AMDIS: Next generation of CMIOs need more support
OJAI, Calif.--Probably no one goes to medical school intent on becoming a CMIO, said Geeta Nayyar, MD, MBA, assistant clinical professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., during a discussion at the AMDIS Physician-Computer Symposium earlier this week. However, the interest is there and must be cultivated to meet the growing demand for medical informatics skills, she said.
"The real value in being a physician is being able to affect the healthcare system at a very high level. What we are doing today and will continue to do is revolutionize the healthcare system that we practice in," Nayyar said.
However, medical informatics mentors were scarce, Nayyar said. "I found myself very much alone. I didn’t have a network, there weren’t really any healthcare informatics people that I could go to. This is what led me to the business school."
"There’s a real dearth right now and the disconnect between healthcare and technologists needs to become narrower. This up-and-coming generation of medical students is ready to embrace this technology," she said, "perhaps in a way that none of us are ready to mentor them to do."
The younger medical students and doctors are much more comfrotable with technology from an early age. "As we talk about finding physician leaders and finding physician champions, we may be surprised to find out that those champions are in their 20s and early 30s." Looking to them to teach older physicians, and helping those folks understand each other is "something that’s going to make the job of the CMIO that much easier," she added.
"Physicians in 30 years are not going to practice medicine the way we do today. But it would be a detriment to say the older docs need to get out of the way and let the younger ones come up. The important thing is to get that user buy-in, [and] part of that might be partnering an older physician with a younger one to help embrace the technology," said Nayyar.
When should informatics training be introduced? "The earlier the better," she said, "but it’s never too late. The students and physicians who are interested [in pursuing informatics] will make themselves known. It’s not meant to be for everybody, but to the extent possible, future CMIOs should be identified and mentored.
In addition, rotations and sponsorships are needed, as well as knowledge of relevant medical societies. "You should know what organizations are out there, and that’s not intuitive."
Nayyar advised organizations to empower younger physicians with projects. "I’ve never seen a journal club on a health IT article, ever. Empowering the younger folks, even a journal club, the leaders will come forward," she said.
"When I adopted the EMR at [George Washington University Hospital], I did that for free. And I did it on my own time, I made my own curriculum. No one paid me to do that; it was my passion. Without that opportunity, it never would have happened."
"The real value in being a physician is being able to affect the healthcare system at a very high level. What we are doing today and will continue to do is revolutionize the healthcare system that we practice in," Nayyar said.
However, medical informatics mentors were scarce, Nayyar said. "I found myself very much alone. I didn’t have a network, there weren’t really any healthcare informatics people that I could go to. This is what led me to the business school."
"There’s a real dearth right now and the disconnect between healthcare and technologists needs to become narrower. This up-and-coming generation of medical students is ready to embrace this technology," she said, "perhaps in a way that none of us are ready to mentor them to do."
The younger medical students and doctors are much more comfrotable with technology from an early age. "As we talk about finding physician leaders and finding physician champions, we may be surprised to find out that those champions are in their 20s and early 30s." Looking to them to teach older physicians, and helping those folks understand each other is "something that’s going to make the job of the CMIO that much easier," she added.
"Physicians in 30 years are not going to practice medicine the way we do today. But it would be a detriment to say the older docs need to get out of the way and let the younger ones come up. The important thing is to get that user buy-in, [and] part of that might be partnering an older physician with a younger one to help embrace the technology," said Nayyar.
When should informatics training be introduced? "The earlier the better," she said, "but it’s never too late. The students and physicians who are interested [in pursuing informatics] will make themselves known. It’s not meant to be for everybody, but to the extent possible, future CMIOs should be identified and mentored.
In addition, rotations and sponsorships are needed, as well as knowledge of relevant medical societies. "You should know what organizations are out there, and that’s not intuitive."
Nayyar advised organizations to empower younger physicians with projects. "I’ve never seen a journal club on a health IT article, ever. Empowering the younger folks, even a journal club, the leaders will come forward," she said.
"When I adopted the EMR at [George Washington University Hospital], I did that for free. And I did it on my own time, I made my own curriculum. No one paid me to do that; it was my passion. Without that opportunity, it never would have happened."