Pinja’s ten-day training pledge allows employees to have various opportunities to improve their skills. This time, a group of Pinja’s integration professionals participated in a multi-day HealthShare integration training organized by InterSystems, a global provider of information management technology and solutions. In addition to the subject matter, the interaction that live training facilitates in joint customer projects was also important.
The HealthShare integration training in early February provided participants with a very supportive content package. The focus was on the platform’s ObjectScript programming language, database issues, and a thorough walkthrough of the development environment. In addition to the theoretical background, the agenda included practical exercises related to the HealthShare integration platform, and the opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas on the topic.
The content of the training was really good, and it provided me a new insight into what the integration platform can be used for and how. I also appreciated the opportunity to network with colleagues, and get to know the trainers.
One of the participants was Kalle Häkkänen, Chief Architect of Pinja’s Software unit, who is responsible for the technologies, tools and quality of the software at Pinja. The training went deep into the subject, as the basics of HealthShare were familiar to Kalle and the rest of Pinja’s participants. Among other things, Pinja provides services related to the maintenance, monitoring and Service Desk of the HealthShare integration platform.
HealthShare Health Connect:
- The leading integration platform for healthcare
- For critical integration needs, integration process management and monitoring
- Widely used internationally
- E.g. in the US, over a trillion HL7 messages pass through the platform every day
- Handles multiple data formats at high speed
- Intuitive implementation of HL7, FHIR and other integrations
- Focus on reliability, continuity, speed, and scalability
Learning by doing
Working in the health and social services sector offers software developers and other digitalization and IT professionals versatile opportunities for meaningful work. Health technology supports, among other things, well-being, smooth patient care, and the efficient use of the work of care professionals.
A valuable addition to the work is that it also provides the opportunity to get to know colleagues working on the same issues and to keep learning more. For example, the integration training provided by InterSystems focused strongly on skill development and networking opportunities alike.
- The content of the training was really good, and it provided me a new insight into what the integration platform can be used for and how. I also appreciated the opportunity to network with colleagues, and get to know the trainers, says Kalle.
In the beautiful setting of Levi, the HealthShare integration training took place over several days, with each day being about a separate topic, and the content consisted of lectures on the topics and practical exercises alike. The ObjectScript programming language, the used development environment and database, web applications and version control, among other things, were covered. There was a lively discussion among the participants, especially during the review of the practical exercises.
- Both the trainers and the materials were very good. I liked the fact that we had theoretical background information on the topics, and we were also able to do the practical work ourselves. We gained a lot of knowledge that is useful in our practical work, says Kalle.
Kalle considers that arranging the integration training as a live intensive course is a good solution.
- The training provided a good precision strike on the subject. The alternative would have been self-study or remote learning via a screen, which would certainly have made it more difficult to concentrate intensively for a full day compared to a face-to-face event, Kalle says.
Focus on the opportunities brought by technology
For InterSystems, the deliverer of the integration training, it is important that the integration experts working on their platforms are equipped to fully exploit them. InterSystems and Pinja work together, for example, on the integrations of a common client, the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS), as InterSystems is their integration platform provider, and Pinja is the provider of maintenance, monitoring and further development services for the HUS integration platform.
The content of the integration training is designed to serve practical needs as well as possible.
- The training is not so much about the technology, but about what you do with it. That’s why the training also includes a real-world development project, says Anssi Kauppi, Sales Engineer at InterSystems.
Kauppi has a long experience of working with end clients and client partners. He also sees particular added value in face-to-face training.
- Remote training would certainly lack aspects that live training makes possible. The participants are often very like-minded, and they often learn from each other. We go to the training with a blank slate, and everyone brings their own computer. When everyone installs the software from scratch, nothing remains mysterious, and everyone gets on the same page, Kauppi says.
The integration training provided by InterSystems is one example of Pinja’s strong commitment to the continuous professional development of its experts. Chief Architect Kalle Häkkänen has also taken advantage of the training and development opportunities provided by his employer.
- Many of us take advantage of Pinja’s training pledge, which allows each of us to spend 10 working days a year on self-development and training. The employer enables us to participate in training in Finland, as well as in other countries. For example, we have a certain group of people who visit the SymfonyCon event for software developers every year, and we also organize our own events to exchange information, Kalle says.
Kalle is involved in organizing, for example, monthly Pinja Tech Meetup events, where information regarding a certain theme is discussed and shared. Recent themes have included accessibility and related standards from a software development perspective, and the outcome of a recent HealthShare training.
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