What might I like/dislike about working in healthcare quality improvement?

February 23, 2009 3:20 AM

The research/datawonk job that I (mostly) love has fallen victim to the times and other hazards. Though I'm by no means wedded to this area, the Mr. and I have given it some thought and decided that this is not a good time (for personal or economic reasons, given family nearby and the difficult local housing market) to pick up stakes. Most of my instincts suggest that I really could make a go out of flying solo, at least for a while. This notion has been bolstered by an outpouring of positive comments and support from several community clients. However, I feel like I owe it to myself to at least consider what other options for "stable" employment might be out there that suit me. I have an upcoming interview for a job for a health care organization in the QI department. I'd like to hear from anyone in the hive mind who's gone this route. Given what I've shared above, what might I find fun, tedious, stressful, etc. about this line of work? What would the day-to-day work be like? What kinds of things should I ask about or look out for in my upcoming interview? (More specifics below the fold)

I think that I've got a lot of skills and background that would be suitable for this kind of a job: I live and breathe data analysis, I naturally "see systems" and how human structures and processes fit together to varying effect, I'm well-seasoned in working with multiple types of stakeholders and finding ways to broker/bridge their differences for a common end, and I can take really complex concepts, break them down and display them in matrix or diagram format in ways that people seem to love. And, I've done health outcomes and healthcare utilization research in the past (though from within a university setting). These are skills that I enjoy using and expect to use on any career path that I'd find satisfying. Things I like about my current work: it's challenging, brings tons of variety, I get to work on important issues and with people genuinely trying to make our community better, I get to pick and use the analytical approaches and tools that I want, I get to do both quantitative and qualitative work (though heavier on the quant lately). I'm assuming that most of my skills would be transferable and valued in a QI context, but confirmation (or cautions!), or specific examples from those who've worked as or with QI people of how would be awesome.

posted by shelbaroo to Work & Money (2 answers total)

You sound like you are well aware of your skills and strengths, and I like how you've described yourself. I might have to steal the first sentence of your second paragraph!

No one can really say what might be fun, tedious, stressful, etc. about the particular job you're interviewing for except the people who currently work in that job (and maybe people who used to work in that job) in that particular organization. Having worked in healthcare for the better part of 12 years, I can say that I prefer the consulting/research environment to the hospital/managed care organization/insurance company environment. But that's me, and you're you, so it's really hard to give you advice.

If you want an unbiased picture of the job and the company, see if you can find a former employee on linkedin.com and ask them if they'll tell you what's what. Good luck!
posted by acridrabbit at 6:33 AM on February 23, 2009

Response by poster: acridrabbit (and others - don't be shy!) - point well taken. I guess my question could be reframed as, "What have you liked/disliked about working within this industry in this general type of work, and why?" I'm happy to do my own reflection and self-analysis from there in terms of whether those same things might be pros or cons for me, and how to translate that information into appropriate questions to ask during my interview.

More thoughts?
posted by shelbaroo at 8:44 AM on February 23, 2009