Your Career Superpower
I am in no way an expert in data analytics or statistics, but I am learning more every day. What I can tell you is that understanding the basics is enough to give you a a career superpower.
And this super power is insider knowledge. Data provides an understanding of what’s actually going on, an understanding that most people do not have. If used correctly, this can be incredibly powerful in developing your career in two ways.
- Knowledge that is not regularly available to the public can provide insights to help you improve your surroundings, make intelligent assumptions, and be more effective at your job.
- Leadership understands the importance of data. If you can display your ability to analyze it and apply it, you will be recognized and rewarded.
In my head as I write this, it sounds sort of devious or subversive. It’s not. The knowledge that is not readily available isn’t secret or taboo, it’s just hard to come by and takes some effort to obtain. And the utilization of it empowers those around you.
The point is, data gives you a special understanding of your world and, if applied in the right way, it will make your (and your peers’) world better and lead to recognition from higher-ups.
In order to learn how to work with data you need to get some. The ideal place to start is with EHR data. If this is available to you, through committees or clinic projects, then it’s gold. But this isn’t the easiest to come by — and rightly so, leaking this data is a federal offense and a hardcore invasion of patient privacy, so it is often highly protected by healthcare organizations.
If EHR data or other data from your hospital or clinic isn’t easily available, use your own data while you look for a project using data in your current role. Start using your credit card statements — you can download these onto excel right from your bank’s website. Use it to try and build a budget system. It’s an easy way to get started (and a bonus, it will organize your finances).
Second step is figuring out how to analyze the data. Once you’ve got the data, you need a question (e.g. “How many patients per month do I see in clinic?”). Then figure out what data points you need to answer this (e.g. “patients that I saw” and “the month that I saw them”). Then, in Excel you’ll need to do some calculating. Youtube has millions of How To videos on Excel that you can use to learn the fundamentals (basic commands, pivot tables, making graphs & charts, and v-lookups are the bread and butter).
Once you’ve got your answer, you need to display it in a presentable way that explains what you’re asking and how you got to the answer. Make yourself a nice looking table and maybe even a graph or a chart! (I’m nerding out just thinking about infographics. Check out this cool one. Canva.com has many templates to pull ideas from too. The possibilities are endless!).
If you can do simple tasks like these with data, it will expand your skillset for future career opportunities 10-fold. Practice working with data frequently and it will pay off — I guarantee it.
For more insights like this and advice on transitioning from clinical work to the business world — as a side gig or full time — check out my newsletter, Translational Medicine
Follow me on twitter! @christophermoag
