What can a Medical Doctor after finishing his residency do to work his way into software engineering

[infernioum]

So, as the story with many, I have got myself, somehow, into Medicine, while my true passion have always been to work in software Engineering and Computer Science since a young age.

I have made the mistake of going into medicine, and, ironically, doing well at it, but severely miserable with no passion for it whatsoever. Now, i’m turning 30 next year and finishing up my residency in Pediatrics, I still find myself unhappy at what I do, and day dream non-stop of working in the software field.

What masters/courses/paths can I take to utilize the fact that I’m a doctor, yet still work in the field of computers and softwares? I don't have any loans to pay off as to where we study medicine is different.

TL;DR: Medical doctor finishing up his residency next year, wants to make his way out of medicine and into computers, while utilizing his expertise in the medical field.

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[Raryn]

If you want to do computer stuff in a medical setting, there are fellowships in medical informatics.

Otherwise, you'd be the same as anyone else who wants to get into software stuff. Take some coding courses and get a job.

 

[mvenus929]

[Go into informatics. Save those of us who don't know all about computers and make the EMRs better].

 

[Apollyon]

[Go into informatics. Save those of us who don't know all about computers and make the EMRs better].

It's not which EMR is the best, but which one sucks the least.

 

[piviti]

Yeah I agree with the above posters. No sense in trying to start from scratch and taking a job as a general code monkey as the barrier to entry is too low these days. You can leverage the MD and clinical experience side of things by going into clinical informatics, which is basically the application of information technology in healthcare delivery. It's an ACGME accredited 2 year fellowship. Ironically there are a good amount of pediatricians who go into it as four of the fellowships are pediatric focused (CHOP clinical informatics fellowship comes to mind). Check the AMIA website for more information and a list of fellowships. Post fellowship there are lots of opportunities available (such as studying drug interactions for pharma companies, research positions with academic centers, health IT for EMR development, or administrative positions such as CMIO).

If you're looking to get your feet wet now, try getting in touch with your residency hospital's EMR department. They probably have some QI projects that they might need an MD's input on.

 

[piviti]

Also, if you are able to do an away elective or spend a month at another institution to meet the faculty and fellows and learn more about the field, I would recommend doing it. I know CHOP, Columbia, Ohio state, and UCSF are open to this. I believe one of the fellows at Columbia in the clinical informatics fellowship was programming his own clinical decision algorithm app.

 

[Perrotfish]

A way to dip your toe into informatics would be to do an AMIA 10x10 distance learning course.

Also, just another perspective, it might be worth it to be out of residency for a year, working in Pediatrics, before you commit to wither a career change or a fellowship. It took me about a full year out of a Pediatrics residency to realize that I actually liked my job once I wasn't in residency any more.