An interview with data collector Anne de Jong
Anne de Jong started working as a data collector at SHM in July 2012. For his work hecollects data at multiple hospitals and has also been working on the collection of hepatitis C co-infection data. We spoke with Anne about his role as a data collector for SHM.
What is your background?
Before I started working at SHM I studied movement sciences at the VU in Amsterdam. When I finished my studies I decided that I didn’t want to work immediately. Instead I travelled for a while throughout Australia and New Zealand. When I returned to the Netherlands I started searching for a position in research. Through looking at research and research assistant positions within healthcare I eventually found a role at SHM. I’ve been working at SHM as a data collector since July 2012.
What does your work entail?
At SHM I work as a data collector on location. I was officially employed as the ‘vliegende keep’, which is a Dutch term meaning that I could in principle be placed at any hospital, but in practice I am mostly at the Catharina Ziekenhuis in Eindhoven and at the VU Medical Centre in Amsterdam. In these hospitals I collect data from HIV patients. We work with a so-called backlog list which I am trying to reduce. The patient data are updated by us using the patient records as a basis. We then check per patient visit if there have been complications, changes in medication or if new medications have been added, laboratory results, and so on. Of course, all patient data is entered anonymously. Finally, we try to go through as many patient files as possible each day.
In addition to regular data collection, I also spent the past year busy with the collection of hepatitis C co-infection data. Previously, we did not collect this specific data. To bring the records up to date, I, along with other colleagues, went to several hospitals to gather data. This is now completed and I’m now working on regular follow-up. The data collection for co-infections has only been carried out at this time for hepatitis C, but the collection of data on hepatitis B will start in the near future and I will again be involved with that.
What do you enjoy in your work?
I like that for some patients it is really a puzzle to figure out what’s going on. I think it’s fascinating to try to follow the line of thought of the doctor: Why was this research chosen? Why is this medication given? What is the final diagnosis? This makes my work as a data collector very interesting.
What I also like about this role is that I learn a lot of new things every day. I’ve been trained as a movement scientist and knew little about HIV. At the foundation, I’ve been given the space to learn a lot and I know I’m still learning something every day. The work I do now is not the ‘research’ I was looking for at first, but I realise that the work I do is very important. I think that’s important in my job, that I am doing something worthwhile.
How do you see the future?
I really enjoy what I do, but I would also like to grow within the SHM organisation to, for example, a data monitor or analyst. It would be nice not only to collect data but to do something with the data. My ambition is to carry out research myself. The work I now carry out is very nice and interesting, but I would eventually like to do something associated with sports. Of course, I graduated as a movement scientist and I have a great affinity with sport. A combination, for example, of sport and research sometime in the future would be wonderful.