My most heart-felt congratulations to 2011’s first graduates of ONC’s national Community College Consortia Health IT workforce training program!

You are at the forefront of a movement that will improve the way health care is delivered nation-wide. The evidence shows that health information technology (health IT) has the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of care. In addition, health IT can play a significant role in improving patient outcomes and overall population health. However, in order to get the most out of health IT now, and in the years to come, we need a skilled, dedicated health IT workforce. That’s where you come in!

As specially trained health IT professionals, you will facilitate the adoption and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs); convey the value of EHRs and the benefits of providers and hospitals meaningfully using health IT; educate users of EHRs about privacy and security protections; and foster health information exchange.

The Timing Couldn’t Be Better

Health care providers and hospitals across the nation are increasingly transitioning from paper to EHRs. Your expertise and skills, and the training you have received through the Community College Consortia Program, will be critical to facilitating this transition. Many of you have years of professional experience already, and now have the additional, specialized training to successfully perform in the following six critical health IT workforce roles:

• Practice workflow and information management redesign specialists
• Clinician/practitioner consultants
• Implementation support specialists
• Implementation managers
• Technical/software support
• Trainers

Recruiting Our Graduates

This month, the Health IT Buzz Blog featured a series of blog posts from each of the five regions of the Community College Consortia Program showcasing the high-caliber students enrolled in health IT programs at our member colleges.

Employers such as health care facilities, consulting agencies, and software companies that are interested in recruiting our students are encouraged to contact the member community college in their region. Our website also offers helpful resources for recruiting our students.

ONC is excited for the students who will be moving into promising new careers, for the health care providers who will have qualified staff to guide them through the transition to health IT, and for all the patients who stand to benefit from the increased quality and safer care made possible by health IT.

Looking to the Future

We would also like to take a moment to encourage current health care and IT workers seeking a career in the growing field of health IT, and an opportunity to play a vital role in improving the health of the nation, to check out whether the Community College Consortia Program might be the right opportunity for you!

For More Information

Visit the ONC website at http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/community-college-consortia.

Be sure to also check out the recent blog posts from the Community College Consortia leads in Regions A, B, C, D, and E, to learn more about our exceptional students!

Interested in hearing what our students think of the program? Read our student testimonials.

We want to hear from you! Feel free to comment below and let us know what you think of this blog post.