Changing careers from nursing to health tech

I began my healthcare career working as a junior nurse at a hospital in Singapore, after graduating from Nanyang Polytechnic School. During my time there, I had the privilege of caring for people at their most vulnerable, and this shaped my perspective on life and confirmed that healthcare was the industry for me.

To take my career to the next level, I then did my bachelor of nursing at the University of Sydney and took on additional responsibilities in a research unit promoting evidence-based nursing practices.

But throughout my nearly eight years of nursing, I became fascinated with how technology was reshaping the future of medicine. Every day I saw how patients, their families and clinicians were benefiting from the increased adoption of technologies across the healthcare industry.

When deciding where to complete my education, I wanted to find a university and course that complemented my existing clinical training while allowing me to develop a range of new skills.

My training and nursing background taught me the foundations for delivering exceptional clinical care. But, as I took up more responsibilities, I wanted to develop a range of communication, leadership and management skills outside the scope of my clinical education, including proficiency in areas such as accounting, finance and strategy.

As the world’s first business school dedicated to health and healthcare management, UCL Global Business School for Health (UCL GBSH)’s Health MBA offered me all of this and more.

The health specialist MBA offered many exciting opportunities. For example, the course offered modules on sustainability in healthcare. Given that our industry contributes around 5 per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions, I wanted to help find solutions to how we tackle this from a leadership perspective.

So I made the big and bold decision to change my career. Not only did I decide to transition from clinical care to health informatics, but I moved halfway across the world to do it. 

I was also keen that my postgraduate study would offer links to industries in the field. As part of a consultancy project, I was able to partner with a UK company that provides cloud-based digital healthcare platforms nationwide. The project aimed to provide actionable insights to digital health companies to position their products in the market. This experience not only fuelled my curiosity, but further sparked my interest in health tech. 

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Another special thing about my experience of postgraduate study was the amazing diversity of people it attracted – both staff and students. My classmates came from diverse professional backgrounds, spanning marketing, health policy, pharmacy, medicine, dentistry and finance.

Each individual not only brought a unique perspective to our coursework and discussions, but also gave me part of a supportive network of sound career advice that I’ll be able to turn to throughout my professional journey. 

Although moving to the UK posed some challenges – navigating through the visa application process and sorting housing arrangements for a start – being part of UCL GBSH’s inaugural cohort made the relocation process worthwhile. And the support provided by the university’s admissions team made the transition easier.

Coming to London is like experiencing everything, everywhere, all at once. It can be overwhelming, challenging and fast-paced, but there are so many great opportunities here, both personal and professional.

Since graduating from UCL GBSH, I’ve used the skills and experience I gained and embarked on a journey in health tech as a clinical informatic – my role focuses on bridging the gap between clinical practices and technological solutions through effective stakeholder management. This includes ensuring seamless integration of different components of tech solutions into clinical workflows, enhancing user experience, resulting in operational efficiency and ensuring clinical safety.

So, to students thinking about further education or moving abroad to explore new opportunities, I say do it – embrace your curiosity, stay committed to learning, be kind and continuously challenge yourself.