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| View from my Wednesday office! |
Yesterday, I got hired for another project at UCSF in the Department of Physiological Nursing, involving a pivot in my specialization. I always just assumed health tech and databases were just a side interest - something I'd continue knowing a bit about because of my degree (Master of Translational Medicine) and tech savvy. However, it turns out, employers were always most intrigued with the computing skills and education on my CV (C++, SQL, MATLAB, etc). Of course I had to study all of this for my engineering degree and I'm by no means any expert nor am I very good/fluent but I'd never been very passionate about healthcare IT anyway. Its impact felt more indirect compared to the patient interaction I was seeking in clinical research. However, I'm sort of falling into it as a natural progression. Healthcare IT is prevalent across all aspects of medicine and, in my case, clinical research is supplanted by data and there is certainly a lot of it.
I started out at UCSF in a team that is implementing a new cloud-based platform. It would act as both a patient data registry and a portal for patients to log in, learn about their disease (mostly ocular melanoma or retinablastoma), and answer questionnaires that would enable research in PROMs (patient-reported outcome measures). From a technical standpoint, it hasn't been that difficult working with the tech vendor since they are doing all the development work. My job has mainly been to coordinate everything, from patient recruitment to platform evaluation to mapping data input between our existing EHRs (electronic health records) and the new platform. It has allowed me the freedom to practice a little bit of project management and people skills, working between the different facets of translational medicine (industry, academia, clinics, patients), while remaining patient-driven and focused on creating integrated care in Ocular Oncology practice.
The new group I will work with in late December already has an existing SQL database in a later stage of development. They have a lot of data that is dynamic - such as that found in physiological monitoring systems like EKGs or pulse oximetry. This complex data needs to be pooled, analyzed, and interpreted, which is where the PI was hoping to create a role for me. The group is working on very interesting problems in critical care and neurology, which I think will help me in my long winded path towards neurological rehabilitation. :D This project's a lot more technical and very challenging, in a different way from my position in the ophthalmology department. However, I'm excited to refine a skillset that will obviously come in very handy in the future. The Bay Area is still a growing hub for digital technology; I'm even going to a networking event tomorrow on digital health technology!
Cheers to the future! Research is fun!
Wohhh. So cool.
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