The courses are being funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and are being offered exclusively for individuals who are eligible as dislocated workers under the Workforce Investment Act, said university officials.
NKU’s health informatics certificate will help professionals boost their computer skills in the areas of clinical and health information systems informatics. The business process analysis certificate focuses on information technology competencies that will help qualify individuals for positions requiring advanced software skills.
Both certificates are adapted from coursework in NKU’s fully-accredited undergraduate programs in business informatics and will be provided in an intensive 12-week integrated lecture and lab format in which students will experience hands-on exercises reinforcing practical computer skills.
“These certificates are designed to provide skills that will dramatically improve the employability of individuals,” said Ben Martz, chair of NKU’s business informatics program. “We are concentrating on the skills that employers tell us they want in their employees.”
NKU is joining other universities and community colleges that are putting a focus on healthcare informatics.
“The two fastest-growing industries for jobs today are technology and healthcare,” said Catherine Garner, Dean of Health Sciences and Nursing at America Sentinel University, an online university that provides degree programs for professionals.
“Specialized healthcare degrees at the bachelors or masters level, such as health informatics or infection prevention and control, can greatly improve a practitioner’s career options,” she said.
In Dec. 2009 Duke University established a center for health informatics geared to training up a new generation of nurses, physicians and healthcare administrators.
“There is little question that succeeding following healthcare reform will require healthcare professionals and executives to have an understanding of health informatics and how informatics can be applied using specific tools and capabilities,” said Victor J. Dzau, MD, chancellor for health affairs at Duke and CEO, Duke University Health System.
source: https://www.healthcareitnews.com