More than 50% of the U.S. population receives care from a healthcare organization that uses Epic as its Electronic Health Records system (including Duke and UNC). I partner directly with healthcare organizations installing Epic as a project manager and guide their IT staff and clinical staff in system build, configuration, testing, training and deployment. I work directly with the organization’s counterparts to ensure that the installations are on time and on budget and deliver on the items that the organization had requested. My primary expertise lies within Epic’s outpatient specialties applications (Ophthalmology, Orthopedics and Medical Transplant).

I enjoy the opportunity [my job] provides to build relationships with diverse stakeholders and colleagues (e.g., IT staff at a healthcare organization, clinical operations personnel, physicians, nurses and support staff). The role also offers a nice blend of traditional project management (budgets, timelines, escalations and personnel management) and technical skills (system configuration and data analytics).

Much of my fieldwork in Kenya with Dr. Eric Green involved high-level project management and thinking through the phases of the projects (development of survey tools, training of surveyors, field testing and data collections). I took additional courses with the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy during my second year, and having that policy background about U.S. population health has helped me navigate difficult conversations with stakeholders when I’m visiting a healthcare organization. Additionally, Dr. Kevin Schulman’s health systems course has also been helpful here.

Excerpted from the Duke Global Health Institute website