Women's self-identified source of student support in a master's-level health informatics database course

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20247186

This study examined the supports that female students sought out and found of value in an online database design course in a health informatics masters program. A target outcome was to help inform the practice of faculty and administrators in similar programs. Health informatics is a growing field that has faced shortages of qualified workers who understand the business, health care, and technical issues involved. Educating new workers has in part meant teaching clinicians (including many nurses) a cluster of new skills surrounding the collection, storage, retrieval, communication and optimal use of health related data, information and knowledge for the purposes of problem solving, decision making and assuring highest quality health care (Hovenga, Kidd, Garde, & Hullin Lucay Cossio, 2010, p. 9). The online database design course examined in this research was the first induction into this cluster of skills. Seven alumni were interviewed in depth about their challenges and sources of support. These were analyzed with Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2004) using a lens of the Social Cognitive Career Theory of Lent, Brown, and Hackett (1994, 2002). Four themes emerged: comparing herself to others, not showing weakness, internal motivation, and peer support. Participants were challenged by feeling that they were less prepared or skilled than others, which led them to believe that their brains werent wired this way. Peer support was a particularly strong contribution to success, as well as the self-motivation of the participants. Recommendations include structuring the course (and possibly a sequence of courses) to encourage the formation of peer groups that will provide support.