Patricia Gaffen was ready for a new challenge in her career, but like many career changers, she wasn’t sure what her next step would be.
As an occupational therapist for the last 20 years, Gaffen eventually decided she wanted to invest in the movement around healthcare technology she’s seen come together since the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs).
Pursuing the American Dream
A first generation American, Gaffen is the daughter of Polish immigrants who moved to the United States to give her a shot at the American dream. She pursued it, obtaining her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Allied Health and Human Services with a specialization in Occupational Therapy. Now, Gaffen is earning another degree, this time a Master of Science in Health Informatics, from the University of South Florida.
“I have used various EHRs over several years, and I have had the luxury of being part of go live events as well as being nominated a “Super User,” but due to increased regulations and productivity standards, I have felt like I am lacking something,” Gaffen says. “A lot can be improved on the EHR. I would like to be involved in improving documentation system ideas so that they are more user-friendly for rehab professionals like me to do their job. Ideally, they would be able to treat the patient without having to type during the session or stay late to complete documentation after the therapy session ends.”
Gaffen’s experiences are diverse. She’s accrued extensive experience in healthcare process, workflow and patient care. She was also once a partner in a company called Swissbody, a Geneva-based organization focused on Wellness through Pilates. The company had a division dedicated to ergonomics in which Gaffen would become the Director of Ergonomics for Children.
“I was working on becoming a Certified Ergonomist with a concentration on proposal and project management,” Gaffen says. “During my class, I had the opportunity to meet the owner of Swissbody. She loved my idea of Ergonomics for children and immediately hired me. I moved to Geneva and educated the Swiss on the importance of self-care by aligning their body. While I was concentrating on implementing this new division, I completed a research study titled Physicians’ Perspective on Musculoskeletal Injuries within Geneva, Switzerland which I presented in Toronto, Canada at the XVI Annual International Ergonomics Forum.”
Making the Transition to Health IT
Despite her range of experience, Gaffen wasn’t sure about transitioning careers. As she began considering a career in health IT, she found the entry requirements to working in the field a bit daunting, something her education with USF Health has eased her mind about.
“I began doing research online to see what potential employers were looking for early on and was starting to feel like doors were closed before I even graduated,” Gaffen says. “The majority of the positions posted required a different kind of medical background than what I had. I started posting on LinkedIn stating that therapists who held physical and occupational therapy, as well as speech-language pathologist degrees, should not be counted out in the field of Informatics and actually, I was encouraged to see HIMSS gave me a thumbs-up.”
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a leader in health IT on a number of fronts, be it policy, professional development or education. Gaffen is looking forward to being an advocate for professionals like her to transition into informatics careers.
“I feel like now it is my mission when I go to the HIMSS annual conference to educate others that disciplines which work side by side with nursing should not be overlooked when developing the informatics workforce,” Gaffen says.
As for education at the conference, Gaffen is excited about an area that she has yet to tackle in her coursework: analytics. And HIMSS, as it turns out, is already opening new doors for Gaffen to learn about analytics.
Embracing Progress in Health IT
“There are several progressive ideas in the HealthIT world, but what really struck me was seeing TGH with their “mission control” system to make an impact in the value-based culture by improving patient care, efficiency and cutting healthcare costs,” Gaffen says. “This is the fourth hospital in the world to initiate a control center and it’s in our own backyard. I’m really interested in analytics and this system is equipped with artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. It’s a perfect mesh between technology and people.
“I will be attending the HIMSS Global Conference to learn more about the opportunities analytics holds, but meanwhile, I just attended the local HIMMS chapter meeting in Tampa. At the meet and greet with local leaders, I had the pleasure of meeting some people from Tampa General Hospital. They are currently in the process of scheduling me to shadow an employee for a day so I can get a chance to see “mission control” in person. What a great opportunity!”
