Ming Chu
Healthcare IT and Machine Learning Researcher
Bozeman, Montana
by Ming Chu
If you want to become a good Epic analyst, start here.
Do not start by trying to look impressive.
Do not start by trying to know everything.
Start with the little things.
Start with the quiet work.
Start with the work other people may overlook.
Clean up the details.
Ask one more question.
Follow the work all the way through.
Take time to understand what the end user really needs. That matters more than people think.
In Epic, small changes can lead to big results over time.
One patient.
One task.
One step at a time.
That is how real improvement happens.
It often begins in small things.
In the little details.
A good Epic analyst is not forced to help.
They want to help, and they do it wholeheartedly.
That is the first thing.
Care about making things better for the people around them.
Patients. Care teams. Teammates. And the people doing the work every day.
When you look at the full process, do not only ask how to build it.
Ask what problem needs to be solved.
Ask what is getting in the way.
Ask what would make the work easier, clearer, and more useful.
A good analyst does not rush to build something new right away.
First, look at what is already there.
Then ask, how can we make this better with what we have now?
Be confident, but ready to learn.
Stay curious.
Learn from your mistakes.
Take honest joy in good work.
Try to understand how things connect within Epic.
That matters because Epic does not stand alone.
Epic touches every level of the healthcare system.
In Epic, that work can look different across teams, but the goal stays the same.
To help people do the right work for the right patient at the right time.
A small change in one place can affect many other areas.
One of the most important skills is learning to ask good questions.
If we change this, what else will it affect?
How will the end user use it?
Will this help reporting?
Will this create more work somewhere else?
Will the end user understand what it means?
Will they know what to do next?
Those questions protect the work before it goes live.
But asking good questions is only half of it.
Learn how to listen.
Learn how to work with clinicians and care managers.
Learn how to explain things clearly.
Learn how to test carefully.
Learn how to admit when something looks good on paper but does not work well in real life.
It also helps to understand the bigger picture.
Epic connects many teams and many workflows.
We do not know everything at once.
But we should try to see how the parts work together.
That will help us support care in a better way.
A good Epic analyst is not only someone who knows how to build.
It is someone who is ready to help.
Someone who keeps learning.
Someone who helps the care team know what to do next.
That kind of person can make a real difference over time.
That is the kind of work worth doing.
tags: Epic - Healthcare IT - Work“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”