Required Courses

The following courses are required to complete the Leadership in Health Information Technology for Health Professionals certificate.

NURS 5115 Interdisciplinary Healthcare Informatics (Credits: 3)

Method of Delivery: Web-based

Examine the implications of informatics for practice, including nursing, public health, and healthcare in general. Describe the role of standards to build a national electronic health record, including vocabularies and classification systems and health record architecture. Discuss issues associated with implementing an electronic health record/ management information system. Apply functional requirements and ethical, legislative, and political issues to a use case. Explore global and future informatics issues. Alternative service learning projects available such as analyzing workflow in an agency and recommending changes or analyzing EHR training needs.

NURS 5611 Database Principles for Healthcare (Credits: 2)

Method of Delivery: Web-based

Principles of database theory, modeling, design, and manipulation of databases will be introduced, taught with a healthcare applications emphasis. Students will be able to critically evaluate database query methods and results, and understand their implications for healthcare.

NURS 6105 System Analysis and Design (Credits: 3)

Method of Delivery: Web-based

Examine the role of the informatician in an interprofessional team for analysis and design of information systems. Integrates concepts and theories of systems analysis, system life cycle, project management, system requirements, human factors, and evaluation of effective use of health information systems. Examples of assignments: working with a clinical agency to analyze workflow for a use case in preparation for implementing an EHR.

NURS 7051 Data Science for Healthcare (Credits: 2)

Method of Delivery: Web-based

This course builds understanding of data science and analytics for use in healthcare, explores concepts of clinical intelligence and the learning health system, and introduces data science methods and analytical skills to evaluate healthcare quality and outcomes.

NURS 7105 Knowledge Representation & Interoperability (Credits: 2)

Method of Delivery: Web-based

Examines conceptual and operational aspects of knowledge representation structures in nursing and health care, including standards and interoperability. Students relate representation of data and information in the electronic health record and critically analyze issues for interoperability. Stakeholder values and ethical issues of knowledge representation are explored. Assignments include looking at specific populations, data sources, and data mapping.

NURS 7108 Population Health Informatics (Credits: 2)

Method of Delivery: Web-based

Examine standards, interoperability, and integration of information systems for population health. Analyze population health use cases for potential benefits and legal, ethical, and practical issues related to the development of population health information systems. Students select a use case and analyze multiple data sources and how these can be integrated to example factors influencing a population health condition.

NURS 7113 Clinical Decision Support (Credits: 2)

Method of Delivery: Web-based

Examine principles and concepts of knowledge management and decision making for support of clinical practice. Design a clinical decision support intervention and examine the legal, ethical, and practical issues related to its implementation and maintenance of CDS interventions. Students partner with clinical, public health, or industry partners to evaluate specific types of clinical decision, the data structure, and recommend specific types of CDS tools for improving decision making.

Additional electives available if desired

Course Equivalency Petitions

The Course Equivalency Petition form (pdf) is for prospective and admitted/current students who would like an exemption from or substitute for a curricular course based upon previous coursework or experience. A separate form must be used for each course requirement you want evaluated. All requests must include:

  • An unofficial copy of relevant transcript(s) (no APAS reports)
  • A copy of the syllabus or course description from the school where the course was or will be taken
  • Course Equivalency Petitions will be reviewed once a student is admitted

In some instances, the evaluation could take up to 4 weeks so please plan accordingly. Please send forms and supporting documentation to nursecerts@umn.edu via email attachment or via fax: 612-625-7727 or send materials by mail to:

U of MN School of Nursing – OSCAS
2-139 Weaver-Densford Hall
308 Harvard Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455