News Release

2006-10-03 14:31:01

UW institute launches health informatics boot camp in Edmonton

WATERLOO, Ont. (Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006) -- Professionals interested in health care, from across Alberta and elsewhere, will learn how an innovative discipline can help improve health services during a three-day boot camp on applied health informatics next month.

The Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research (WIHIR), based at the University of Waterloo, has partnered with the University of Alberta, Capital Health and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) to bring WIHIR's much-praised Bootcamp to Edmonton on Nov. 1 to 3.

A key objective of the WIHIR-developed Bootcamp is to make a significant contribution in building the army of more than 2,000 additional professionals needed in the health system. It is a short-term answer to increasing the human resources capacity of Canada in the expanding field of health informatics (HI).

HI is an interdisciplinary area that develops, extends and applies concepts from computer science, information science, telecommunications and other disciplines with the aim of supporting the improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of health care.

The Bootcamp introduces participants with little or no knowledge of HI to the nature, key concepts and applications of the discipline. Its focus is on applied HI, which addresses effective usage and evaluation of informatics solutions in health.

The Edmonton Bootcamp will consist of a three-day on-site educational experience combined with over 50 hours of online presentations. A special feature is a day dedicated to structured reviews of actual health informatics products and services presented by key vendors. Other content focuses on HI progress and issues specific to Western Canada.

"We are ecstatic that we have been able to attract this program to Alberta, customize it and make it available to western Canadians," said Dr. Nicola Shaw, the recently appointed, first research chair of health informatics in Western Canada. "We are bringing our own flavor to the Bootcamp, particularly by addressing western issues and introducing the vendor experience."

The Bootcamp is designed for health-care providers interested in becoming involved in HI, information-services professionals in health organizations, community college and secondary school teachers, as well as professionals in government, health-field agencies and service organizations, among others.

"NAIT is in the process of developing its own health informatics program," said Robert Stumbur, the leader of NAIT's efforts in the area. "We see this program as an opportunity to show the relevance of a Health Informatics training program and to jump-start interest in HI education."

The first Bootcamp, held at UW in July 2005, was attended by a full house of 80 participants. A Bootcamp held at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto last spring attracted 85 participants. Both programs generated long waiting lists.

"The Bootcamp initiates participants in a life-long learning process," said Shirley Fenton, WIHIR's managing director. "It helps participants by laying out a 'learning map' that they can navigate on their own.

"It provides basic knowledge that can be deepened through self-study and courses from universities and colleges with comprehensive programs. To facilitate this, participants will be given materials on health informatics programs and courses in Canada, as well as websites for programs available internationally."

Graduates of earlier Bootcamps have shared their views of the program. Michael Martineau, director, Branham Group Inc., said: "The Bootcamp offers a truly unique opportunity to learn from and interact with Canada's eHealth leaders."

John Donald, project manager, eSolutions Group, added: "The Bootcamp has provided tremendous insight into the information challenges and opportunities in health care today. It is a great introduction for anyone looking to apply their talents to this exciting field."

The Edmonton Bootcamp's gold sponsors include: Agfa Healthcare, Borden Ladner Gervais and Cisco Systems. Silver Sponsors include Accenture and NAIT. Contributing sponsors are Coach, IBM and ANHIX. The media sponsor is Healthcare Information Management & Communications Canada.

For more information about the Bootcamp in Edmonton, call 1-800-860-7901. To register, visit: link

The University of Alberta in Edmonton is one of Canada's premier teaching and research universities, serving 36,500 students with some 9,400 faculty and staff, and holding more that $400 million in research funding. It is renowned for the Edmonton Protocol diabetes treatment breakthrough, cutting edge nanotechnology and engineering innovation, and advanced energy research.

Capital Health is Canada's largest health region and is affiliated with the University of Alberta, providing integrated health services to one million residents in Edmonton and the surrounding area. Capital Health acts as a referral center to central and northern Alberta, the North and the Prairies.

The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is one of the largest institutes of technology in Canada, providing education in business, advanced technologies and skilled trades to more than 67,500 students annually at eight campuses in Alberta. NAIT graduates provide the skilled workforce required to support today's global, knowledge-based economy.

WIHIR, a trans-disciplinary institute at UW, seeks to deliver value to the health system through information management, as well as information and communication technologies research.

Resources

Contact:

Shirley Fenton, WIHIR managing director, 519-888-4074

Raquel Maurier, NAIT media relations, 780-471-8447

University of Waterloo release no. 114

2006-10-03 14:31:01