Ask HN: Doctor with software development experience – careers combining both?
5 comments
I did some contract work a few years ago here in the UK for a doctor who wanted to build out a system he had created to manage the subtleties of on-call staff scheduling. He went on to turn it into a very successful business. I think the key for him was knowing the domain and being able to articulate it effectively as well as being very business-minded. Also having excellent contacts within the the business helped.
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There are lots of companies building medical devices, software for clinicians or researchers, or other med tech. I imagine many would be thrilled to have someone with your background. Find a dozen that look interesting to you, and send a message explaining your background and asking how you might be able to get involved.
Thanks for the replies.
And can you distinguish if it's better to go via startup or corporate?
At the same time, I’ve been programming on and off for about five years and spent over two years working full-time in an IT company as a front-end developer.
Despite being back in medicine, I constantly feel drawn back to programming. I enjoy building things, solving technical problems, and working with code.
I’m trying to figure out what the best direction forward might be. One option is to leave medicine and go fully into software again. But it feels like a waste not to somehow combine my medical background with my technical skills.
I’m not primarily interested in going down the data analyst route — I’d rather leverage my frontend/full-stack development skills if possible.
Are there career paths where medicine and software development meaningfully intersect? Has anyone here taken a similar path?