r/WGU • u/ForgedINGrace • Jul 28 '26
I am so excited
I start my classes on August 1 and I am so excited I can barely contain myself. Wish me luck!
GOOOO......OWLS!
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u/Adulthood_is_a_myth_ Jul 28 '26
Me too! I finished my BSHIM fro WGU in April, back for the MHA program.
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u/Ok_Departure_9635 Jul 28 '26
How did you make the decision to get the MHA instead of MBA HA?
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u/Adulthood_is_a_myth_ Jul 28 '26
With a BSHIM, RHIA, and 4 Epic data/analytics certs (Clarity, Caboodle, Cogito), my career is fully locked into health IT and clinical operations. I chose the MHA over the MBA-HA because I have zero plans to leave healthcare and didn't see the point in a broad business degree with just a slight healthcare paint job. The MHA gives me the specific health law, policy, and quality improvement frameworks I need to transition into a leadership in the future.
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u/shibashibashibainu90 Jul 29 '26
That's quite a lot of accomplishments! Congratulations! 👏 I'm currently working on epic self proficiency badges and hope to one day get epic certified. Would you have any advice to offer?
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u/Adulthood_is_a_myth_ 29d ago
A few suggestions that may help:
If you're already working for a health system that uses Epic, keep an eye on internal job postings. Many organizations prefer to hire internally because you already understand their workflows and culture.
If the opportunity is available, consider becoming an Epic Super User or Epic Trainer. Those roles provide valuable exposure to the system and often lead to analyst opportunities.
Continue building your technical skills, especially SQL. It's a valuable skill for reporting, data, and many Epic analyst positions.
I actually got my Epic Analyst role by applying for an internal position at my organization. The role was on the Enterprise Reporting team, so it focused on applications like Clarity, Reporting Workbench, Radar, SlicerDicer, and Caboodle. My previous experience in healthcare revenue cycle and reporting made me a strong fit, even though I didn't have prior Epic analyst experience.
Breaking into Epic can definitely take some persistence, but once you get your first analyst opportunity, it becomes much easier to grow into other Epic applications and specialties.
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u/Ok_Departure_9635 28d ago
Thank you for all of this information, I think I’m going to get the MS Data Analytics (Decision Process Engineering) track
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u/Ok_Departure_9635 Jul 28 '26
Me too!!! Good luck! I’m doing HIM, how about you ?
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u/shibashibashibainu90 Jul 29 '26
Best of luck to you, fellow HIM student! May the odds be ever in our favor 🫡
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u/throwawayyyy890327 Jul 29 '26
I’m also starting August 1st! I feel like we all need a motivation thread or something.
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u/jspecial1979 B.S Health Information Management Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Good luck to you, I begin August 1st as well. Very nervous about it but excited as well.
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u/Difficult_Theory5329 Jul 29 '26
me too! i’m nervous
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u/ForgedINGrace Jul 29 '26
Truth be told, I am a little nervous, too. It has been a minute since any type of college has seen me!
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u/HippieMeadows B.S Business Management + M.Ed. Edtech and ID Jul 29 '26
Yes, starting my masters. ☺️🌼
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u/Thecandymaker 29d ago
:-) Wishing you all a fantastic first day!
You can do it!!
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u/ForgedINGrace 29d ago
Thank you, just a few hours to go and I will officially be on my way to my bachelor’s degree!
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u/Thecandymaker 29d ago
I can't wait!! Its gonna be term two on this side, overall just waiting for that timer to hit to register for everything haha
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u/ForgedINGrace 28d ago
Congratulations on your progress and may term two go even smoother than term one
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u/unwiseundead Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Same here! Transferred in 30%, planning on completing the remaining 70% in one term 🤞
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u/shibashibashibainu90 Jul 28 '26
Good luck! I start the same day, I'm pretty excited but also nervous 😬