Welcome to HIT Like a Girl Pod

HIT Like a Girl Pod is more than a podcast. We're a community committed to elevating women in healthcare and health IT. 

In the podcast, we listen and learn from women leaders. 

In the community, we connect, build our networks, strengthen our relationships, and support each other on our career journeys. 

Ultimately, we leverage our network to positively impact health outcomes and support the next generation of women leaders.

In an industry dominated by men, making friends and finding champions as a woman in health IT can be intimidating, especially if you’re new to the industry or one of the only women in your workplace. Don’t worry, you don’t have to go it alone. 

You’ve found a community that wants to see you succeed and will advocate for your professional advancement — as far as you want to take it.

The HIT Like a Girl Pod community is made up of women (and allies), chock full of subject matter expertise, who want to help you level up and grow.   

We connect regularly through virtual coffee, Expert's Office Hours, quarterly happy hours, and in-person networking events. 

When you join, you'll be the first to know about events that matter, you can browse our content, engage in lively discussions, access our community-driven training materials, or join one of our social events.    

I’m Joy Rios, Founder and Host of HIT Like a Girl Podcast and Community dedicated to empowering women at all career stages.  

I founded HIT Like a Girl Pod after attending a healthcare conference in 2018 that, over 4 days of speeches and panel discussions featured 95% men speakers. I know from experience how many brilliant women work and contribute to the industry, and I was furious about the lack of representation. I had a “not on my watch” moment. 

From what I could gather, organizers couldn't claim they didn't have the budget, or there were not enough relevant healthcare or leadership topics where it would make sense for women to share their expertise. It just wasn't a priority. 

So I took my technical skillset and figured out how to podcast and created a platform for women leaders in healthcare and health IT to share their stories. 

As a result of our content, we've heard from listeners about the impact it's had: 

• Students have changed their majors from nursing to nursing informatics
• Women who've been "the only" at their job found camaraderie and feel less alone
• Guests have experienced recognition from their peers, been promoted, and been invited as speakers to more industry events 
• Organizations have learned more about their own employees and what motivates them

I never would have guessed that five years later, I’d be awarded the 2023 HIMSS Changemaker for Women in HIT, and the same conference that motivated me to start HIT Like a Girl Pod in the first place attained gender parity in their 2022 speaker lineup! To be recognized by the largest global healthcare association for my efforts to amplify women and to also see the impact on conference culture makes me believe in the power of a ripple effect.

And we’re just getting started. 

Welcome to the HIT Like a Girl Pod community where women in healthcare and health IT (and our wonderful allies) connect to support you on your career journey in health IT and beyond. When you join, you get access to: 

• Directly connect with hundreds of your peers
• Member-led discussions & gatherings 
• On-demand courses and micro lessons related to health IT
• CoWorking Sessions / Virtual Coffee 
• Office Hours with Healthcare/HealthIT Subject Matter Experts 
• First dibs on any HIT Like a Girl Pod exclusive events 
• Giveaways
• And lots more to come!

Join us and find out what’s possible when you were surrounded by health IT experts who want to help you level up.