Q&A with CIO Robin Lang, Part 3: “We have a remarkable opportunity to make a difference.”

Once a nurse, always a nurse.

It’s funny; Robin Lang never envisioned herself as a CIO. As a nurse, her passion was caring for patients – both those in the hospital and those living in the community. But the more she became involved in technology, the more she started to believe in the impact she could have in an informatics leadership role. In fact, Lang found that not only could she touch more patients, but she was also able to improve care delivery and help reduce the burden faced by clinicians.

Recently, healthsystemCIO spoke with Lang about her 30-year journey from nurse to CIO, and the work her team is doing at CaroMont Health to move toward an integrated system while making IT as “seamless” as possible. She also talked about how they’re working to provide at-the-elbow support, the organization’s philosophy on growing from the bench, and the enormous privilege of being a female IT leader.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3



* Working with Mike Johnson – “He trusted me to be the clinical expert.”

* Governance and dotted lines

* Ensuring strategic alignment: “That has to happen or it’s hard to be a successful CIO.”

* Her 30-year path to the CIO role

* CaroMont’s philosophy of growing from the bench – “We don’t have to look very far for expertise.”

* The burden – and privilege – of being a female CIO

* Women in technology: “It’s hard to be what you can’t see.”



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Bold Statements

You absolutely must be in tuned with them to know that you’re meeting the goals and objectives of the business, and that your IT strategy is in line with the organization’s strategy. That has to happen.

I appreciate so much the ability to recognize talent in the incumbents. Sometimes we overlook talent when it’s right in front of us.

Fit and culture are extremely important. We need to make sure everyone’s marching in the same line, and that we’re driven to be our community’s most trusted healthcare provider. That’s not just words on a banner; it really is our desire.

It’s hard to be what you can’t see. When you can’t see female leaders in technical roles, it’s hard for young women to believe they can achieve that level of leadership.

There are great authors out there and great TED Talks and great mentors who can help us realize we can do this. We have a really remarkable opportunity to sit in a space that hasn’t been occupied by women and make a really strong difference.

Lang:  At that point, we had a dotted line over to IT. The CIO who preceded me, Mike Johnson, was also a nurse previously, although he didn’t practice in North Carolina. He was our director of IT and then our first CIO. He was a wonderful mentor and really trusted me to be the clinical expert and say, ‘Yes, this is what we should be doing. These are the teams of people we should bring together.’ That trust, encouragement, and empowerment really helped me to see how this world was growing. He made sure I was involved in lots of opportunities with professional organizations. He introduced me to CHIME; I absolutely love everything CHIME does to support the CIO.

For me, it just grew into a passion. I get so excited about what we do.

 

Gamble:  That’s great to hear.

Lang:  Anyway, when I heard there was an opportunity for the senior director position, I applied and met with the technology folks to help understand where th...