Syllabus

Master of Science in Health Informatics

HIN 785 — Health Informatics Capstone – Spring 2021

Credits - 6

Description

This course begins the 16-week capstone experience in Health Informatics by providing students the opportunity to implement what they have learned through the examination of trends, technologies, and opportunities facing the field. Examining cutting-edge developments in the science and practice of informatics will provide students with a broader understanding of where health informatics may be heading, as well as the challenges facing the field. Students will write a review of the literature pertaining to aspects of their practicum experience in the context of shrinking the research-practice gap. Additionally, at the end of the course, students will describe their practicum journey and future plans via an ignite presentation. 6.000 Credit hours

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Course Outcomes:

Upon the successful completion of HIN 785, students will be able to:

• Find and evaluate peer-reviewed research articles.
• Distinguish the difference between concerns in research and concerns in practice.
• Develop a research paper that integrates practical experience with literature review findings.
• Analyze the interpersonal structure of a workplace 
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the interpersonal structure
• Produce a professional presentation synthesized from a practical or project experience
• Develop a career-oriented professional profile

 

Assignments

Please note that all times in the syllabus and in Blackboard refer to Eastern Time. The discussion board will open at the start of the week due for submissions.

Discussion Board Posts — There are 5 graded discussion boards that address the topic of the corresponding week. These assignments will assess your ability to clearly and accurately apply concepts from your readings and from your own experiences. You are expected to submit an initial post and comment on at least 2 other students’ posts. You need to follow APA guidelines for citing any sources you may reference in either your initial post or your response to others. Refer to the Discussion Rubric and discussion question for submission guidelines.

Please be sure to follow the individual directions provided with each Discussion Board Prompt, as the requirements may vary from Discussion Board to Discussion Board.

Initial post: You should submit your initial post by 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Your initial post should be approximately 500 words.

Response to others: You should comment on at least 2 other students’ posts by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. Your comments to others should be thorough, thoughtful, and they should offer some new content. Do not merely respond with “I agree” or “I disagree.” Engage directly with the ideas of your classmates and briefly mention which part of the post you are responding to.

Professional Resume – You will create a formal resume that will be submitted in the last week of class. A preliminary draft version will be submitted in week 14 for feedback from the instructor. Refer to the Resume Rubric and assignment instructions in the course for submission guidelines.

Key Assignments

There are four key assignments in this course.

Journal and Quarterly Reports

After 30, 60, 90, and 120 hours of your practicum or project work, you will submit a reflective journal entry and a quarterly report form. In the journal entry describe and reflect on your experience within the hosting organization or working on your project. The quarterly report serves as a snapshot of how well you are doing compared to the proposed project plan timeline. See the Journal and Quarterly Report Rubrics and assignment instructions in the course for submission guidelines.

Literature Review Paper

You will write a review of the literature paper addressing a specific problem related to your practicum or project experience. You will write a 10-15 page paper using APA Style formatting and citations. Throughout this course, you will complete and submit parts of your paper for grading and feedback before the final version which is due in week 13. The assignments you will submit in support of the Literature Review Paper include:

Research Question, Preliminary Search Terms and Count of Returned Citations – Articulate a research question specific to a problem and related to your practicum or project experience. Specify your search terms, select bibliographic databases, and conduct your preliminary search of peer-reviewed literature.  Due in week 2. Refer to the Research Question, Preliminary Search Terms and Count of Returned Citations Rubric and assignment instructions in the course for submission guidelines.

Refined Search Terms – Refine your search terms and databases to collect more targeted peer-reviewed literature and provide an opportunity to revise your research question, if needed. Due in week 4. Refer to the Refined Search Terms Rubric and assignment instructions in the course for submission guidelines.

Literature Review Matrix – Download the Excel Literature Review matrix spreadsheet. Document each study/article from your library search you plan to review as part of your paper. Follow the directions included on the spreadsheet. Be sure to include an APA formatted citation for each study/article. Refer to the Literature Review Matrix rubric and assignment instructions in the course for submission guidelines. Due in week 4.

Annotated Bibliography and Citation List – This assignment has two parts. Part one of the assignment is to provide an APA formatted list of ten citations for the studies/articles you plan to review as part of your paper. Part two of the assignment is to write an analytical Annotated Bibliography for five of those articles. Due in week 4. Refer to the Annotated Bibliography and Citation List Rubric and assignment instructions in the course for submission guidelines.

Introduction, Background and Significance, Methods, and Results Section Drafts – Everyone has their own way to write a paper. Some people write sequentially, from the beginning to the end, while others write from the middle outward. In weeks 5, 7, and 9, you will write the introduction, methods, and results sections of your literature review. You may choose where you want to start writing (beginning or middle), the only requirement is that one section of the paper must be submitted for each week.

If you are a “middle-out” writer, you might submit the methods section in week 5, the results section in week 7, and finish with the introduction in week 9. Top-down writers will submit the introduction in week 5, methods in week 7, and results in week 9. Refer to the assignment prompts in the course and rubrics for submission details.

Discussion and Conclusion Section Draft – Everyone will submit the discussion and conclusion sections of the literature review in week 11. Refer to the assignment prompt in the course and rubric for submission details.

Final Literature Review Paper – Revise your paper based on the feedback received on prior submissions and assemble the sections into a complete, polished final version in week 13. Refer to the assignment prompt in the course and rubric for submission details.

Practicum or Project Deliverable

In week 15, you will submit the project deliverable you defined as part of your planning document for either the practicum or project. You created this document prior to registering for this course and received approval for the project from your Preceptor or advisor and the Practicum Coordinator. The final project deliverable is an artifact that is representative of your work at the practicum site or on your project. You may need to talk with your instructor first for more explicit instructions on how to submit your artifact. Refer to the Practicum or Project Deliverable Rubric and assignment instructions in the course for submission guidelines.

Ignite Presentation

In week 15, you will give a live Ignite presentation to your instructor and other members of the class about your practicum or project. An Ignite presentation is 5 minutes long and comprised of 20 slides, with slides changing every 15 seconds. Refer to the Ignite Presentation Rubric and the assignment instructions in the course for submission guidelines.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assessment Item	Possible Points	Percent of Total Grade
Discussion Posts (5 total)	10 points (2 points each)	10%
Journal Entries and Quarterly Reports	8 (2 points each)	8%
Research Question, Preliminary Search Terms, and Returned Citation Count	5	5%
Refined Search Terms	1	1%
Literature Review Matrix	1	1%
Annotated Bibliography	2	2%
Introduction, Background & Significance	5	5%
Methods Section Draft	5	5%
Results Section Draft	5	5%
Discussion and Conclusion Section Draft	5	5%
Final Literature Review Paper	20	20%
Resume (rough draft)	2	2%
Practicum Deliverable	12	12%
Ignite Presentation	12	12%
Resume (final)	7	7%
Total	100	100%

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00