How can I prep myself for a help desk position at a hospital?

I just got hired at a hospital I really like and I notice that they constantly have help desk opening, is that a bad sign that people get fired for under performing? Also I'm A+ certified and haven't landed a full time position for any entry level jobs in help desk. How can I develop good skills for help desk?

I had two interviews in my last job at another hospital and didn't go well enough, but I still got some good help desk interview experience. Any good help desk blogs I can read about?

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CIO

grave_digger wrote: »

I just got hired at a hospital I really like and I notice that they constantly have help desk opening, is that a bad sign that people get fired for under performing? Also I'm A+ certified and haven't landed a full time position for any entry level jobs in help desk. How can I develop good skills for help desk?

I had two interviews in my last job at another hospital and didn't go well enough, but I still got some good help desk interview experience. Any good help desk blogs I can read about?

Under performing is not always the case. Might be due to bad management

--chris--

CIO wrote: »

Under performing is not always the case. Might be due to bad management

I just left desktop at a hospital. We had high turn over but no one was fired. People just got better jobs and moved on. Probably one person every 2 to 3 months.

grave_digger

$15.86 an hour good? for help desk.

kohr-ah

Could be they got better jobs,. It could be they wanted to get promoted and unless someone leaves there is no where to go up in the hospital. It could be they couldn't handle the environment.

I started at Helpdesk at a hospital. I saw a LOT of things. Not saying that will be the case for you but at one point we had a PC that randomly crashed and it was in surgical bay 4. I had to scrub up. Stand through a liver surgery (full view) and make sure that PC didn't crash because it hosted PACS on it and if it went down I had to get it running while they kept doing surgery (it luckily didn't go down).
Sadly that is one of the lighter things I saw :P Doesnt mean you will see the same thing.

Good skills for helpdesk is this. Always be willing to learn, Take notes, and if it is slow volunteer to do more work.
Also a quick note - Docs are going to be a###oles some times. Nurses are good people to have as allies.

markulous

grave_digger wrote: »

$15.86 an hour good? for help desk.

Really depends on the area and what your duties are. I get paid slightly more than that in Denver for basic end-user support.

--chris--

grave_digger wrote: »

$15.86 an hour good? for help desk.

Thats pretty much what we got. We also received a company phone, but I no longer consider that a benefit lol. Its more like a tether...

--chris--

kohr-ah wrote: »

Could be they got better jobs,. It could be they wanted to get promoted and unless someone leaves there is no where to go up in the hospital. It could be they couldn't handle the environment.

I started at Helpdesk at a hospital. I saw a LOT of things. Not saying that will be the case for you but at one point we had a PC that randomly crashed and it was in surgical bay 4. I had to scrub up. Stand through a liver surgery (full view) and make sure that PC didn't crash because it hosted PACS on it and if it went down I had to get it running while they kept doing surgery (it luckily didn't go down).
Sadly that is one of the lighter things I saw :P Doesnt mean you will see the same thing.

Good skills for helpdesk is this. Always be willing to learn, Take notes, and if it is slow volunteer to do more work.
Also a quick note - Docs are going to be a###oles some times. Nurses are good people to have as allies.

Yep, scrubbing up will be a regular part of your job for a variety of reasons. The ORs/cath labs are not what you need to worry about if you are queasy...there is this place called "gross pathology"...lol. Avoid that place. I love the people that worked in that area (great sense of humor) but the "little shop of horrors" thing could really make some people feel weak. I was not certain how I would handle that aspect until I seen it. A foot? Cool. A big chunk of the birthing organ...ok that's gross.

It depends on the size of your hospital. Some hospitals are small enough that they dont really have an onsite lab. If yours does, be careful poking around in there and where gloves. They make snicker at the IT guy that's worried about "germs" but trust me...you want gloves before you touch anything in a lab. "Foam in/Foam out" is the sterilization mantra that you should stick to with most places in that kind of environment.

As far as the staff goes, the place I worked in had one of everything. As a whole, everyone was cool because you are fixing something they need. There will be the stereotypical A-hole doctor(or nurse, PA, aid, etc...they are everywhere), but its very likely everyone they work with knows them as such and they will simply expect you to play your role and ignore him/her while fixing the issue.

grave_digger

kohr-ah wrote: »

Could be they got better jobs,. It could be they wanted to get promoted and unless someone leaves there is no where to go up in the hospital. It could be they couldn't handle the environment.

I started at Helpdesk at a hospital. I saw a LOT of things. Not saying that will be the case for you but at one point we had a PC that randomly crashed and it was in surgical bay 4. I had to scrub up. Stand through a liver surgery (full view) and make sure that PC didn't crash because it hosted PACS on it and if it went down I had to get it running while they kept doing surgery (it luckily didn't go down).
Sadly that is one of the lighter things I saw :P Doesnt mean you will see the same thing.

Good skills for helpdesk is this. Always be willing to learn, Take notes, and if it is slow volunteer to do more work.
Also a quick note - Docs are going to be a###oles some times. Nurses are good people to have as allies.

I already work for the OR and saw everything there is to see, so it cool. I like anatomy.

Cisco Inferno

Which hospital are you employed at?

Also, I would consider $15 an hour decent for a new person in Miami. Help Desk type jobs cap out at ~$40k ($20/hr)here.
I know many many listings here are just absolutley stupid. $10hr for 5 yrs exp. Do not fall for them.

Feel free to contact me if you need guidance.