MS in Applied Clinical Informatics

MS-ACI Curriculum & Practicum

The online Master of Science in Applied Clinical Informatics program (MS-ACI) at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine offers a comprehensive online curriculum for working professionals who are looking to advance their careers in the health care field.

What You’ll Learn

  • Program Format: 100% online
  • Program Length: 36 credits taken over the fall, spring and summer of year 1, and the fall and spring of year 2
  • Semester Start: A new MS-ACI cohort begins each fall
  • Certification: ABMS certification is possible
  • Topics You’ll Study: Health information technology; workflow, user-centered design, and implementation; clinical data standards, and more.

Innovative Coursework

Synchronous and asynchronous online courses create your informatics foundation while accommodating your professional life.

Real-World Practicum

Put theory into practice and experience informatics challenges at VUMC, your home institution, or another clinical site.

Capstone Project

In your final 9 months, you’ll lead a workplace-based informatics project with expert mentorship, gaining real-world, career-ready skills.

The skills I acquired in Vanderbilt’s MS-ACI enabled me to be recognized as an expert in clinical informatics.

Francois Bastardot Francois Bastardot, MD, MS-ACI
Chief Medical Information Officer, Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland

Coursework

  • Online Applied Clinical Informatics Courses
    • Introduction to Clinical Informatics
    • Foundations of Health Information Technology
    • The Health System
    • Clinical Decision Support and Evidence-Based Patient Care
    • Clinical Information System and Applications
    • Workflow, User-Centered Design, and Implementation
    • Data to Knowledge (Clinical Data Standards)
    • Clinical Information System Lifecycle
    • Management and Organizational Change
    • Practicum Experience
    • Capstone Project Planning
    • Capstone Project Implementation and Evaluations
  • Course Schedule: Year 1

    Fall

    • ACI 6110 - Introduction to Clinical Informatics
      Director: Scott Nelson
      Credits: 3
    • ACI 6111 - Foundations of Health Information Technology
      Director: Jonathan Wanderer & Karen McCarthy
      Credits: 3
    • ACI 6112 - The Health System
      Director: Wing Liu
      Credits: 3
    • ACI 7110 - Practicum Experience- Embedded Experience with Informatics
      Team
      Director: Asli Ozdas-Weitkamp
      Credits: 1
    • ACI 7111 - Capstone Project Planning
      Director: Mhd Wael Alrifai
      Credits: 1

    Spring

    • ACI 6120 - Clinical Decision Support and Evidence- Based Patient Care
      Director: Josh Peterson and Adam Wright
      Credits: 3
    • ACI 6121 - Clinical Information Systems and Applications
      Director: Yaa Kumah-Crystal and Dan Albert
      Credits: 3
    • ACI 6122 - Workflow, User-Centered Design, and Implementation
      Director: Kim Unertl, Laurie Novak, and Shilo Anders
      Credits: 3
    • ACI 7120 - Practicum Experience- Embedded Experience with Informatics
      Team
      Director: Asli Ozdas-Weitkamp
      Credits: 1
    • ACI 7121 - Capstone Project Planning
      Director: Mhd Wael Alrifai
      Credits: 1

    Summer

    • ACI 6130 - Data to Knowledge (Clinical Data Standards)
      Director: Trent Rosenbloom and Asli Ozdas-Weitkamp
      Credits: 2
    • ACI 6131 - Clinical Information System Lifecycle
      Director: Peter Greaves
      Credits: 2
    • ACI 6132 - Management and Organizational Change
      Director: Lynn Brooks
      Credits: 2
  • Course Schedule: Year 2

    Fall

    • ACI 7210 - Practicum Experience Continued
      Director: Asli Ozdas-Weitkamp
      Credits: 1 Fall
    • ACI 7211 - Capstone Project Planning and Evaluations
      Director: Mhd Wael Alrifai
      Credits: 3 Fall

    Spring

    • ACI 7220 - Practicum Experience Continued
      Director: Asli Ozdas-Weitkamp
      Credits: 1 Spring
    • ACI 7221 - Capstone Project Planning and Evaluations
      Director: Mhd Wael Alrifai
      Credits: 3 Spring
  • Course Descriptions

    For full course descriptions, visit the Academic Catalog.

  • Curriculum Outcomes

    After completing the online Master of Science in Applied Clinical Informatics
    courses, students will:

    • Advance in their career as they continue working while obtaining their degree
    • Have a network of connections to national leaders in health informatics
    • Feel comfortable and confident leading and implementing data-driven solutions in their workplace
  • Curriculum Resources

    American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA): Core Competencies for Applied Health Informatics Education at the Master’s Degree Level (white paper)

    AMIA Foundational Domains of Applied Clinical Informatics

    Foundational Domain Titles and Short Descriptions

    DomainNameBrief Description
    F1HealthThe background knowledge of the history, goals, methods, and current challenges of the major health sciences, including human biology, genomics, clinical and translational science, healthcare delivery, personal health, and public health.
    F2Information Science and TechnologyThe background knowledge of the concepts, terminology, methods, and tools of information science and technology for managing and analyzing data, information, and knowledge.
    F3Social and Behavioral ScienceThe background knowledge of the effects of social, behavioral, legal, psychological, management, cognitive, and economic theories, methods, and models applicable to health informatics from multiple levels including individual, social group, and society.
    F4Health Information Science and TechnologyThe knowledge, skills, and attitudes to use concepts and tools for managing and analyzing biomedical and health data, information, and knowledge. Key foci include systems design and development, standards, integration, interoperability, and protection of biomedical and health information.
    F5Human Factors and Socio-technical SystemsThe knowledge, skills, and attitudes to apply social behavioral theories and human factors engineering to better understand the interaction between users and information technologies within the organizational, social, and physical contexts of their lives, and apply this understanding in information system design.
    F6Social and Behavioral Aspects of HealthThe knowledge, skills, and attitudes to use social determinants of health and patient-generated data to analyze problems arising from health or disease, to recognize the implications of these problems on daily activities, and to recognize and/or develop practical solutions to managing these problems.
    F7Social, Behavioral, and Information Science and Technology Applied to HealthThe knowledge, skills, and attitudes to apply the diverse foundational concepts and facets in order to develop integrative approaches to the design, implementation, and evaluation of health informatics solutions.
    F8ProfessionalismThe conduct that reflects the aims or qualities that characterize a professional person, encompassing especially a defined body of knowledge and skills and their lifelong maintenance as well as adherence to an ethical code.
    F9Interprofessional Collaborative PracticeBehavior that reflects the foundations of values/ethics, roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication practices, and interprofessional teamwork for team-based practice.
    F10LeadershipBehavior that demonstrates the following characteristics: credibility, honesty, competence, ability to inspire, and ability to formulate and communicate a vision.

    Domains, Tasks, and Knowledge for Health Informatics Practice: Results of a Practice Analysis (journal article)

    Data visualization: Mapping Clinical Informatics Delineation of Practice (DOP) Knowledge and Task Statements to AMIA domains (via tableau)

Practicum: Turning Ideas into Impact

Join an interdisciplinary team of health professionals addressing a significant clinical informatics challenge.

Beginning with your first semester of MS-ACI, you’ll attend regular team meetings, participate in problem analysis, and implement a multifaceted solution with your team. This practicum can be completed at VUMC, your home institution, or another clinical site.

Over the course of 240 hours across two years (a total of 1 credit hour per semester), you’ll gain exposure to current challenges in the informatics field and prepare to contribute solutions of your own.

Capstone Project: Choose Your Own Adventure

During the final nine months of the program, you’ll tackle an informatics challenge in your own workplace.

With the guidance of a mentor committee, you will identify a project mentor from your sponsor organization and submit a project proposal detailing the challenge and strategy of your work.

You will then lead a diverse team of health professionals to plan, implement, and evaluate your initiative. In doing so, you’ll learn from a Vanderbilt faculty mentor with expertise in the area of your particular challenge while advancing your organization’s agenda in ways that confer immediate value.

At the end of your second year, you will write a report and reflect on the initiative. The capstone project provides you with invaluable hands-on experience that yields tangible outcomes — the MS-ACI program at Vanderbilt has a 100% employment rate.

Take the Next Step

With online clinical informatics courses that seamlessly fit into your busy schedule, you can complete your master’s degree in applied clinical informatics at Vanderbilt University in as little as 21 months. Take the next step by beginning your application today.