Overview of Health Information Technology and Health Information Exchange Certificate Program:

• Nine-week, full-time program offered three times per year (January, June, and September).
• Designed to “fast track” university graduates into Health IT employment
• Recognition and support from and collaboration with pioneers in the e-health industry, healthcare providers and government
• Expert faculty in both theoretical and applied areas of Health IT.
• 180 hours of course content in healthcare policy, economics, electronic health records, health information exchange, project management, workflow and process redesign, quality improvement, and the business of medicine.
• Real-world practicum experience with vendors, consultants and healthcare providers
• Professional development and job placement services, including help with resumes, interview skills, and events that connect students with Health IT executives and hiring managers.
• Certificate program is first in the nation to:
  • deliver hands-on learning with multiple electronic health record systems side-by-side in a one-of-a kind Health IT Learning Center
  • provide a health information exchange laboratory (HIE) for students to gain hands-on experience with healthcare data interoperability in a simulated environment
  • graduate students from an ONC-funded university based training program!
• On average, 92% of program graduates seeking Health IT jobs have found employment with more than 40 organizations in Texas and nationwide
• Recognition and affirmation from Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator, Health Information Technology, and Dr. David Blumenthal, former National Coordinator, Health Information Technology, United States Health and Human Service

 

“The EHR Learning Lab itself was extraordinary.” A.C.

“It was incredible to have the chance to work with six systems—in all likelihood, no matter which area of the industry I enter into, that knowledge will be an incredible tool.”  M.D.

Intensive contact with the Health IT business community is facilitated throughout the program by the inclusion of expert speakers from government and industry.

“I felt privileged to have multiple guest speakers address us from various viewpoints, such as a community health perspective, public policy approach, and global research agenda.” N.F.

“One part of the program that absolutely should not go unnoticed is the quality of the guest speakers that we were fortunate enough to have.” E.H.

“Another facet to the program was various guest speakers from the healthcare and HIT industry.  They brought different perspectives and helped tie in topics that I had been reading in journal articles. I will never forget Dr. Deborah Peel and her discussion on patient privacy rights.  She exuded passion, dedication, and a thorough understanding of her work.  I feel very lucky that knowledgeable speakers were a part of this program.” V.R.

Students in the program are placed into two-week practica in major cities in Texas and around the nation with vendors, consultants, healthcare providers and government. Click here for a list of practicum hosts.

"The final 3 weeks of the program I was assigned to e-MDs for my practicum experience. This is the portion of the program that really got me excited to be involved. I shadowed a support team called the A-team for one week, the implementation project manager team for a week and the onsite chart training team for a week… All in all, the experience with e-MDs was wonderful and got me very excited about my future in HIT, especially since I found that practically everything I learned in the classroom was relevant and applied at e-MDs." D.S.

"Our last class was the practicum where we had a specific internship. I was working in Austin with CTG, a consulting company. I was specifically working on the environmental scan analysis. I had no clue as to what that was going in and asked someone but they said "I don't know, but I'm sure you will know all about it when you're finished". After a week in I knew exactly what it was. I worked with Mr. Jim Campbell looking at the survey responses from several Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) in Texas. We analyzed all of the data received and made conclusions, drew trends, and supported them with charts and graphs. Our conclusions were presented at the Texas Health Services Authority board meeting which was really exciting to see! We were also working on finding more about e-prescribing in different pharmacies as well as public health. I used the terminology from our workflow class and used the combined knowledge of all of the classes to give me a basic understanding of what was going on. They treated us like junior analysts and gave us a lot of work to do, but it was all worth it." S.T.

To help graduates who successfully complete the program find immediate employment in the field of Health IT, students are provided with career resources including workshops on resumes and cover letters, informational interviewing, and job interview preparation. A highlight of the program is the opportunity for students to carry out research projects focused on current topics in Health IT and to present their findings to industry experts in a poster format.

A total of 333 students (in six cohorts ) have graduated from the program since June 2010. Employment statistics for graduates seeking Health IT jobs averages 92%. The number of on-campus interviews facilitated for each cohort has grown over time, and students receive from 2-11 interviews. The average salary of program graduates is 52,000. Salaries accepted by graduates have ranged from $42,000 - >$100,000.

 

"The networking events were great practice for the future as well as great opportunities to find careers in the industry." H.M.

"As our program came to an end we were all anxious to see how employers would react to the program's product, the students including myself. To our benefit, they were extremely impressed with the amount of knowledge and skills we had gained in just nine weeks and before we knew it, we were asked to apply to several amazing companies." T.W.

"At the end of the program I was able to network with many industry employers and representatives… The networking definitely helped in making connections with industry representatives and seeing what career opportunities were out there for us who were just graduating from this program." K.C.

Click here... to read more student comments and reflections about the 9- week certificate program.

Click here... to learn more about applying to the Spring 2013 Nine-week certificate program.