Mere Mortal: Janine Garrett
Optus ICT Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient
by Faith Rees, 3 April 2009
Janine (pictured in the centre) is a lucky Charm for our industry and an outstanding example of the strong relationship and synergy that exists between Infotech and Biotech. Janine shows us what can be achieved when you combine the two fields.
So much has been written about Janine Garrett, she is the CEO and founder of Charm Health Pty Ltd and she has taken out just about every key award in Queensland in the past few years. In 2006 she won the Women in Business Smart Women- Smart State Award, in 2008 she won the Women in Business Technology Award followed by the 2008 WiT|Optus ICT Outstanding Achievement Award so we are charmed to have Janine as a WiT member and the WiT ICT Ambassador for 2009.
Janine started her career as a pharmacist and worked in both the public and private sector in areas such as oncology, drug utilisation review and clinical pharmacy working her way up to Director of Pharmacy at the Gold Coast Hospital. It was during her time as Director of Pharmacy that Janine started to realise the limited functionality in the software applications she was exposed to which before long sparked an interest in computers and ultimately developed software.
Janine started to teach herself programming to develop small applications that would attempt to help her in her daily work processes running a hospital pharmacy and introducing an online approach to completing tasks by developing scripts such as a patient discharge script, tracking programs and manufacturing programs for chemists. Her original applications were built using Visual Basic and Microsoft Access as there was just nothing she could find on the market that met her needs. After 2 years of self taught programming she enrolled in a Masters of Information Technology degree at Bond University.
Upon graduating Janine made a huge leap which would be one of the most challenging and best decisions of her life. She had an idea that in 12 months she could create a software solution that would solve some of the problems associated with prescribing and manufacturing chemotherapy for clinicians and pharmacists. As she delved deeper into developing her software she realised there were many other healthcare workers who would benefit from an improved communication flow and information sharing. Janine already had first-hand experience in the area of oncology, having been involved in preparing chemotherapy (the toxic drugs used to treat cancer) at both the Gold Coast and John Flynn Private Hospitals so this became her area of focus. It took Janine 3 years from 2000 - 2003 to have developed the first version of the software she later called Charmed and then founded the company Charm Health.
Janine says "I had a few stops and starts along the way, as technologies I had chosen proved to be not suitable for my needs, despite these setbacks I began testing the software at the Wesley Hospital Pharmacy in mid 2003. In the past 5 years since that time, I have continued to develop the software and today it is now a comprehensive solution that supports the entire spectrum of healthcare workers involved in caring for patients with cancer, including clinicians, pharmacists, nursing staff, researchers, cancer registries, and hospital administrators."
Charm is currently in 12 sites across Australia and they have recently been awarded a contract with Queensland Health which will see Charm used in most of Queensland major public hospitals. There are very exciting times ahead."
Janine is a fantastic role model for our industry and the most inspiring thing about Janine's journey is that she was a well established and highly successful women, who ditched everything to take a punt on something she believed in whole heartedly. She had the faith to immerse herself in developing a solution that would help the lives of many.
An interview with Janine:
How did it feel to be nominated for this award?
It came as a great surprise as my fellow nominees all had amazing stories to tell.
What impact will this award have on you personally and professionally?
On a personal level, being recognised in this way reinforces that all the hard work and sacrifices made over the past few years have been justified.
What led you to work in the ICT industry?
Actually I started out quite by accident. I was using Microsoft Office programs such as Excel and Access in my workplace, and discovered a programming language in the background that would help automate some repetitive tasks. I then discovered bookstores full of books on how to teach yourself programming in 24 hours/21 days etc and soon found myself addicted to programming. At that time I had enrolled in a Masters of Clinical Pharmacy, however swapped to a Masters of IT as I felt this was where my interests lay. When I completed the Masters I decided to move into the ICT space full time and haven't looked back.
Who/what has been your strongest professional influence?
In my early days of programming I was quite isolated. It was pretty much head down and don't look side-ways to get through the Masters course whilst working full time. After setting up my own company in 2003 I came across the iLab incubation program which has a mentorship program that was invaluable in helping me establish the company and everything that goes with running a company.
Have you encountered a particularly valuable mentor along the way? What did they do for you?
I would have to say that Anne-Marie Birkill, CEO of i.lab has been a great support and influence to me over the past few years. She provided direction, support and advice on numerous occasions.
Is there a specific professional achievement that you are the most proud of?
I am extremely proud that I have created a successful business by developing the oncology software application. I am also proud that the application has now been adopted by Queensland Health and is being used in many other leading cancer facilities throughout the country ultimately improving the care of patients with cancer.
If you were to pass on one lesson to other women seeking a long-term career in your industry what would it be?
Find the niche area that you are passionate about and create your opportunities by immersing yourself in the technologies relevant to that area. Think about creating practical solutions that have benefits to a broad range of users and you can't go wrong.
The use of technology has evolved over they past 20 years, have you noticed any significant changes to the industry and for women? If so, please provide an example.
Coming from a health background I thought that no other industry would be as fast paced, how wrong was that assumption! The technology industry is constantly changing so there is a need to keep up to date which means that you need to continue to study and also be involved in organizations that enable you to network with others in the industry. It is almost impossible to keep on top of all changes, so I think networking is the key. You need to know who to contact when a particular problem arises.
In general, is there anything you would like to see introduced to encourage technology careers for women? E.g. At home, school level, university, workplace, industry, etc.
I think it's fantastic that most school students today have considerable exposure to IT both at the level of using software applications to actually learning programming. Education systems need to continue to expand these programs and to ensure that they keep up to date with the latest technologies. Investing in our youth is the way forward!
What technology have you used lately that impressed you?
"My company is moving down the .NET path so we are very enthusiastic about some of their latest tools, particularly SilverLight which provides tools that are very relevant to the healthcare industry."
What qualities do you think women possess that make them good leaders and entrepreneurs?
- We don't give up
- We can multi-task
- We think laterally
- We have a different perspective to our male counterparts
- We are great role models for other women in the industry and have the ability to influence and encourage more women in the workforce
Where do you think you will be in 5 years' time?
In 5 years time my aim is to be heading an organisation that is known as a leader of health ICT applications both in Australia and also internationally.