A Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) post-baccalaureate Applied Health Informatics Program now open to applicants provides career-enhancing technology education to all healthcare professionals.
The nine-month program, to be offered online this fall pending Maryland Higher Education Commission review and endorsement, is designed to help students from multiple healthcare disciplines update and upgrade health information technology (HIT) skills to meet the burgeoning market demand for skilled HIT specialists.
The program—which is funded through a $3.75 million grant from the U.S. economic stimulus package (ARRA) Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act—also offers $10,000 tuition support for qualifying students.
"This really is a '2.0' upgrade opportunity that will provide HIT education and training for nurses and other clinicians who want to expand their expertise in an increasingly digital world of health," says the program director and associate professor Patricia Abbott, PhD, RN, FACMI, FAAN. She adds, "It's a unique program that capitalizes on the collective wisdom of experienced health professionals and will appeal to many across the healthcare spectrum."
The curriculum for the new program was developed by the Johns Hopkins University Health IT Workforce Training Grant, which catalyzed post-baccalaureate HIT programs in the Johns Hopkins schools of Nursing, Medicine, and Public Health. The JHUSON's Applied Informatics Program features online course content with a focus on applied clinical and community care. Students earn 12 academic credit hours which may be applied toward a master's degree.
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