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Student Q & A

Background

Congratulations to Michael Nutter, a recent recipient of an ESI Master's Certificate in IT Project Management. As a Senior Business Advocate for Florida Hospital Management Information Systems (MIS)/Revenue Management, Michael serves as an MIS liaison with multiple departments ranging from Health Information Management to Outpatient Scheduling. "I'm responsible for fully understanding the business operations of each department assigned," he said. "This detailed department knowledge is then used to recommend business process or system enhancements with the ultimate goal of optimizing department efficiency, effectiveness and resource utilization."

Michael has a bachelor's degree in Management from the University of Charleston (WV) and a master's degree in Health Care Administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH.

1. What's one of your biggest project successes to date?

"Completing the implementation of our Outpatient Scheduling project in six months. The new system allows patients to schedule multiple outpatient services with one call and reduces the onsite registration time. Prior to the launch of the system, more than 100 different phone numbers were published to schedule separate hospital outpatient services. Now, patients call one number to schedule all of their outpatient procedures and provide much of their patient information over the phone, reducing the time they spend in patient registration."

2. What are some of your lessons learned while working on projects?

"My most valuable lesson was learning the importance of communicating clearly with all stakeholders. Consistently keeping all project stakeholders informed about the project status avoids misperceptions and problems.

Additionally, good project documentation takes time. Often, during the initial project stage and through implementation, project managers tend to let documentation take a back seat to more pressing priority issues. However, in the long run, clear and concise project documentation is key from several perspectives including: history of project, resource conflicts, resolutions and lessons learned. When evaluating future projects that may be similar to a previously implemented system, the value of good project documentation is priceless."

3. What's your biggest challenge on the job?

"Resource availability. Our department has a limited amount of programming and quality assurance resources available for multiple significant projects on the Clinical, Business and Revenue application teams. Many times, one MIS resource will be working on multiple projects simultaneously based on project deliverable deadlines. One slip in a project timeline can negatively affect multiple projects. Keeping projects on track is a team effort that is vital to success."

4. How has the material covered in the ESI courses helped you on the job?

"The ESI Master's Certificate in IT Project Management program has helped open my eyes to so many project variables that must be evaluated to ensure a successful project, especially risk management, scheduling, cost control and systems integration. Because most of Florida Hospital's projects involve integration and utilize a limited pool of programming and integration resources, the value of evaluating risk before a project, as well as understanding the cost/scheduling impact associated with those risks, can be a 'project lifesaver!"

5. What did you like best about your ESI courses?

"The consistency of the quality of material and instructors throughout the ESI program is commendable. Each instructor was experienced and fully qualified to cover the course content. Additionally, each had his or her unique style of professionalism and creativity, which always made for an enjoyable learning experience. Thank you ESI for making learning fun (even during some rather dry topics)."

6. What advice would you give to other IT project managers?

• Understand the need for clear and consistent communication to all stakeholders throughout the project life cycle.
• Understand and recognize the strengths and weaknesses each team member brings to the table. Utilize that team member for his or her strengths rather than trying to 'grow them' in their weak areas.
• Keep abreast of new technologies

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