CHOP speaker talks informatics
Josh Kurtz
Issue date: 3/11/11 Section: News
Drexel's College of Information Science and Technology hosted Dean Karavite from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia March 8 for a lecture titled "Shared Perspectives and Experience on Health Informatics in Practice."
Karavite is a lead human-computer interaction specialist at the Center for Biomedical Informatics at CHOP. The lecture featured information on the current and future state of health informatics, a field which includes health care and information science. The presentation was Karavite's first at the iSchool, but he said he hopes to continue a relationship in the future.
During the presentation, Karavite discussed job possibilities for iSchool students in the health care field, stating the importance of information to health care gives "endless opportunities" for iSchool students.
Karavite said few people in the health care field are familiar with establishments such as Drexel's iSchool, and few health care jobs are tailored specifically to an iSchool education, which is a drawback to finding a career in health informatics. However, he has found that after hearing about a student's skills, employers not familiar with the field of information science realize information science students' qualifications fit what is needed.
According to Karavite, some people in health care think they understand the information sciences better than they actually do. They may believe training health care workers in information science instead of hiring people with an information background is sufficient - a perception that can also create barriers for iSchool students trying to enter the field.
Madhuri Bhamidipaty, an information science graduate student, added that "it's good to know there's so many different areas we could go" in the field, rather than technological aspects like coding.
Drexel's iSchool is currently proposing a new master's program in health informatics. Karavite said he believes health informatics programs can benefit from giving students exposure and experience in clinical environments like hospitals.
Karavite is a lead human-computer interaction specialist at the Center for Biomedical Informatics at CHOP. The lecture featured information on the current and future state of health informatics, a field which includes health care and information science. The presentation was Karavite's first at the iSchool, but he said he hopes to continue a relationship in the future.
During the presentation, Karavite discussed job possibilities for iSchool students in the health care field, stating the importance of information to health care gives "endless opportunities" for iSchool students.
Karavite said few people in the health care field are familiar with establishments such as Drexel's iSchool, and few health care jobs are tailored specifically to an iSchool education, which is a drawback to finding a career in health informatics. However, he has found that after hearing about a student's skills, employers not familiar with the field of information science realize information science students' qualifications fit what is needed.
According to Karavite, some people in health care think they understand the information sciences better than they actually do. They may believe training health care workers in information science instead of hiring people with an information background is sufficient - a perception that can also create barriers for iSchool students trying to enter the field.
Madhuri Bhamidipaty, an information science graduate student, added that "it's good to know there's so many different areas we could go" in the field, rather than technological aspects like coding.
Drexel's iSchool is currently proposing a new master's program in health informatics. Karavite said he believes health informatics programs can benefit from giving students exposure and experience in clinical environments like hospitals.
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