Text for sale! - Proceeds generated from the text,
Medical Informatics: Practical Guide for the Healthcare Professional 2007 (available in softback or as an eTextbook), by UWF medical informatics faculty Robert Hoyt, Melanie Sutton, and Ann Yoshihashi, are donated to the Medical Informatics Program at the University of West Florida, so
order and download now, and enjoy!
The Certificate in Medical Informatics program at UWF is available at the undergraduate or graduate level and provides an exploration of the interdisciplinary nature of Medical Informatics,
with coverage of the newest technologies and concepts such as:
- electronic health records
- e-prescribing
- pay for performance
This is a program that should be of interest to physicians, nurses, health care administrators, medical librarians, computer scientists, technicians, engineers, and others. Nurses interested in exploring how this field impacts their career may also like to visit
the
Nursing Informatics at UWF page.
Application Procedures and Cost
Please complete the Intent to Pursue Form to indicate your intent to pursue the Certificate in Medical Informatics, attaching your resume/CV and an additional Letter of Intent to Pursue as indicated if you are missing any prerequisite requirements. This
information is used to ensure you have the background to begin the program and to monitor your progress towards program completion. If your Intent to Pursue Form is approved, you will then be asked to read, sign, and submit the Certificate Honor Code Form. You can then proceeed to
register for courses online (after completing an application to enroll as a non-degree seeking, degree-seeking, or continuing education student). Registration assistance is available from our Academic Advisor and Program Coordinator, Steve Celestial. Steve can be reached at scelestial@uwf.edu or (850) 474-2885.
Dr. Melanie A. Sutton, Co-Director of the Medical Informatics Program, will maintain the Certificate Completion Checklist Form for you as you complete courses and can be reached at msutton@uwf.edu or (850) 474-2650.
In terms of cost, based on
Spring 2007 pricing, the TOTAL TUITION of EACH COURSE is ~$400-$900 (i.e. FL residents pay ~$400-$800/course, continuing eduation students pay ~$550/course, and international/out-of-state students pay ~$400-$900/course). The TOTAL TUITION of THE 4-COURSE CERTIFICATE is thus in the range ~$1600-$3600, depending on your enrollment status. International/out-of-state students must apply for the
Out-of-State Tuition Fee Waiver during each semester of enrollment to receive that rate. For current tuition pricing information, click
here.
Are you a
UWF employee? Full-time university employees who are not covered by a bargaining unit and those employees who are covered by a bargaining unit that negotiated this benefit with the university are permitted up to six credit hours of course work at UWF per term (fall, spring, summer) without payment of tuition or mandatory fees.
The Courses
Typically 1-2 courses in the Medical Informatics program are scheduled each semester. Students working full-time are typically encouraged to take 1 course at a time, completing the Certificate in 4 semesters (approximately 1.5 years). Most courses
consist of 12 modules of content released weekly over a 13-16 week semester. During the week of content release, students work
independently, alongside team-based exercises that are also scheduled throughout the semester.
Formal syllabi and additional online course information can be obtained by clicking on the course titles below:
Choose ONE of the following
Special Topics in Medical Informatics courses:
If you began in this program prior to Fall 2007, to meet the Certificate requirements, you must take HSA5197 and HSA5198 and then choose any TWO of the following courses: BSC5459, HSC5512, PHC6196, or PHC6015. To receive a Certificate at the graduate level,
all courses must be completed at the graduate level.
Putting It Together
Our emphasis is on the real world interaction between medicine and technology and not on theory. We provide practical and up-to-date examples of issues and interesting emerging technologies with regional, national, and international impacts. All courses in our certificate program were designed with input from (and are taught by) physicians, computer scientists, and business leaders. You will develop real skills that will enable you to work effectively on interdisciplinary teams.
With an emphasis on tutorials providing hands-on training, team-based online discussions, and analysis of case studies, you will learn how to use medical informatics to make a difference, particularly in the area of improving communication, patient safety, and quality of care in health care and/or public health arenas.
Specifically, upon completion of this certificate, you will be able to
- Prioritize and defend the use of current and emerging computer technologies to physicians, administrators, and other health care professionals.
- Evaluate commercial software products to manage medical information.
- Analyze new and existing clinical data resources.
- Deploy new software tools to meet the needs of a clinical practice or administration.
What makes our program different from those at other schools?
Our program pulls in talented instructors who are working in various organizations with different levels
of medical informatics integration (from physicians working in hospitals, to business leaders developing medical informatics
tools, to corporate trainers for these tools). Each course will help you to understand the lessons learned from these
perspectives, as well as the best practices that are moving each type of organization forward.
All instructors are up-to-date on what is happening in the field nationally and are
interested in helping the medical informatics community at-large through contributions to our School's
Medical Informatics Resource Site.
Completion of the Certificate program will bring you up-to-speed on where the field is headed, impacts you can make on it,
and provide life-long resources to assist in deciphering the myriad of changes occurring in this field.
Prerequisite Knowledge Students in this certificate program generally have the following background:
- Working knowledge of medical terminology and/or willingness to Google new medical terms as they arise in course content.
- Working knowledge of how to use personal computers, including knowledge of word-processing, spreadsheet packages and Internet searching.
- For some courses, you will need a working knowledge of statistics and/or a willingness to complete an additional online tutorial in this area within the first module of this course.
- Academic training in an information systems/technology, engineering, occupational safety, or health care-related field at the Associate's or Bachelor's level. Students currently pursuing related degrees at the Associate's or Bachelor's level are also eligible to apply. RNs at any level (diploma, Associate's or higher) also welcome. Permitted substitution: Students may substitute 3-5 years experience in an information systems/technology, engineering, occupational safety, or health care-related organization for this academic training requirement.
Students will be provided with UWF eLearning accounts to complete all on-line course modules.
Students without this background but still interested in the Medical Informatics Certificate Program should contact Dr. Melanie A. Sutton (msutton@uwf.edu) for possible alternative substitute courses or training. The four courses in the Certificate may be taken in any order.
Where do our students come from?
Students accepted in 2007-2008 were from the following states in the U.S.: AL, FL, GA, NY, OH, TN, VA, WV. We also accepted 1 international student from: Canada.
Can credits from this certificate program be transferred to other degrees?
Many online and traditional face-to-face programs at UWF accept the medical informatics courses as technical electives in their programs, including:
The number of courses accepted varies for each program, so check with an advisor for these programs
to confirm any programmatic constraints.
Acceptance of course credit for programs at other institutions is at the discretion of advisors
at those institutions. UWF does not currently have any plans to offer a graduate degree in the field
of medical informatics. Alternatively, the focus of our certificate program is to provide high quality and
cost-effective hands-on
training for those currently working in the health care arena and for students who are interested in becoming
involved in the decision-making in medical informatics at various levels.
The partnerships we have established
with other programs at UWF are designed to enhance or create
interdisciplinary degrees that address national workforce needs.
We'd Like to Hear from You
For more information about this certificate, please contact Dr. Melanie A. Sutton at 850.474.2650 or msutton@uwf.edu.
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