clinical vs. business

Work continues to weave its own crazy web. I am one of four clinical analysts in the IT department for a local hospital. We handle most things clinical; everyone has their own departments from within the hospital that they are responsible for. I am responsible for several departments, but my two big ones are lab and radiology. Now, I don’t know the first thing about clinical; I have no medical background, and the terminology rolls off me like water off a duck’s back. When I took this job over a year ago, I was absolutely terrified. But I’ve learned a lot over the last 12 months, and my mentor and fellow analysts have been great in assisting me. In fact, my counterpart (a nurse) and I made a deal – she would help me with all things clinical if I would help her with all things technical.

The hospital is also a business, so there are two business analysts (along with an applications manager) who handle dollars, cents, charges, etc. The senior business analyst retired in mid-October. The junior business analyst, whose position was created at the beginning of the year, has actually been responsible for rebuilding the surgery system (a clinical app; who thought of this one?). She’s been working so closely with surgery that this app is her baby now, and she’s given her resignation so she can be the surgery’s IS analyst. She’s available for backup as a business analyst until the new year. However, she’s never around because she’s always in surgery. So there’s no one for backup.

That leaves the apps manager as the only business analyst available. So, with the IT director’s approval, the apps manager has trained me to be her backup. The other clinical analysts and I are not crazy about this. But I’ve learned you never question the director’s decisions. They tell me it is temporary until the business analyst positions are filled. However, I’ve been told that whoever fills the positions, they will be groomed for the new systems coming next year. Meaning, I’m stuck covering this until next October?? Our new clinical system implementation kicks off next week, and the project kicks into high gear in January. How much time will I be able to devote to the new system if I spend part of my day as a business analyst?

I’ve been covering for 3 weeks now. It’s not a difficult job, but it can get frustrating with all the mistakes we have to fix. I don’t expect perfection, but I think people should be able to do their jobs right so it doesn’t have to be fixed on the back end. My friend asked me if I would apply for the position; my answer is “no”. I think I could handle the job; in fact, there’s not one thing “clinical” about it. But ultimately, I would have to answer to the bigwigs in administration when it comes to numbers. I’ve seen the senior analyst get in a tizzy when she has to stop everything she was doing to give them what they want. And I don’t want to deal with their crap, especially now that the hospital is under a corporate redesign due to issues with our dollars and cents.

My other dilemma is the apps manager. She’s on the verge of a breakdown. She’s having to answer to everyone about everything, trying to fix these accounts over here, trying to come up with numbers over there, and she could lose it any day now. If she quits or retires, I’m screwed. No one knew the business systems like the apps manager and the senior analyst. And with both of them gone, the IT department will be up a creek, and my director will turn to me to build a paddle out of a pencil. Which means I will no longer be a clinical analyst. And I like being a clinical analyst.

So here’s what I feel I must do. I will continue to back up the apps manager and keep her sane by helping her the best I can. The vacant positions have been offered to two applicants, but they declined due to salary. I’ve heard about some new prospects through the grapevine, and I’m crossing my fingers that there will be relief soon.