It’s my second week as an Epic Clin Doc analyst. Today I was pulled into a meeting without warning, or any understanding of the purpose of the call or who was on it. The first item on the agenda was to welcome me to the team. I was asked to introduce myself and give a brief background.
I said something like: “I was a radiographer, did a masters in clinical research, so I was an MSK researcher for a few years, then I opened and managed a private ultrasound clinic for about 5 years, worked in the transformation team on digital projects… and here I am!”
Yes, I actually said, “… and here I am!” The sudden transition just begs the question, “and why are you here?” I could at least have said something like, “and I’m in week 2 as an analyst, immersing myself in training and your working practices so I can get up to speed as soon as possible.”
Anyway, it doesn’t matter. It wasn’t that bad. And they’ll come to see me as a great analyst and team mate. But this introduction, and the others I’ve made in the last week in my new role, are a huge opportunity to make a great first impression.
I wish, with hindsight, that I’d prepared a concise, relevant narrative before I started the job so that I could introduce myself well.
For example, in my case, it could be: “Hi, I’m Callum. I join you with an eclectic mix of technical, clinical, and project experience. Whilst practicing as a radiographer, I did a masters in clinical research, and I developed software to test a new marker for earlier diagnosis of OA, which was my first taste of technical project work. I then opened a private ultrasound clinical and managed that for a few year. As a small business I did everything except scan, but my favourite part was building a mini EPR. I then re-joined the Trust and worked on digital projects in the transformation team - like Being Paid Fairly and the Federated Data Platform - most of which involved Epic. I also did Cogito and SQL certifications, and realised that I really wanted to be an analyst, and empower colleagues to deliver great patient care. So I’m delighted to be here. It’s lovely to meet you all and I can’t wait to work with you.”
Even though I did a lot of preparation for the role, it never occurred to me to rehearse an introduction. But the more I think about it, the more of a no-brainier it seems. I prepared a narrative for the interview. Why not for early conversations with my new colleagues?
I propose that everyone should do as standard preparation for a new job to make a great first impression and hit the ground running in the new job transition.