Professional identity and workplace motivation: A case study of health information managers

BACKGROUND

The professional identity and motivation of qualified health information managers (HIMs) is largely unexplored.

OBJECTIVES

A larger study has investigated the motivators of HIMs in the construction of their professional identity and associated relationships to job satisfaction and engagement with their profession. The aims of this component of the study were to: (i) identify and analyse the characteristics of members of the profession who have different motivation profiles; (ii) obtain HIMs' perspectives on their professional identity; and (iii) measure correlation between HIMs' professional identity and different motivating factors. Method: A cross-sectional study design, with a convergent mixed-methods approach to data collection was employed. An online survey was administered to the 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015 Australian health information management and medical record administration graduate cohorts from one university in Victoria.

RESULTS

Response rate: 72.7% (n = 72). There were no statistically significant correlations between the HIMs' motivation profile and professional identity. The HIMs were largely motivated by a need for achievement (striving for excellence) and continuous improvement; maintained high standards of work quality (95.8%); valued their work (94.4%) and work collaborations (84.7%); satisfactorily applied skills-knowledge (94%); demonstrated a very strong professional association (92% were proud to belong to the profession). Key factors in motivation that were consistently reported by members of all cohorts in the open-ended questions were as follows: intrinsic motivation; colleagues and teamwork; the variety of work performed; and contribution to the bigger picture. Overall, and notwithstanding between-cohort differences: 65.3% confidently directed others, 45.8% aspired to leadership and 38% actively networked. They related difficulty in explaining the profession to outsiders.

CONCLUSION

There was no correlation between motivation profile and professional identity. Significantly, the HIMs demonstrated exceptionally strong positive professional identity, reflected particularly in pride in membership of the profession and their belief in the importance of their professional work.

Workforce survey of Australian health information management graduates, 2017-2021: A 5-year follow-on study

Background: Employment outcomes of La Trobe University's 2012-2016 health information manager (HIM) graduate cohort were reported previously. Objectives: To identify the 2017-2021 Australia-based, graduate HIMs' early career employment experiences; identify employment roles and destinations; investigate knowledge and skill sets utilised in professional performance; and compare outcomes with the previous study. Method: A cross-sectional design was utilised. An online survey elicited: demographic data, position-related details and knowledge-skills applied in the workplace. Inter- and intra-cohort comparisons were calculated. Results: Of contactable graduates, 75% (n = 150) completed the survey; 90% (n = 132) had held at least one profession-related position postgraduation; 51% gained employment before final examinations and 92% within 6 months. In their first role, 87% joined the public healthcare sector, 47% had worked in two or more positions and 12.3% in three or more positions. Categorisation of position titles showed that 40% had undertaken "health information management" roles, 14.9% "health classification," 16.6% "data management and analytics," 17.4% "health ICT" and 11.1% "other," roles. Almost two-thirds (64.1%) had utilised three or four of the four professional knowledge-skill domains. There was an increase, from the 2012 to 2016 cohort, in those undertaking "data management and analytics" and "health ICT" roles, and a decrease in "health classification" role uptake. Conclusion: Early-career HIMs have very high employability. They engage throughout health care, predominately in the public health sector. Their mobility reflects national workforce trends. The majority utilise all or most of the professional knowledge-skill domains studied at university.

Defining career success: A cross-sectional analysis of health information managers' perceptions

BACKGROUND

Career success can be defined as the accomplishment of desirable outcomes in an individual's work experiences. It can be divided into objective and subjective career success. Objective success refers to tangible and measurable outcomes such as promotions and position titles. Subjective career success relates to an individual's interpretations of their success or accomplishments. The career success of health information management professionals has not been explored in the literature.

AIM

To determine the indicators of career success as reported by health information managers (HIMs) and identify whether there are any differences based on length of time in the profession.

METHODS

Using a cross-sectional study design, an online survey was administered to a sample of La Trobe University and Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences Medical Record Administration and Health Information Management graduates from 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015, which included the following question: "How would you define success in your career?"

RESULTS

Almost 88% (n = 63) of overall participants in the study responded to this item. Subjective factors (n = 77) of career success, compared to objective factors (n = 22), were more common. The categories of recognition (feeling valued/appreciated), job satisfaction and feelings of accomplishment/sense of achievement were commonly reported.

DISCUSSION

Subjective factors of an individual's career success were deemed to be more significant than objective factors among HIMs.

CONCLUSION

Factors such as recognition and appreciation at work, job satisfaction, fostering high-quality work outputs and creating a sense of achievement should be the major foci for managers, organisations and individuals.