Theera-Ampornpunt N, Kelley T, Ramly E, Shaw R, Khairat S, Sonnenberg FA. The paths toward informatics careers in the post-HITECT era [panel submission]. AMIA Annu Symp Proc. 2012 Nov:1565-7.

1. The Paths Toward Informatics Careers in the Post-HITECH Era
Nawanan Theera-Ampornpunt1, MD, PhD, MS, Tiffany Kelley2, MS, MBA, RN,
Edmond Ramly, MS3, Ryan Shaw, MS, RN2, Saif Khairat, PhD, MS4,
Frank A. Sonnenberg, MD5
1
Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand,
2
School of Nursing, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 3Department of Industrial
and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin,
4
Institute for Health Informatics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota,
5
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey
Abstract
The AMIA Student Working Group (ST-WG) proposes a panel of informatics professionals that will provide
insights and perspectives on career development and career outlook for future informaticians in the post-HITECH
era. With the growing and more competitive job market and the emerging certification programs in informatics, a
“Career Panel” will be valuable to new professionals needing guidance on career development and job opportunities.
This year’s panel will feature panelists who are informatics professionals from different stages in their career, from a
student to an informatics fellow, an early-career informatician, and an established informatics professional. This
theme will provide differing but complementary views about career development and job outlook for post-HITECH
graduates, which would prepare them toward their successful and exciting career paths in informatics.
General Description
Since 2002, the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)’s Student Working Group (ST-WG) has offered
a panel each year at the Annual Symposium that provides perspectives and helpful guidance on informatics careers
for students, recent graduates, and early-career professionals. These panels have been a “meaningful” contribution to
the symposium, filled with an engaging audience and lively questions.
This year’s proposed panel builds on this successful tradition and brings together four panelists at different stages of
their careers, in an effort to offer diverse perspectives on career development and career outlook for informatics
students in today’s environment. A “Career Panel” is especially important after the launch of the Health Information
Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, as the financial incentives provide a stimulus for
widespread health IT adoption that will likely lead to a growing and increasingly competitive market for
informaticians. Moreover, the emergence of certification programs such as AMIA’s effort together with the
American Board of Preventive Medicine in subspecialty certification in clinical informatics as well as AMIA’s
Academic Forum’s plans to develop the Advanced Interprofessional Informatics Certification program would have
major implications for those seeking careers in informatics. We will feature a panel consisting of informatics
professionals in different stages in their career, from a student or trainee to an informatics fellow, an early-career
informatician, and an established informatics professional. This year’s theme will focus on the panelists’ various
informatics roles and their views and advice on career development. The following issues will be discussed:
- How was each panelist’s experience from when they began to develop their career until now?
- What is the current career outlook for informatics professionals in the Post-HITECH era?
- How should new informaticians developing their careers prepare, position, and market themselves in
today’s competitive environment?
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2. - What are effective strategies for finding desirable career opportunities today?
The planned format is the traditional panel discussion. Each of the four panelists is allotted 15 minutes for a short
presentation. Following the presentations, the floor will be opened to questions from the audience.
Given the differences in where the panelists are in their career, this panel will provide valuable short, medium, and
long-term perspectives for those who are just entering the field and beginning to develop their career in informatics.
Organizers
AMIA Student Working Group Executive Committee and Volunteers
Tiffany Kelley, MS, MBA, RN, Chair
Nawanan Theera-Ampornpunt, MD, PhD, Chair-Elect
Paulina Sockolow, DrPH, MBA, Immediate Past Chair
Sashank Kaushik, MD, Member-at-Large (Resident-Fellow)
Marcela Musgrove, Member-at-Large (Masters)
Ryan Shaw, MS, RN, Member-at-Large (Doctoral - PhD)
Mark Roche, MD, MS, Member-at-Large (Doctoral - Professional)
Edmond Ramly, MS, Editor-in-chief, ST-WG Newsletters
Jacqueline Feinberg, Executive Secretary
Panel Participants
Student/Trainee
Edmond Ramly, MS
PhD Student
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Fellow
Ryan Shaw, MS, RN
PhD Candidate
School of Nursing, Duke University
Early-Career Professional
Saif Khairat, PhD, MS
Clinical Assistant Professor
Institute for Health Informatics
University of Minnesota
Established Professional
Frank A. Sonnenberg, MD
Medical Director of Clinical Systems, Robert Wood Johnson Medical Group
Professor of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Moderator
Tiffany Kelley, MS, MBA, RN
PhD Candidate
School of Nursing, Duke University
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3. Statement
I, Nawanan Theera-Ampornpunt, hereby confirm that all panelists listed in this proposal have agreed to participate
in this panel. Panelists are aware that there are no travel or registration funds available. Panelists are also aware that
the Student Working Group is unable to reimburse their registration costs.
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