Vicki Bennett

• Position: Health Information Manager, John James Memorial Hospital, ACT

What attracted you to HIM?
I had always been interested in medical things, but had obvious administrative skills. The diversity of the course content was particularly appealing ie IT, med science, A &P, Management, Psych, Sociology, and other career specifics like clinical classification.

Vicki's career path from first job to current job:
I was pregnant when I finished Uni and now have 4 great kids, so I have always worked part-time. This has not stopped me from doing some really interesting and challenging work. I have worked in as a coder and HIM at private and public, acute and rehab hospitals in the Sydney Metro area. I was also a Data Manager in the Oncology Unit at Lidcombe Hospital. I then went to Cumberland College and worked casually teaching Computing subjects to HIM students. I then took on a Project Management Position at the NCCH to develop a database for the Australian Coding Standards. I then moved to the country and was the HIM at Yass District Hospital for 5 years (1 day per week). During this time I was also a member of the NCCH's Coders Education Network, which involved conducting training session to update Clinical Coder's skills. In Feb 2000, I took on a position at John James Memorial Hospital.

Current position:
Health Information Manager at John James Memorial Hospital, ACT, which is a private, not-for-profit hospital of about 160 beds.What kind of work does your position involve?
I am currently job-sharing the management of the Medical Records Department with another HIM, Louise Hodgman. We both have young children, so do not want to work full-time. This arrangement is innovative, and has proved a great success after 12 months. I have responsibility for Coding and Casemix (including 4 Clinical Coders), and anything pertaining to reports from the Disease Index. I also have the primary role in all IT areas of the department. Louise looks after forms design, QA and the general clerical functions of the department. We share staff management, and deal with all other things that come along based on individual skills or who's day it is to work. We are extremely complimentary in our skills, which means that we each get to do what we enjoy the most.

What is the best aspect of your current job?
Working for a CEO who respects the knowledge base I bring to the organization and values the role of HIM's as people who have a vital role to play in information management in an environment where information will either make or break a private hospital when it comes to negotiating contracts. Also having a team of people who work for me, who are all older than me, but trust my management and enjoy our work place.

A normal day at work:
Most days I have a meeting to go to, of some sort. I also spend time encouraging my staff in their work. I review documents sent to me from the CEO and send back comment. I read e-mails and deal with their content. I like to visit other areas of the hospital each day, it improves the profile of the Medical Records Department. I some times undertake Casemix education for staff and VMO's. Each day is very different, depending what is in my 'in-tray', which is why it is never boring.

Future career goals:
I am enrolling in the Masters of Health Science (Health Informatics) part-time next year, as I have a passion for using IT in health care, and am looking forward to using this knowledge to assist me implement EHR's at my current work place.