There is a growing need for highly skilled and talented biomedical informatics professionals. On the clinical side, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) estimates a need of 50,000 additional personnel to meet the needs of President Obama's goal for every American to have their health records in digital form by 2014. There are equally substantial needs in other areas, such as bioinformatics, clinical and translational research informatics, and public health informatics. As a start to encourage highly accomplished students to pursue careers in the field, we are launching the OHSU Excellence in Informatics Scholarship program.
Excellence in Informatics Scholarship
The Biomedical Informatics graduate program is currently reviewing applications for the Winter 2010 Excellence in Informatics Scholarship to support qualified individuals in the second year of their on-campus master's program. The program will present one award in the form of a tuition waiver of $5,000. Two waivers in the amount of $2,500 each will be applied during winter and spring terms 2010. Applications are due no later than
December 1, 2009.
Eligibility
Students must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for the award:
- Second year MS or MBI student, either Medical Informatics track or Bioinformatics track
- On-campus, year-round, part-time or full-time status
- Successful performance in program (GPA 3.5 or better)
- Timely progression toward degree
- Voluntary contribution to the program such as HIMSS student rep, DMICE committee participation, posters, publications, professional conference presentations, recruitment activities, etc.
- Financial need is not a requirement for eligibility but will be considered
Responsibilities of awardee
- Become a student representative to a department advisory committee
- Present his or her final capstone or thesis at a public forum
Application
Individuals interested in applying for the Excellence in Informatics Scholarship must submit the following:
Mail the completed application to:
Andrea Ilg
Educational Program Director
Biomedical Informatics Program
Mail Code: BICC 504
Oregon Health & Science University
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd.
Portland, OR 97239
Additional Funding Opportunities
HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Foundation Scholarship Program
The HIMSS Foundation Scholarship Program annually awards scholarships to student members studying in the health care information or management systems field. Visit the HIMSS site at http://www.himss.org/ASP/scholarshipsHome.asp for more information.
AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association) Foundation of Research and Education
Financial aid is available to qualified students through the AHIMA Foundation of Research and Education. The organization offers both loans and scholarships. For more information, see http://www.ahima.org/fore/.
An extensive list of other funding sources is available on the OHSU Office of Graduate Studies website at http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/school-of-medicine/academic-programs/graduate-studies/research/student-funding.cfm
