Barnett
By Christine McLaren
Self-described “life-long learner,” Jeff Barnett is the first graduate of the distributed master’s degree program in health informatics. The application of information technology (IT) to health care delivery was the perfect fit for Barnett, a pharmacist and database administrator with the BC Cancer Agency. The distributed learning format is a flexible program which includes on-campus and online courses aimed at IT and health care professionals who want to continue working full time.
While working on the pharmacy task force for the BC Cancer Agency, Barnett developed a keen interest in the information technology side of the business. His thirst for knowledge propelled him to explore options for further learning, and the School of Health Information Science provided the ideal solution.
“I chose the program because it had direct benefit to the workplace and provided me with an opportunity to learn from exceptional faculty,” says Barnett.
He talks in glowing terms about his colleagues in the program, whom he describes as “our next leaders in health informatics.” Barnett was inspired by the exchange of ideas and information that was conducted through real-time web conferencing. “When we did get to see each other in person it was like getting together with old friends,” says Barnett.
As a health informatics specialist, he knows that a “smorgasbord of jobs is now available to graduates in health informatics.” He looks forward to the knowledge exchange with students and drawing from the richness of material in the workplace when he returns to the school this summer and fall to teach undergraduate and graduate students.
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