The Courses

Typically 1-2 courses in the Medical Informatics program are scheduled each semester. Students working full-time are typically encouraged to take 1 course at a time, completing the Certificate in 4 semesters (approximately 1.5 years). Most courses consist of 12 modules of content released weekly over a 12-16 week semester. During the week of content release, students work independently, alongside team-based exercises that are also scheduled throughout the semester.

The four courses in the Certificate may be taken in any order, but we recommend taking the Introduction to Medical Informatics course first, if possible. Detailed course information can be obtained by clicking on the titles below:

View the current Course Schedule here.

Prerequisite Knowledge

Students in this certificate program generally have the following background:

• Working knowledge of medical terminology and/or willingness to Google new medical or IT terms as they arise in course content.
• Working knowledge of how to use personal computers, including knowledge of word-processing, spreadsheet packages and Internet searching.
• For some courses, you will need a working knowledge of statistics and/or a willingness to complete an additional online tutorial in this area within the first module of this course.
• Academic training in an information systems/technology, engineering, occupational safety, or health care-related field at the Associate's or Bachelor's level. Students currently pursuing related degrees at the Associate's or Bachelor's level are also eligible to apply. RN's at any level (diploma, Associate's or higher) are also welcome. Permitted substitution: Students may substitute 3-5 years’ experience in an information systems/technology, engineering, occupational safety, or health care-related organization for this academic training requirement.
  

Students will be provided with UWF eLearning accounts to complete all on-line course modules. Students without this background but still interested in the Medical Informatics Certificate Program should contact medicalinformatics@uwf.edu for possible alternative substitute courses or training.

Undergraduate vs. Graduate Certificate in Medical Informatics

At UWF, our Certificate program is dual-listed at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The course lecture content is typically the same and may be delivered with the same media in our courses, but the expectations are different for the two sets of students. In addition, to receive graduate credit, graduate-enrolled students may have additional readings, exams and assignments, in addition to different expectations and feedback for the quality of submissions of course requirements that are the same for both sets of students. In some of the courses, graduate students are also placed on separate teams for assignments and projects or may be invited to participate in additional scholarly activities during the semester. These instructional strategies vary by course and instructor with the goal of ensuring the graduate students are properly prepared at the graduate level. The cost of undergraduate and graduate courses is determined outside UWF, but takes into account these factors. Students in our program receive either an Undergraduate Certificate in Medical Informatics, or a Graduate Certificate in Medical Informatics, based on whether or not all courses were taken at the graduate level.

Students pursue the Graduate Certificate in Medical Informatics for a number of reasons, including:

• To enhance their CV beyond undergraduate level training for new career opportunities
• To collaborate with other students and faculty at the graduate level
• To prepare for future graduate work or to apply courses to a current graduate program
• To earn graduate credits for future teaching credentialing opportunities

Graduate courses in the Certificate are listed with a course number at the 5000 or 6000 level. Alternatively, undergraduate courses begin at the 3000 or 4000 level.

How many hours per week should I expect to commit for each course?

Regarding time commitment per week, each course requires 48 contact hours of online content. Contact hours per week are distributed depending on the length of the course in a given semester. As an example, 8-week courses would have about 6 contact hours per week. For each contact hour in a course, students are expected to spend 1-3 hours outside the course studying materials and/or completing assignments. Depending on a student's learning style, more or less time for each contact hour may be required.

Are computer classes required in order to start the program?

No specific computer classes are required to be accepted into the Certificate in Medical Informatics program. However, if you have never taken an online class, you need to be prepared to spend a significant amount of time online in the first two weeks of the class completing tutorials to help introduce you to the online environment and various electronic resources or support tools.

Can credits from this certificate program be transferred to other degrees?

Many online and traditional face-to-face programs at UWF accept the medical informatics courses as technical electives in their programs. Please visit the Beyond the Certificate site for more information.

Do you accept transfer credits from other programs into your certificate program?

We do not accept transfer credits into our certificate program due to the constantly evolving content of the informatics field. Given this, all courses required for our certificate program must be taken at UWF.

We'd Like to Hear from You

For more information about this certificate, please contact medicalinformatics@uwf.edu.

Updated April 26, 2013