department of Health and Children and the RCSI
In general terms, what does your job entail?
One of the objectives of the cardiovascular strategy Building Healthier Hearts is to develop cardiovascular information systems for Ireland. As cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Ireland the purpose of these information systems is to collect information on patients with heart disease so doctors, nurses, physiotherapists etc. can understand and therefore treat this disease better. It also helps the government make decisions about the health care system.
A National Cardiovascular Information Systems (NCIS) steering committee was set up to develop cardiovascular information systems for Ireland. I provide support to this steering committee.
Describe the main events in a typical day
Ireland is at the preliminary stages of developing cardiovascular information systems. Even though it might sound very simple deciding what information to collect it is quite difficult. CARDS is a European project that involves cardiologist from Europe to decide what information we should collect and in what format. This is necessary in order to ensure that we are talking about the same thing across Europe in relation to collecting data on patients with cardiovascular disease. In simple terms, it is beneficial when we want to see if a certain operation or intervention is advantageous or not.
A typical day, therefore, involves researching international information systems to prepare discussion documents for both the CARDS committee in Europe and also for the National Cardiovascular Information Systems (NCIS) steering committee in Irealnd. These discussion documents aid in the development of cardiovascular information systems
Do you feel that you are using your talents in your job?
Yes I do feel like I am using my talents as my job allows me to use skills I acquired from both my qualifications.
After leaving school what were the major milestones in your career development?
After secondary school, I trained as a nurse and I worked for a short while in Accident and Emergency both in Dublin and London. I then returned to college to undertake a degree in Nursing Science in NUI Cork. One of the modules on the degree course was health management. This module included lectures on the importance and the growth of information technology in the health care sector. I found this quite interesting and decided to pursue with a career in information technology. I enrolled for a higher diploma in Computer Science in UCD, which I found very interesting. During the higher diploma I applied for the job I am currently working in.
What do you like about your work?
This is a new job and also a new concept, for the people involved are quite keen and interested. Its also beneficial to be on a project from the start as you can see why various decisions were made. I also find the work quite interesting and stimulating and a lot of the work involved is driven by my own initiative.
Is there any aspect of your work that you not like?
All in all there is no particular aspect that I dislike about my job. One aspect, which I don't see as negative, is that sometimes advice and answers are not readily available but this comes with the territory of having a new and evolving role.
Do you have any specific advice for someone wanting to enter IT?
There are so many different aspects to IT and just because you don't like one aspect don't be turned off.
My role in 4 words
New, interesting, appealing and motivating.
In secondary school I enjoyed ...
Biology, chemistry and computers I found interesting and therefore easier to study.
I was influenced towards to IT by...
My teachers at secondary school. My parents buying a computer for the family at an early stage. Later I became really interested in IT when I realised its importance for study and work.
