Breaking into clinical product management

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Hey Health Techies!

Last week, we unpacked what clinical product management is —and it clearly struck a chord. I got so many messages from clinicians saying things like: “This sounds exactly like me… but where do I start?”

It’s not surprising. Clinical product management sits at the perfect intersection of healthcare and innovation. It’s where clinicians who understand patient care meet the teams building the tools that power it. And right now, this hybrid role is exploding across digital health and AI-driven health startups.

The challenge? Most clinicians have never heard of it until they stumble across a job post and as amazing as it sounds, a lot of it can feel like a foreign language.

So today, we’re demystifying that next step. Here’s how to make your first move into clinical product management. And as a note: I will likely turn this into an evolving free resource that will be available via the Hey Health Tech wesbite, so while I’ve done my best to cover a lot of ground with it, let me know if you still have questions so that I can answer them as I build out that resource.

🎓 Step 1: Start with what you already know

If you have a clinical background, you already possess the hardest and most valuable skill in product management: deep empathy for users and an instinct for how care really works.

Clinical product managers don’t just “understand healthcare”, they translate it into scalable, user-friendly technology. That’s why your existing expertise is so needed.

When you start thinking about your work this way and identifying your transferable skills like communication, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration, hiring managers stop seeing “just a clinician” and start seeing a strategic thinker who understands users, outcomes, and systems.

💻 Step 2: Learn the language of product

You don’t need an MBA, but you do need to understand how product people think and where healthcare is headed. Start by learning the core language of product management:

• The Product Lifecycle: Discovery → Design → Development → Launch → Iteration

• Core tools: Jira for task tracking/project management, Figma or Miro for design and mapping, Notion for documentation

• Key concepts: MVPs (minimum viable products), user stories, roadmaps, and success metrics

Then layer in what’s shaping clinical products right now:

• AI-driven care coordination (think Abridge, Nabla, and DeepScribe)

• Virtual-first care models like Oula, Hims & Hers, and Amazon Clinic

• Interoperability and data exchange (HL7 FHIR, APIs, integrations)

These innovations are redefining what product means in healthcare—and they’ll give you context for where your clinical experience fits in.

If you’re a reader (or audiobook listener on the commute), here are a few of my go-to picks for learning some of these product concepts and more importantly practical tips for applying them:

• 📘 Inspired by Marty Cagan — the product bible on building things users actually love

• 📗 Cracking the PM Career by Jackie Bavaro and Gayle Laakmann McDowell — the frameworks and skills for a successful PM career

• 📙 The Lean Startup by Eric Ries — timeless lessons on testing, iterating, and learning fast

• 📒 Measure What Matters by John Doerr — how picking the right goal can make all the difference

*Heads up: a few of the above are affiliate links meaning I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep the coffee flowing while I write these newsletters and I only ever share resources that I believe in. 😊

🔍 Step 3: Study clinical product job descriptions

Before you begin applying for these types of roles, you should get extremely familiar with the skills that hiring teams are looking for. Start by browsing job descriptions from companies with open roles and you’ll notice familiar patterns in how they describe the work:

• “Bridge clinical and technical teams”

• “Translate regulatory or clinical requirements into product needs”

• “Ensure usability and compliance in product design”

• “Drive roadmap decisions aligned with clinical outcomes”

Those are signals of what matters in this space and what language you should use in your resume and interviews (e.g. cross-functional collaboration, communication, and clinical judgment).

You should also determine based on your skillset and experience what might be the appropriate level role for you. Product management is a specialty, not a single title. The expectations evolve as you move up:

🧠 Step 4: Get hands-on even without the title

You don’t need the job title to start building job skills. The best way to learn product thinking is by doing — wherever you are. Try one of these ideas:

• Redesign a user experience. Pick a digital tool your team uses daily—maybe your EHR, scheduling platform, or patient portal—and map out what frustrates users. Sketch out a better flow or create a mockup in Miro or Figma. That’s user research and product design in motion whether or not your idea actually makes it past the brainstorming phase.

• Shadow a product manager or interview one. Ask how they decide what to build, how they gather user feedback, and what metrics matter most.

Keep a running log of what you test, learn, and improve. These examples become your portfolio—proof that you already think like a PM, even before your first job title says so.

💬 Step 5: Tell the right story

Going nonclinical is not “starting over,” and a move into clinical product is simply translating your clinical insight into product impact. Now it’s time to tell that story to those who need to hear it most: your network and the team that may eventually hire you.

Frame your transition as an evolution, not an escape. Practice telling your career journey story in a succinct yet memorable way, and figure out how to get that story in front of the right people whether it’s through:

• networking

• connecting with recruiters

• attending industry events

• writing online via a blog or newsletter

• participating in trending topic conversations on LinkedIn

You don’t have to pick all of these methods, but you probably need to do at least one. You can have all the right skills and passion but if no one knows about it, you may find landing a competitive role like this to be challenging. Even with the right plan, it may take time, but it’s ok to play the long game. Product thinking is really a mindset as much as it is an actual role, and the more you put that mindset to work and connect with others who do as well, the more prepared you will be when you land the job.

🚀 Next steps

If you’re serious about clinical product management, here are the next two moves I recommend:

1. Build your network! Find folks that have made the transition and see if they’re willing to have a coffee chat. Despite how it may feel, it’s not a bother and most people are very willing to talk about themselves and share advice. ☕️

2. Polish your resume to highlight product-transferable skills. I find that most clinicians are still using a CV that shows everything that they have done in their careers, but not what they’re able to do for a future employer, which is exactly what I teach in my resume transformation program The Resume Lab → Join now for 20% off through Friday

I’ll keep sharing real-world examples and role breakdowns in upcoming issues—so stay tuned.

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📰 Weekly Wrap-up

• Amazon Pharmacy launches in-office medication kiosks

• Oura is now valued at $11 billion after a $900 million Series E raise

📌 Job Board

Don’t miss these open roles 👀

• Clinical Automation and Integration Lead- UnitedHealth Group

• Associate Manager, Clinical Operations - Twentyeight Health

• Implementation Project Manager - Fabric Health

• and more!

Until next time,

Lauren

P.S. Doors will be opening again soon for the Hey Health Tech Community, a space for clinicians to learn about innovations in patient care and network with peers. If you want to be the first to know when enrollment begins, join the waitlist. You’ll be hearing from me very soon!