Health Care Informatics, MS

Do you have questions about the health care informatics program? Email us at: HCI@ucf.edu.

KFORCE
Recruiting firm for Healthcare Informatics Majors

AHIMA
American Health Information Management Association

HIMSS
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society

AMIA
American Medical Informatics Association

Health Information Management Resource

The health care informatics internship is a mandatory course within the HCI program. This course requires students to think critically about real-world informatics issues and apply acquired knowledge and competencies to these issues. The HCI internship program allows a student to work within the confines of a real health care organization (such as county health departments, hospitals, long term care facilities, medical groups, insurance companies, etc.) in order to gain valuable, hands-on experience working on real health care informatics projects and challenges. The HCI internship is intended to provide the student with hands-on experiences not readily available from classroom situations, such as:

• Applying classroom learning to real world health informatics problems
• Functioning as a professional member of a health care organization
• Assuming responsibility for various informatics based projects and programs
• Developing a relationship with a mentor who can provide personal and career guidance
• Adding breadth and depth to one’s personal, professional, and academic experiences

Important Points

• Graduation requirement
  • The health care informatics internship is mandatory and must be successfully completed in order to graduate from the program. This is a non-negotiable requirement.
• 3-credit course: HIM6947
  • The course is comprised of an online class (conducted in Canvas) and experiential learning components.
  • Canvas will be utilized to disseminate important information and updates, collect forms and documents from students, and to serve as a platform to engage in discussions regarding internships opportunities, challenges, insights and updates.
  • The experiential learning component is the internship experience itself and is the primary focus of the course. As such, academic requirements are kept to a minimum so that students can focus their efforts on individualized internship experiences.
  • At the conclusion of their internships, students are expected to have successfully completed a masters level informatics project that required the application of informatics competencies. Students projects are presented live to the HMI faculty and class using virtual conference technologies.
• Minimum 240 internship service hours required
• Completed only in SPRING
  • Internship service hours provided in any other semester will not count towards the required 240 required hours.
  • Internship service hour provided for projects not approved by the internship director will not count towards the 240 required hours.
• 0-credit pre-internship course in FALL
  • A 0-credit pre-internship course is led by the internship director to help students understand, prepare, identify and secure internships.
  • At the conclusion of the pre-internship course, students should be completely ready to begin their internships in the spring semester.
• Student chooses and secures the internship
  • It is entirely the student’s responsibility to find and secure an appropriate master’s level informatics internship.
  • The internship director will provide oversight, guidance and final approval of internship sites, preceptors and projects.

Securing an Internship

It is the student’s responsibility to find and secure an internship. To assist, the Department of Health Management and Informatics has maintained over 100 existing affiliations with health organizations within the Central Florida area. The department does have affiliations beyond Central Florida and is continually cultivating new affiliations each semester. Registered students will be given access to the list of affiliated locations. Students are encouraged to explore the affiliations early and to have at least three potential sites identified by the time they are enrolled in the 0-credit hour pre-internship course.

Securing an internship is a competitive process. Host sites will select the most qualified candidate through a formal interview and selection process. Therefore, students are highly encouraged to utilize UCF career services to develop and polish their resumes and gain interview experience early on to prepare themselves for competing for internship opportunities. These same skills and resources will prove invaluable for job seeking as well.

Internships with Current Employers

Although generally discouraged, internships with current employers are permitted but require approval and additional documentation. The internship director will make the final decision based upon qualifying the following:

• The site has an established and documented history and involved with health data and health informatics.
• The preceptor is qualified to serve as a supervisor, mentor and guide for student interns, has the resources necessary to devote to the student to ensure student success, and can afford time to work with the intern one-on-one to ensure the intern’s growth and professional development.
• The intended project is appropriate for a master’s level health informatics intern. The project should not require the intern to conduct “busy work” (hereby defined as performing routine office tasks such as copies, performing data entry, sorting of files or other clerical tasks) for more than 30 percent of the student’s internship service hours.

Students who fail to comply with these requirements will receive an F the course.

Internships with Family

Students are not permitted to intern at a site where there is any family ownership. Similarly, students are not permitted to have preceptors who are family members. Both scenarios present conflicts of interest and are strictly prohibited. No exceptions. Violations will result in an F in the course.

Reporting Schedule and Remote Internships

The actual reporting schedule will be defined by the student’s preceptor and host site and must be defined before the start of the internship semester. Most internships can be completed during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Internship sites understand that our students are working professionals and have proven to be flexible and accommodating with respect to schedules.

Remote and virtual internships do exist, however they are rare and often highly competitive. Additionally, some onsite internships with traditional projects may offer remote access opportunities or may allow work from home.

Financial Considerations

The majority of internships are unpaid. Paid internships are rare and competitive and the salaries are determined by the employer.

There may be additional fees involved with completing your internship, to include but not limited to the following:

• Background criminal checks
• Drug screenings
• Parking permits

Have Additional Questions?

A dedicated internship director is available to answer your internship related questions. Students are encouraged to reach out to Steven Ton via email or telephone at 407-823-5328 at any time. Email is his preferred method of contact. When contacting Steven Ton, please provide the following to expedite an effective response:

• Descriptive subject line
• Full Name
• UCF ID
• Year of intended internship
• Program (HIIM or HCI)
• Concise yet comprehensive message

What makes the health care informatics program at UCF a better value is that students are able to earn more than just a master’s degree. With the appropriate amount of experience, you will be eligible to sit for up to seven credential exams at no additional cost. The program will cover the cost of the exams, and the necessary study materials, so that you can expand your knowledge base.

Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems

A professional certification program for experienced healthcare information and management systems professionals.

Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and Management Systems

This certificate is designed for emerging professionals who may or may not have experience within the industry. CAHIMS is designed to be a pathway for careers in health IT.

Project Management Professional

The PMP is the gold standard of project management certification. Recognized and demanded by organizations worldwide, the PMP validates your competence to perform in the role of a project manager, leading and directing projects and teams.

Certified Associate in Project Management

The CAPM demonstrates your understanding of the fundamental knowledge, terminology and processes of effective project management.

Healthcare Information Security and Privacy Practitioner

The HCISPP certification helps both employers and job candidates demonstrate their capabilities and commitment to health care privacy and security.

Certified Health Data Analyst

Individuals who earn the CHDA designation will achieve recognition of their expertise in health data analysis and validation of their mastery of this domain. This prestigious certification provides practitioners with the knowledge to acquire, manage, analyze, interpret, and transform data into accurate, consistent, and timely information, while balancing the “big picture” strategic vision with day-to-day details.

Certified Professional in Health Informatics

This credential will enable an individual to further advance their career. It also demonstrates a competent workforce and professional group for system support, subsequent organizational support, prestige, and the opportunity to belong to a prestigious premier professional association.