I’ve been working with data from the start of my career, and now I get to work with some of the world’s largest health data sets.
I completed a degree in human genetics in Canada but didn’t find laboratory work a good fit. So, I went on to work in health data administration. At the time, health records involved a lot of manual clinical and administrative input. It was tedious work for many staff, and I knew there was vast potential to use digital technology to improve the ways things were done.
I moved to the UK to do my master’s degree in artificial intelligence, combining it with my knowledge of human genetics to create ways of prioritising wait lists for elective health care based on clinical need and quality of life.
That’s when my interest in health data really ignited, and after a few years of working at a national health informatics organisation in Canada, I came back to the UK to work in the NHS.
Now, I’m deep in the weeds of our Data Services directorate. I’m currently in charge of delivering a national ‘central metastore’ – a service that stores all types of information about the data we hold. It helps to streamline our internal processes and improves the consistency of how we design and manage our data. For people in the wider health and research community, it gives an overview of the data we hold, what it means, where it came from and how to request access to it.
It’s great to work in an organisation that meets high standards for data management and national service delivery, and one that is committed to being a ‘learning organisation’ with a true commitment to transparency and open communication.