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Climbing the Ladder to Success: An Evening with the Power Women of Health IT

Posted: November 14th, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Basics | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »
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On Monday, November 7, 2016, Health 2.0 Boston held a panel discussion with three of 2016’s 75 Most Powerful Women in Healthcare IT named by HealthData Management and the DoseSpot team was fortunate to be in attendance. The three influential women brought up many interesting points and offered inspiring words of wisdom to the crowd, the majority of which were females. Although the event was structured with prepared questions for the panelists, these power women provided answers that were honest, open and personal, thus creating a comfortable and therapeutic-like atmosphere. This event navigated the different paths that were taken by each of the female leaders and highlighted the trials and tribulations that they encountered while on the rise to success in a primarily male-driven industry.

The Panel

  • Helen Figge, PharmD, MBA, FHIMSS – SVP, Global Strategic Development, LumiraDx, Inc.
  • Sue Schade, MBA, LCHIME, FCHIME, FHIMSS – Principal, StarBridge Advisors
  • Cara Babachicos – Corporate Director/CIO, Community Hospitals at Partners Healthcare

Here are DoseSpot’s key take-away points from the panel discussion:

Culture

All three Health IT leaders agreed that when it comes to the topic of company culture, it is not only important to be a part of a workplace where women are valued, but also to be part of a workplace where women have the ability to flourish and be the competent employee they worked and studied so hard for. Cara Babachicos, specifically, mentioned that internal happiness and success are the most important components of one’s career and the company someone works for should be promoting those components. It is one thing to be qualified for a position, yet another to be the right fit. Consistently evaluating if you are the right fit for a specific position or company is crucial in your path to success.

Mentorship

Are mentors a necessity to rise to the top? All three women agreed that it is not necessarily a career killer if one does not have a mentor. However, being able to navigate and find someone whom you can model after is going to immensely help on your career journey.

Helen Figge mentioned that even if you don’t have a mentor per se, you can still find a particular skill(s) in someone that you can model yourself after and learn from, as long as you don’t set boundaries for yourself of who you could one day become.

Another interesting point made was that a mentor doesn’t necessarily have to be a person you WANT to be; it can be a person who makes you realize who you DON’T want to be. Lessons can be learned from all types of people, of all different backgrounds, personalities and roles.

Rising Above

Each one of the ladies on the panel highlighted the largest obstacle they were required to overcome in order to become who they are today. Helen, who addressed a disability she has experienced her whole life, had to adjust and overcome many challenges to work harder in school and in her career. She courageously saw past her physical obstacle to see the trajectory of what she wanted to be in the long run. Her advice? Like yourself. No matter what.

Cara’s biggest obstacle was having patience. As with building anything great or influential, it takes time. Her advice was to be more patient with yourself and your life, both personally and professionally. Eventually, all of the pieces will come together.

Lastly, one of Sue’s greatest obstacles was dealing with bullying behavior from colleagues, primarily men back in the 80’s when a woman with authority in IT was a rarity. She made it clear to always be willing to speak up for yourself and make sure your superior is aware of what is going on in the workplace, even if stepping up is the hardest thing to do. As a leader of hundreds of employees, she further pointed out that she may not know everything that’s going on in her department. An employee may act differently in front of leadership than they do in front of their peers.

Words of Wisdom

The three power women of health IT left us with a few final points to think about when climbing the career ladder of success:

Speak Up! – Stand up for yourself and for what you deserve, even if it may feel uncomfortable.

Know Your Stuff – Constantly challenge yourself and learn new things. Be an overachiever. Success comes to those who work for it!

Don’t Question Yourself – Even if you feel nervous or anxious, strive to be authentic and confident in everything you do.

Trust Your Gut – If you have to question something, always do what’s right for the organization. Your company will thank you for it.

And finally, at the end of it all: Always do what’s right for you.

About Health 2.0

The Boston Chapter of Health 2.0 is a part of the national Health 2.0 organization, which is the premiere showcase and catalyst for the advancement of new health technologies. Through a global series of conferences, developer competitions, and leading market intelligence, Health 2.0 drives the innovation and collaboration necessary to transform health and health care. For more information, please visit: www.bostonhealth20.com.

About DoseSpot

DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.