April 2024
Contents
- 0.1 Happy April, PHIT Anteaters!
- 0.2 PHIT Spring Seminar – Life After PHIT: Alumni Stories Panel on Zoom – Fri, April 12 @ 11 AM
- 0.3 Enroll in PHIT Classes for Summer Sessions 2024
- 0.4 PHIT Spring 2024 Information Sessions
- 0.5 Volunteer for the 11th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology PSMF Summit
- 0.6 UC San Diego’s Design Lab Summer Internship Program 2024
- 0.7 Free Spring 2024 R and Unix Courses through UCI Libraries!
- 0.8 PHIT Ambassador Corner – Tips for Grad School, Research, and Practicum!
- 0.9 Jobs, Internships, Research, and Professional Development Opportunities
- 0.10
- 1 Public Health Informatics and Technology Program
Happy April, PHIT Anteaters!
Welcome back to Spring quarter! Every month, the PHIT Program sends out an e-newsletter. Here are important news and updates from the Public Health Informatics & Technology (PHIT) Program. If you want to stay connected with us, email us at phitinfo@uci.edu OR follow us on Instagram @uciphitprogram and LinkedIn!
PHIT Spring Seminar – Life After PHIT: Alumni Stories Panel on Zoom – Fri, April 12 @ 11 AM
Every quarter, PHIT hosts a seminar to share program updates and discuss critical topics in Public Health Informatics! For Spring 2024, hear from a PHIT Alumni Panel! Curious about where an internship and degree in Health Informatics can take you after UCI? Join us on Zoom to hear from a diverse group of PHIT Alumni about their careers and educational journeys in health and public health informatics after graduating from PHIT and UCI!
Date & Time: Friday, April 12 @ 11 AM
Zoom Meeting ID & Link: 937 2341 2422 / ucihealth.zoom.us/j/93723412422
RSVP on Campus Groups: tinyurl.com/PHITAlumni2024
Our Panelists:
- Letsy Cahue-Flores – M.S Candidate in Health Informatics, UC Davis; UCI Informatics major graduate
- Obi Oduma – Admin Assistant, UCI Cancer Research Institute; UCI Public Health Sciences major graduate
- Samy Haidar – Project Coordinator, AdvanceOC; UCI Human Biology major graduate
- Mary Zhuang – Research Associate, AdvanceOC; UCI Human Biology major graduate
Enroll in PHIT Classes for Summer Sessions 2024
Summer Session is a great opportunity to complete classes that you weren’t able to enroll in during the academic year! This summer, we are offering BOTH IN4MATX 171 and 172. Check out the list below to see which summer session classes will count towards a Minor in Health Informatics!
Section A. Core Required Courses
- IN4MATX 171 / PUBHLTH 105: Introduction to Health Informatics (Summer Session 2)
- IN4MATX 172 / PUBHLTH 106: Project in Health Informatics (Summer Session 2)
Section B. Informatics, Technology, and Data Science Elective Courses
- I&C SCI 31: Introduction to Programming (10-week Summer Session)
- I&C SCI 32: Programming with Software Libraries (10-week Summer Session)
- IN4MATX 131: Human Computer Interaction (Summer Session 1)
- COMPSCI 171: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (10-week Summer Session)
- STATS 7: Basic Statistics (Summer Session 1 & 2)
- STATS 8: Introduction to Biological Statistics (Summer Session 1)
- STATS 67: Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Computer Science (Summer Session 1)
Section C. Public Health Elective Courses
- PUBHLTH 1: Principles of Public Health (Summer Session 1 & 2)
- PUBHLTH 2: Case Studies in Public Health Practice (Summer Session 1 & 2)
- PUBHLTH 101: Introduction to Epidemiology (Summer Session 1)
- PUBHLTH 122: Health Policy (Summer Session 2)
- PUBHLTH 127: Public Health Programs for the Corporate World (Summer Session 1)
For more on Summer Session, visit the UCI Summer Session website
PHIT Spring 2024 Information Sessions
More than ever, informatics, data, and technology will be a critical part of addressing future public health issues and inequities. UC Irvine’s Public Health Informatics & Technology (PHIT) Program is training the next generation of diverse public health and health professionals in informatics, data, and tech to advance public health. PHIT offers degrees, certificates, and paid research & internship opportunities to undergraduate students, graduate students, and working professionals to pipeline students who are historically underrepresented in STEM to the Public Health Informatics workforce. Join us in making public health more inclusive and data-driven!
Join us at an Information Session to learn more about the PHIT Program and our Upcoming Paid Research & Internship Opportunities!:
- Tuesday, April 9 @ 4 PM – 5 PM – Zoom Meeting ID: 979 5974 2413
- Monday, April 22 @ 1 PM – 2 PM – Donald Bren Hall 5011
- Friday, May 17 @ 10 AM – 11 AM – Zoom Meeting ID: 979 5974 2413
See all of our Informational Sessions & Event dates on our website.
Volunteer for the 11th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology PSMF Summit
The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) was established in 2012 to raise awareness around the critical topic of patient safety, and to bring patients, clinicians, healthcare organizations, payers, academicians, government officials, and policymakers together to address the urgent need to eliminate preventable patient harm in all healthcare settings globally.
The foundation holds an international summit annually where world-renowned patient safety experts and advocates discuss the common causes of preventable patient harm and how they can be remedied. PSMF is looking for motivated student volunteers to assist at the 11th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology PSMF Summit on September 6 – 7, 2024 at the UCI Student Center Pacific Ballroom. The summit is vital in the journey to ZERO preventable harm and allows patient safety leaders to acknowledge and address the problem and convene a critically important conversation between patients, healthcare professionals, academicians, medical technology companies, policymakers, and government officials. It empowers patient safety experts to unite all their efforts in transforming the healthcare ecosystem around the world.
Benefits of volunteering at the PSMF Summit:
- Waived registration fees for the two-day event.
- Chance to connect with globally recognized patient safety experts, academic leaders, medical technology innovators, and advocates.
- Complimentary breakfast, lunch, and snacks included.
- Exclusive souvenir packages available.
- Flexible break times based on program schedule.
- Photo opportunity with PSMF Executive Leadership Team.
- A Reference letter to confirm the completion of the volunteer work.
PSMF will interview potential candidates to ensure a seamless collaboration. If interested, please fill out the volunteer application form and email it to summit@psmf.org before the deadline, May 31st. Interviews will be scheduled June 1-31, 2024. Selected volunteers will be notified between July 1st and 10th.
UC San Diego’s Design Lab Summer Internship Program 2024
The Design Lab at UC San Diego is seeking undergraduate interns for their Summer 2024 Internship Program. They have a variety of roles available for research and/or human-centered design on different projects. Design Lab Summer Interns will have the opportunity to interact with faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and other interns through professional skills training and social gatherings throughout the summer. Most projects will take place in San Diego in the newly built Design and Innovation Building (DIB) or across campus in one of the Design Lab’s partner departments. Some virtual (zoom) internships may be available.
The time frame for internships is flexible, but internships typically occur between mid-June and mid-Sept. For full consideration, please apply online by April 14th, 2024.
Free Spring 2024 R and Unix Courses through UCI Libraries!
The UCI Library’s Digital Scholarship Services department offers a range of workshops and events throughout the year! This Spring 2024, the Library is offering a free R workshop and a free Unix workshop from Tuesday, April 9 – Friday, June 21. R is a programming language and free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. This is a quarter-long asynchronous course held in Canvas that will cover data analysis, writing modular code, and best practices for using R. Don’t miss this chance to learn R for free! Register now, as spots are first-come, first-serve.
PHIT Ambassador Corner – Tips for Grad School, Research, and Practicum!
Our PHIT Ambassadors are students in the PHIT Program who are here to support fellow students in learning more about public health informatics! This month, our Ambassadors focus on Grad School, Research, and Practicum!
Thinking about Grad School? From Rithika
Hello everyone, hope y’all are doing well and are adjusting to Spring Quarter! This month, I wanted to talk about graduate school. A degree in Public Health and even Health Informatics can open doors to a diverse range of careers. There are many specialized jobs like Health Informatics Specialist, Public Health Policy Analyst, Epidemiologist and many more that allow you to incorporate your public health and informatics skills. However, many positions encourage people to gain further specialized experience through graduate school. A Master’s or PhD program in Public Health, Informatics, or Health Informatics offers you the opportunity to specialize in a field of your interest. These programs allow you to explore your interests by offering courses and research opportunities that can expand your knowledge and experience. In addition to allowing you to qualify for higher positions, through a graduate program, you can network with professionals in similar fields and gain certifications and skills that can make you the desired candidate for jobs. Especially at UCI, when applying for a graduate program, admissions will look at your application from a holistic perspective, factoring in academics as well as personal and extracurricular experiences. Applying for graduate programs is a great opportunity if you are interested in research and/or are passionate about gaining more skills within a specialized field. Keep in mind that different schools have different requirements for graduate school applications so if you are interested in applying, definitely plan ahead. Good luck!
Thinking about Research? From Nancy
I hope you all are having an amazing start to your quarter. As summer and fall are approaching, some of you may be interested in getting involved in research. Research is a growing field where you can explore many different interdisciplinary fields. As a research-based university, UCI provides many opportunities to get involved in research. Research experience is valuable in health informatics because it is a growing field, and much can still be learned about improving it! You can be involved in many different types of research, including clinical and literature reviews. Ways to get involved in research include UROP or personally reaching out to professors conducting research or independent study projects to see how you can get involved with them. A tip I have to see which professors are actively conducting research would be to look at the schedule of classes under different departments such as Public Health, BioSci, In4matx, etc to see which professors’ names are listed under undergraduate research/independent study. First, read their websites and faculty profiles to see what fields of research they do, what projects they are currently working on, and some of their past work to see if they align with what you are looking for. Then, I recommend personally contacting them via email or at the end of a class to see if they are accepting students into their lab. If you are reaching out via email, it would be best to introduce yourself, your goals and aspirations, why you wanted to join their research, and what this opportunity can offer you, and include a resume and cover letter. Good luck with applying to research labs!
Thinking about Practicum? From Summer Hi everyone! As a Public Health student, Practicum can be really confusing and hard to plan when dealing with it by yourself, so I’m here to help out. When planning out your practicum, you want to start at least 1 quarter before applying. It is important to note that you apply to practicum the quarter before you actually take the course, so what I’m suggesting is that you start planning 2 quarters before you plan to take the course. Take this initial step to review all the practicum sites, what they expect from students, their required skills, and their mission. This will help you narrow down your options. Make note about what practicum sites stood out to you the most, so when it’s time to apply you could have a list of anywhere between 5-7 sites. When it’s time to apply, my biggest tip to Anteaters is to make your resume and cover letter specific to each practicum site you apply for. Be sure to elaborate on the skills within your cover letter and how they would benefit the practicum site. Once you score an interview, it’s all about researching the company more in depth and practicing possible interview questions. To get some really great practice questions, use ChatGPT. Give ChatGPT a brief description of the practicum site and what they do, then ask for possible interview questions. This will provide some really interesting questions that are different and better than the regular google common interview questions. After that just practice and nail that interview, good luck Anteaters!
Jobs, Internships, Research, and Professional Development Opportunities
- UCI Health Profession Career Week begins on April 22, 2024: Interested in a career in healthcare? Check out UCI Health Professions Week, happening Monday, April 24th through Friday, April 28th. Check out the events calendar to kick start your career in the healthcare industry!
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pathways Program: The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) internship and entry-level positions provide unique Pathways into scientific and administrative careers. NIH offers three “paths” to employment for current students and recent graduates. For more information visit the NIH website.
- Pathways to Public Service Program: In partnership with other HHS agencies, in 2019, ONC initiated the Pathways to Public Service (PTPS) program to equip students of minority-serving institutions (MSIs) with the knowledge and skills needed to be viable candidates in their pursuit of careers in public service through internships and entry-level positions. Through virtual fairs and professional development workshops, students are educated on the mission of HHS, the Federal Government’s Pathways Programs, and the federal hiring process. Sign up for the PTPS eblast to receive an up-to-date list of events and current job opportunities.
UCI Experiential Learning Program (ELP): The UCI Experiential Learning Program (ELP) creates a bridge between classroom learning and career readiness by providing a space for students to build new competencies and hone their skills! Opportunities exist for students both inside and outside STEM majors, supporting everything from social media management to content creation & storytelling to AI/machine learning. ELP offers positions for summer, part-time and project-based employment. Fill out their Interest Form.
Best of Luck,
UCI PHIT Program
Public Health Informatics and Technology Program
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