According to Talking HealthTech founder Peter Birch, the challenge is rarely a lack of interest. More often, it is uncertainty about where people fit, what skills they already bring, and whether they belong in the sector at all.
To help address that gap, Talking HealthTech launched the free Digital Health Career Toolkit at Digital Health Festival 2026 in Melbourne. The five-day email course is designed to help clinicians, healthcare professionals, students, founders, operators, policy experts and aspiring leaders better understand the opportunities available across Australia’s growing digital health ecosystem.
The toolkit draws on thousands of conversations Birch has had with founders, clinicians, operators, investors and digital health leaders through Talking HealthTech’s podcast, events and community initiatives.
The problem is clarity, not capability
Birch believes many professionals are already closer to a digital health career than they realise.
Drawing on lessons from across the sector, he said a common theme continues to emerge. People can see opportunities in digital health, but often struggle to understand where they fit or how their existing experience applies.
Most people interested in digital health aren’t short on ambition. They’re short on clarity.”
Without that clarity, even highly capable professionals can find themselves stuck between curiosity and action.
The skills clinicians already have
During his presentation, Your Digital Health Career Toolkit, Birch challenged the idea that moving into digital health requires starting from scratch.
Instead, he encouraged attendees to recognise the value of skills they already use every day.
There’s a lot of things that you already do as a clinician that already apply to digital health.
He pointed to multidisciplinary teamwork as one example. The collaboration required in healthcare settings often mirrors the way product, technology and design teams work together to build digital health solutions.
Whether working in an emergency department, a hospital ward or a community setting, clinicians are constantly balancing competing priorities, communicating across disciplines and solving complex problems. According to Birch, those capabilities are highly relevant in digital health environments.
If you’re looking to move into digital health, you don’t necessarily need to stop what you’ve done and start again. There’s a lot of ways to apply what you’ve got.
What’s inside the toolkit?
Rather than prescribing a single pathway into the industry, the Digital Health Career Toolkit aims to help participants identify their own starting point and build confidence in taking the next step.
Across five days, the course explores:
- Mindset: how to stop ruling yourself out before you’ve started
- Strengths: identifying the value and experience you already bring
- Opportunities: understanding where openings exist within digital health
- Upskilling: building relevant skills without collecting qualifications for their own sake
- Network: using conversations and connections to open doors
The goal is not to provide all the answers, but to help professionals move from thinking about a career change to taking meaningful action.
Waiting for permission
One of the most memorable moments from Birch’s presentation centred on a challenge he believes affects many professionals considering a new direction..
I wish I could have brought a permission slip to give to everyone, because so many people think, ‘I’ll do this thing eventually in my career.’
That hesitation, he argued, is often the only thing standing between interest and action.
You feel like inside you’re just waiting for someone to tell you it’s okay. So I officially gave permission to everyone in the room to pursue that dream.”
It’s a message that resonated strongly with attendees exploring opportunities beyond traditional clinical pathways.
A growing sector needs diverse talent
As Australia’s digital health sector continues to evolve, demand is growing for professionals who can bridge healthcare, technology, operations, policy and innovation.
Birch believes many of those future leaders are already working within the healthcare system today. The challenge is helping them recognise the value of the skills they already have and giving them the confidence to explore new opportunities.
For anyone considering a move into digital health, his message was simple: don’t wait for permission.
Get your free Digital Health Career Toolkit
Interested in exploring a career in digital health?
The free Digital Health Career Toolkit from Talking HealthTech provides practical guidance on mindset, strengths, opportunities, upskilling and networking for healthcare professionals looking to better understand where they fit within Australia’s growing digital health sector.
Get your free toolkit here.
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