Career: Pharmacist Informatics

PHARMACY INFORMATICIS

• Informatics is the study of the structure, behaviour, and interactions of natural and engineered computational systems.
• Informatics studies the representation, processing, and communication of information in natural and engineered systems. It has computational, cognitive and social aspects. The central notion is the transformation of information - whether by computation or communication, whether by organisms or artifacts.
• Understanding informational phenomena - such as computation, cognition, and communication - enables technological advances. In turn, technological progress prompts scientific enquiry. The science of information and the engineering of information systems develop hand-in-hand. Informatics is the emerging discipline that combines the two.
• In natural and artificial systems, information is carried at many levels, ranging, for example, from biological molecules and electronic devices through nervous systems and computers and on to societies and large-scale distributed systems. It is characteristic that information carried at higher levels is represented by informational processes at lower levels. Each of these levels is the proper object of study for some discipline of science or engineering. Informatics aims to develop and apply firm theoretical and mathematical foundations for the features that are common to all computational systems.

WHO IS PHARMACY INFORMATICIST

Computer Geek!!

TO BECOME PHARMACY INFORMATICIST?

One must first complete a pharmacy program to become a licensed Pharmacist with a Pharm.D.
Formal trainingis then needed to enhance the technology/information knowledge.

This can be accomplished in several ways

RESIDENCIES

If the Pharmacist feels that he/she already hashigh levels of skill and training in computertechnology, then going straightinto a Pharmacy Informatics Residency would be suggested.

1. The residencyshould instruct the Pharmacist in areas of information technology.
2. Theresident should gain experience with multiple levels of computer systems,internet and Web construction and design, multimedia applications, databaseconstructions, as well as exposure to different pharmacy systems currentlyavailable.
3. The Resident should not be used as a webmaster or any othertechnology maintenance that could be handled by a secretary or normal computerstaff personnel.
4. The most important aspect of the residency should be study.
5. The resident should be given ample projects that require study intoinformation technology.
6. This should enhance understanding of informaticsfrom its roots and develop the skills needed to help design systems at futurejobs..

NEED A COMPUTER DEGREE?

If the Pharmacist feels that he/she has little knowledge of computer systems,then formal training in computer sciences is to be suggested.

• While thisroute is much longer, it will provide the foundation of knowledge needed toboost the Pharmacist to the level needed to understand informationtechnology. The degree should be directly related to computers, such as acomputer science C.S., or computer engineering C.E.
• A degree incomputer science should be the most appropriate.
• Once this training hasbeen completed, the Pharmacist should seriously consider continuing into aresidency as suggested above..

Editorial Note:

Pharmacist Informatics = Computer Geek
(Added: 2-Oct-2005 Rating: 6.25 Votes: 4) Rate It
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