Curriculum and Courses
Refer to the Academic Catalog for a complete description of program requirements and transfer rules.
Click one of the following links for more information about the HIM curriculum and courses:
Curriculum
Course Sequence
HIM Course Descriptions
Cognate Courses
Curriculum
Download the Student Worksheet (pdf) for a simple course checklist.
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Course Sequence
Download the Recommended Course Sequence
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HIM Course Descriptions
Required HIM courses:
SHIM 201. Understanding Healthcare Organizations (3) Introduction to origins and evolution of current healthcare delivery systems and organizational structures, healthcare terminology and language structures, common usage, acronyms, and basics uses of information in a variety of healthcare settings. Topics also include introduction to levels of information users and information needs within a variety of healthcare organizations. Prerequisite: SCSC 138, SIMS 201, or consent.
SHIM 250. Department Administration in the Healthcare Setting (3) Students learn the management skills necessary to lead a healthcare department. Emphasis is placed on communication and problem-solving as they relate to human resources, quality assurance, finance, budgeting and reimbursement. Prerequisite: Junior standing.
SHIM 301. Healthcare Information Systems (3) Introduction to healthcare information systems includes management and administration systems, clinical information systems, business information systems in education and emergent system applications. Particular emphasis is placed on automation required for emerging “paperless” environment and computer-based records. Prerequisite: SHIM 201 or consent.
SHIM 302. Information Trends in Healthcare Systems (3) Data, knowledge and information structures, terminological control, index language functions, regulatory determinants of data collected/stored (ex. JCAHO/HIPAA, etc.) including study of language development in healthcare systems evolution. Prerequisite: SHIM 301 or consent.
SHIM 412. Ethics & Risk Management in Healthcare Information Systems (3) Selected ethical issues, confidentiality, preservation of sensitive data, data maintenance and integrity preservation. Prerequisite: SPHL 211,310,311, or 321 and SHIM 302 or consent.
SHIM 413. Network Applications for Healthcare Information Systems (3) Students explore various network configurations and functions in healthcare systems. Emphasis is placed on the study of the latest developments and applications in electronic health records (EHR) and the implementation of the EHR in several healthcare settings. Prerequisite: SHIM 301 or consent of instructor.
SHIM 450. Healthcare Database Systems and Information Retrieval (3) Database formats and structures, query techniques, document classification, managing large data collections, statistical applications in data management. Emphasis is placed on the discovery of methods to capture data as an important institutional resource through efficient management of databases and data repositories, and on the importance of data collections that provide accurate outcome assessment. Prerequisite: SIMS 421.
SHIM 498. Professional Practice Experience (3) HIM students will complete a supervised professional practice in an acute-care facility or other healthcare related organization. The student’s course of study will be reflective of current issues/topics related to the field of healthcare information management. Students will complete a planned program of observation, study and work in selected healthcare facilities. Students will have an opportunity to apply and articulate what they have learned in the classroom. Prerequisite: IMS/HIM major, senior standing, and approval of instructor.
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Cognate Courses
The cognate consists of required and elective courses selected by the student with concurrence of the advisor. The HIM curriculum provides several choices for the IT electives as shown below.
Required IT Core Courses:
- SIMS 303 Organizational Informatics
- SCSC 315 Networking Technology
- SCSC 325 Fundamentals of Relational Databases
- SIMS 415 E-Commerce and the Internet
- SIMS 421 Data Warehousing
- SIMS 441 IT Project Management
- SIMS 450 Executive IT Management
- SIMS 499 Senior Seminar
- SPSY 225 Psychological Statistics
Pick 4 of the following IT Electives:
- SIMS 201 Concepts of IMS
- SIMS 211 Microcomputer Organization
- SIMS 305 Social Informatics
- SIMS 345 Technical Presentation
- SIMS 346 Communication & New Technology
- SIMS 347 Webpage Design
- SHIM 417 Information Security
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