SHRS Blog

It’s the New Year, a time when many resolve to eat healthier, be more active, or lose weight. Motivation soars as we reflect over the past year and set our intentions for the next year. However, as the daily grind sets in and time goes on, intentions often fade and we find ourselves back to old habits. To help you stick to your goals this year try these 5 simple strategies.

I am thrilled to introduce our newest core faculty member for the Advanced Practice Provider Leadership Certificate Course co-sponsored by the UPMC Office of Advanced Practice Providers and the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences—Kathryn Reed, PA-C. Kathryn is an assistant professor and vice chair for Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. 

Here’s your inside scoop for all-things having to do with the Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) certification! The ATP certification is managed by the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA). Per the RESNA website, “the ATP certification recognizes demonstrated competence in analyzing the needs of consumers with disabilities, assisting in the selection of appropriate assistive technology for the consumers' needs and providing training in the use of the selected devices.” 

Pitt’s Health Informatics program in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences is a perfect intersection of medicine, technology and business. The undergraduate program offers students a comprehensive education focused on health care data science. One of the biggest misconceptions about the field of health informatics is that it’s only for students who excel at computer programming and technology, but this is far from the truth! 

If you’re reading this and already in the field, no doubt you consider yourself to be at least one, if not all, of the following: a problem solver, creative, an innovator, tenacious, empathic and a change-maker. Most likely, you’ve had to forge your own path as assistive technology can be very complex, a bit niche and it may not have as clear-cut a pathway as other health care or technology professions.

When you study health informatics with Valerie Watzlaf, you learn from one of the leaders in the field. Not only has she conducted extensive research across the discipline, but she has also led at the national level, serving a three-year board term and as president in 2019 of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) which represents over 100,000 HIM professionals.