I think the neatest thing about my job is that I'm working on things that people are using every day, all the time, and it provides a service.

I work on enhancements to applications used by care providers for patient care. If we are doing development, we are actually writing code based on the written requirements from doctors, nurses and the department. It is very interactive and there is a lot of give and take with doctors and nurses. Typically, I have meetings in the morning. In the afternoon, I have time to get the work done: programming, testing, writing test scripts and writing specification documents or requirements. At the end of the day, I check my e-mail one last time before heading home.

A special qualification that would serve one well in this field would be a concern for quality. I have realized now, since getting older, that you don't have to be a perfectionist, but you really have to care about quality. Dotting the "I's" and crossing the "T's", as boring and monotonous as they may sound, are really important when you are dealing with medicine. The other important concept is growing mentally. As you go along in life, you learn that maybe you should have done something differently. You use what you have learned in the past and apply it to your life now. That has helped me in my career. I don't make the same mistake twice.

The people I work with are great ... after work we will go out to dinner, or play basketball or volleyball. I work with these people, but I also play with them. I've never had that in any other job. It reminds me of college where you are hanging out with your friends all the time; only here I am paid to do it.