“As educators, we need to be intentional and start training our students early on,” says Gabriela Wilson, professor of kinesiology and co-director of UTA’s Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics.
For Dr. Wilson, these words are a call to action for anyone working in today’s health care industry, which has become increasingly reliant on telehealth and data. In her eyes, gathering health care data is a skill that can improve patient outcomes. The problem is that the health care workforce has had trouble keeping up with this ever-evolving field.
That’s the driving force behind the new postbaccalaureate graduate certificate in health care informatics in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI). Designed for bachelor’s-prepared students, the four-course plan trains students in the principles of health informatics, data management, and analytics.
The certificate joins UTA’s undergraduate telehealth and health informatics certificate, both of which set students up for success in any career they choose.
“There is a broad spectrum of what students can do,” says Mari Tietze, the Myrna R. Pickard Endowed Professor at CONHI. “But the bottom line is patient safety and quality of care. That has to be at the core of what they want to do.”
