Studying Biomedical Informatics
In August 2006, I started a graduate program in a field called Biomedical Informatics. Everyone always asks me what it is, and the simple explanation is that it’s a combination of computers and medicine. The field is very broad and still being defined, but that’s the general idea.
Often Biomedical Informatics is broken into the following areas:
- Clinical Informatics – Applying information technology in clinical settings, such as hospitals and doctor’s offices.
- Bioinformatics (or Translational Informatics) – A combination of biology and computers. A big part of this area is using technology to find which genes cause which inheritable diseases.
- Public Health Informatics – Using technology to study health issues and address problems for populations.
Students and faculty in this field come from various educational backgrounds, but it’s generally split between those who have strong technology and/or statistics backgrounds and those who have clinical backgrounds (doctors, nurses, public health specialists).
My undergraduate degree was in Information Systems / Business Administration (with a minor in English). And I’ve been working as a programmer for the last 5 years for Intel. So I come from the technology side and am trying to get a grasp on the health-care side. It’s pretty interesting to study with and learn from people who have such a variety of backgrounds.
I chose to enter this field because it’s a nice combination of something I enjoy and do well at (technology) with something that revolves around helping others (health care). I feel stretched in this program, but I think that’s a good thing.
Wikipedia article on this topic.
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