Name: Spencer Hamons
Title/Employer: CIO/ SLV Regional Medical Center
Age: 34
Education: AA degree, eight years United States Army
Tenure In IT industry: 14
First ever tech job: Systems technician
Current role: Senior IT executive for SLV Regional Medical Center, a rural community hospital, specialty physician's clinic and associated critical access hospital in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado. He is responsible for alignment of the various strategic IT initiatives with the organizations business strategies. Also responsible for coordination of the operational aspects of the Information Technology and Services Department for both hospitals and physicians services clinics.
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What's been your best job and why?
My current position has been my best job. I have more influence on the organization's strategic direction and have experienced executives as my peers.
What do you think is the number one non-IT skill IT professionals need today?
The ability to think operationally in your chosen line of business.
What do you credit your career success to?
I would credit my success to the military and to my parents. My parents taught me to respect the opinions of others, even when you disagree. They also taught me the value of persistence and being able to openly speak with others. The military taught me how to be a leader, use my ingenuity, and how to work as a team.
What are the top three skills a high-level IT manager needs today?
The three C's, coordination, communication, and cooperation.
What's your favorite IT resource site?
CIO.com
What is the best career advice you've ever received?
The best advice I ever received was from my former CIO, Lac Tran, who is now CIO for Rush-Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago. Lac told me once that you should be consistent in all that you do. Do not waiver. If you don't know an answer, say sobut be honest and do your job with all the integrity you can muster. If you fail, you can always be proud of your failure rather than to wonder about something you "should" have done.
What's the top advice you'd give to a new IT staffer?
I tell all my staff the same thing that Lac Tran told me. I also tell them that I would much rather them make a decision and the decision be wrong, than to not make a decision at all.
What would you advise someone looking to find the type of role you currently have?
I see a lot of young "executives-to-be" coming and asking for advice, often from our nearby college. I tell them that although college is great preparation; do not rely solely on what you learn in academia to prepare you for success. In the hospital environment, I encourage others to work in the various areas of patient care, learn the business, and understand the needs of our patients, our nurses, our doctors. This will prepare them to view and comprehend what problems IT is supposed to be working toward solving.
What is the one career decision you would change if you could?
I had some opportunities in previous positions to interact with legislative leaders that I passed on because of various projects that were going on. With the exposure that I have currently, this experience in that realm would have probably served me well.
If you had the choice to jump into any other job, tech or non-tech, what would it be?
I am the type of person that wants to do the very best job I can possibly do, mediocrity is not an option for me. Since I have been in healthcare for most of my career, I would probably stick with it. I do feel that I could be a successful COO for a hospital and could make a difference.
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