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Career pathways

Overview

A capable and competent Health Informatics workforce will provide the necessary services and intelligent information required to support decision making, better organisational performance and improved health outcomes for patients.  Although there is still work to be done in developing health informatics career pathways the Health Informatics Career Framework (HICF) provides information and examples of career pathways, as well as additional tools to support both indivuals and organisations around career pathways and workforce planning.  The HICF is a UK wide project which was first launched in 2008 and has been considerably upgraded since.  The aim of the career framework is to identify and open up career opportunities in health informatics.

The framework includes:

Over 120 job roles mapped to competencies

  • Job roles aligned to Skills for Health levels
  • Indicative qualification levels mapped to the competencies and professional standards
  • Sample job descriptions to download for at least 75% of roles
  • A number of tools to support individuals, employers and workforce planners
  • Qualifications and learning activities databases
  • A summary of potential uses of the framework highlighting potential benefits through practical examples and case studies.

The National Public Health Information and Intelligence (PHI&I) Workforce Strategy has also developed a national framework of career pathways.  This framework is also based on the 9-level model developed by Skills for Health.

This has been summarised in their Public Health Career Framework (PHRUBIK) Cube, which has several features relevant to Health Informatics, including an accreditation component.

Visit the Public Health Careers Cube and other information.

A current health informatician says: "The NHS has really unlocked the potential in me. I have gone from being a web developer to managing a big programme of change across 13 NHS trusts. Coming from the private sector, the immediate difference I noticed was the autonomy and the responsibility. So instead of being a tiny cog in a machine, I had real responsibility very quickly."

Resources

Further Information

  • Health Informatics Career Framework

    • The aim of the career framework is to identify and open up career opportunities in health informatics. It is also designed to help individuals plan their own careers, and organisations to plan their workforce in this important area.

  • NHS Careers: NHS Careers in Health Informatics

    • This site introduces the topic of Health Informatics and describes the variety of ways in which it plays a vital role in providing healthcare to patients. It includes sections on types of careers, pay for Health Informatics staff and typical entry requirements.

  • Apprenticeships: Apprenticeships provide routes into a variety of careers, including many in the NHS, and offer the opportunity to earn, learn and achieve nationally recognised qualifications at the same time.  See also the National Apprenticeships website and Skills for Health on apprenticeships.
  • Informing Healthcare NHS Wales: Health Informatics Professional Development Programme (HI-ProfILE)

    • The Health Informatics development portal for NHS Wales

  • Equalitec

    • A site which supports women interested in careers in Information, Technology, Electronics and Communications.