Anyone else an IT major?

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schooltill30

Doctor Acula
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If so, are you getting experience while in premed? Certifications? Please share, I'm looking for advice.

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I'm probably dating myself here, but is there actually a major in IT? As in windows, networks, etc.? I'm familiar with EE and Comp Sci majors, but is there really one just for IT?
 
Well, there's Management Information Systems, which is a BBA. That's what I'm doing. Trains you to be in IT in a business. You're getting all the business background any other BBA gets, plus a solid core of IT courses. Conbined with medicine, people are telling me it's priceless, if I play the cards right (i.e don't fall behind in the IT world while in Medicine). A friend works in Hospital IT, and he said that doctors are the worst people to work with when it comes to computers. Doctors with IT background are going to be in huge demand soon.
 
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What exactly is a BBA? For most schools you're going to have to have a bachelor's or equivalent. If that's an associate's degree, I think you will need something more. Some schools may only require something like 90 hours of college credit, but I think the vast majority of people applying will have a college degree. So it would still probably put you at a disadvantage.

I'd wager your average adcom member would probably have no clue what an MCSE or other certifications mean, so it probably would be only marginally beneficial.

I have a degree in computer engineering, btw.
 
What exactly is a BBA? For most schools you're going to have to have a bachelor's or equivalent. If that's an associate's degree, I think you will need something more. Some schools may only require something like 90 hours of college credit, but I think the vast majority of people applying will have a college degree. So it would still probably put you at a disadvantage.

I'd wager your average adcom member would probably have no clue what an MCSE or other certifications mean, so it probably would be only marginally beneficial.

I have a degree in computer engineering, btw.

Firstly, BBA is Bachelors in Business Administration. It's what's called a Business degree.

Secondly, I wouldn't do the certifications and experience for adcoms. I'm talking about way down the line during and after residency, when computers will be even more ubiquitous and pervasive than they already are, computer saavy MD's will be needed.

But now that I have you here, are you getting any experience/certs before med school?
 
If so, are you getting experience while in premed? Certifications? Please share, I'm looking for advice.

I've got 10 years of experience in IT, so I may be in a position to offer some advice. Depends on what your looking for.
 
I'm an Information Science Technology major. What you do with the degree can depend on your chosen option within the major. As is, I could work with Apple, or consulting somewhere. People do a wide range of stuff...we are rarely the company computer guy....it is more of the offering "solutions" kind of thing. I take project management courses, Usability stuff, Tech. Law, databasing, networks, dynamic web content, and other stuff like that. I'm taking a break from working on my presentation for infospace now. :p

Experiences with premed? Um...I just take the courses. Since I am starting courses a little later than most I have kind of developed study habits that evolved from our PBL curriculum here. Certifications...no real reason to...I did the CCNA stuff a long time ago, and I took the project management certification....but that's about it.
 
I've got 10 years of experience in IT, so I may be in a position to offer some advice. Depends on what your looking for.

Well, right now, I think I'm going to study for and take network+ over the summer. I'm looking for a part-time job/internship in IT in a healthcare enviroment. That way I can get some exposure/experience in both.
The only certifications I have are Microsoft Office Specialist in Excel and Access. I was told to skip the A+ if you're already proficient with basic hardware/software/OS/networking, and start doing network+, security+, and some MS certs.
 
I don't know....lots of certification and crap to go through for a part-time gig. I think if you illustrate a knowledge of the stuff you don't need to bother studying for tests. If anything, I'd look into a very specific facet and just get involved with that..digital health records, PACS, Radiology Information Systems, anything niche. You learn databasing and networks with that...but you also become a fairly valuable resource to a specific department.....which could help out in the end for recommendations or just general interest in specific specialities.
 
I don't know....lots of certification and crap to go through for a part-time gig. I think if you illustrate a knowledge of the stuff you don't need to bother studying for tests. If anything, I'd look into a very specific facet and just get involved with that..digital health records, PACS, Radiology Information Systems, anything niche. You learn databasing and networks with that...but you also become a fairly valuable resource to a specific department.....which could help out in the end for recommendations or just general interest in specific specialities.

Well, ya, for sure. I would love to get there, but I feel like it would be very difficult to place in job like that with no work experience. I'm still a junior in college, and I'd probably end up on a helpdesk somewhere. You disagree?

And do you think network+ is a good starting point? I like the security field, I don't know how exactly to apply that to health-care before I enter med school.
 
I work on the EMR here. I've participated in the conversion of the ED, MNICU, SICU, and CICU's to electronic documentation. I've worked with FM and IM ambulatory clinics to improve their physician documention. I've worked (as a team) with our EMR vendor as they're piloting a new product at our institution. I've seen a lot of workflows, and met/worked with a lot of docs, as well as nurses, billers, coders, administrators, and regulators. The experiences changed my perspective of how medicine "works" and where physicians fit into the puzzle.

My CS degree is marginally helpful when I'm writing DB scripts for the projects. Most of it was on-the-job training.
 
And do you think network+ is a good starting point? I like the security field, I don't know how exactly to apply that to health-care before I enter med school.

It's not a bad starting point, however you'll find that in the info-sec space, most knowledgeable people actually are not crazy about certifications. I've been in the industry for a decade and am applying to med schools this year. In addition, I obtained my CISSP a few years ago. Was it worth it? Yes, it helped me get through the door in several places. However the cert itself doesn't say anything about knowledge. So, if you have a limited amount of time, I would say you're best off getting as much real world experience you can. Forget the certs, gain the real knowledge.

How to apply it to medical school? Well, not school so much, but HIPAA is a HUGE concern in the health realm. With extensive knowledge of HIPAA requirements and the needs from a physician's perspective, one would be well suited to lead/assist with development and design of future systems and tools. At least, that's what I'm hoping.

Just my $0.02
 
for those of you working in hospitals, do you think they would do an internship for a guy who is very knowledgable in general in IT, and would pick up needed skills fairly quickly? If so, who in the hospital would be in charge of such things?
 
Firstly, BBA is Bachelors in Business Administration. It's what's called a Business degree.

Secondly, I wouldn't do the certifications and experience for adcoms. I'm talking about way down the line during and after residency, when computers will be even more ubiquitous and pervasive than they already are, computer saavy MD's will be needed.

But now that I have you here, are you getting any experience/certs before med school?
Oh, cool then. Just take premed classes and you should be fine, I would think.

I took a year off to work at an engineering firm, doing mostly programming in C. I don't have any certs because I wouldn't really be useful to me at my current job, and I doubt it will be later either. From what some of the others have said, a lot of the certifications don't correlate well with actual knowledge. This is what I've heard from others in the field as well.
 
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