Arbin Smith (CMN MA ’00) is an expert in taking the uncomfortable and making it comfortable. As a consultant for Deloitte, Smith works with educational medical centers and community hospitals during their transition from paper to electronic records, which is not an easy evolution for hospitals with thousands of records or for the people who have been doing their jobs in a certain way for years. Smith acts as liaison for the doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, allaying their fears, answering their questions and strategizing ways to make the tricky transition more bearable. He asks questions, listens to their concerns and then proactively and collaboratively finds solutions.
“We’re implementing an automated system, but companies are not purely automated,” Smith says. “I find out how we can integrate the system and the people effectively.”
It’s a daunting undertaking, but it’s a process that Smith has all but perfected in his 10 years on the job. He enjoys being part of making U.S. health care as efficient and effective as possible and helping people communicate and understand. His master’s in
Organizational Communication prepared him well for the process.
“My DePaul degree really differentiates me from others,” he says. “The perspective I bring is different from that of my colleagues. We have to crisply articulate what these changes mean for the individuals and the jobs they do. My degree program helped me synthesize very complex information into assertive and meaningful messages that help the people who matter.”
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