The University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, through its Library and Information Science Program, offers individuals interested in this career the Medical Librarianship/Medical Informatics Specialization as part of its 36-credit Master of Library and Information Science [MLIS] degree. The specialization provides an opportunity for those interested in careers in medical informatics and medical libraries, fast-growing professions with employment opportunities in hospitals, academic medical centers, health care systems, Federal, state, and local government, corporations, nursing homes, and public and school libraries and other information resource centers. In addition to a focus on medical libraries and knowledge-based information in the clinical and research setting, some students may specialize in medical informatics or consumer and patient health information sources and services.

The intent of this graduate education program is to orient prospective health information professionals to the theory, methodology, and practice of medical information management (including but not limited to medical librarianship). The SIS curriculum is designed to support the concept that medical librarians and medical information managers are team players in the integrated information environments characteristic of modern medicine. The curriculum also supports study into the nature of health and medical information, and the traditional and the electronic means by which such information is organized, stored, and retrieved.

The Library and Information Science Program seeks students with diverse educational work and backgrounds. Any undergraduate degree and major is acceptable, but backgrounds in science, health sciences (including first professional degrees in the health sciences such as the BSN, BPharm, etc.), the human services, and computer/information science, will be given preference for the Medical Informatics/Medical Librarianship specialization.

SPECIAL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR MEDICAL LIBRARIANSHIP CAREER TRACK

Preference for admission to the Medical Librarianship Career Track will be given to those who present evidence of the following:

[1] Undergraduate degree in health sciences, science, social science, or human services (preferred);

[2] Experience in health care or social services or medical librarianship (preferred);

[3] Verified access to at least one medical or hospital library in (or physically accessible near) their place of residence (required);

[4] evidence of a least a workshop or, preferably, an undergraduate course in medical terminology (required); can be completed after acceptance, but prior to matriculation).

Please Note:

• A special half-day Health Sciences cohort meeting will be held during the Fall and Spring FastTrack cohort weekends;
• A limit of ten (10) students will be admitted to this track in each cohort;
• Five (5) additional slots will be held in the LIS 2585 (Health Consumer Resources and Services) and LIS 2587 (Applications in Medical Informatics) FastTrack classes for students who are enrolled in ALA-accredited MLIS programs in universities that do not offer ANY coursework in health sciences (nb: these students will transfer the six credit hours earned in these two FastTrack classes to their home institutions).

WHAT ABOUT THE JOB MARKET?

Graduates of the SIS program work in hospitals, academic medical centers, the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries, Veterans Affairs hospitals, other Federal libraries, for state and local government agencies, and in public libraries as consumer health specialists. Standards for the accreditation of healthcare organizations call for qualified health information professionals in every institution; the market appears particularly good for those who have a science or health sciences degree, good computing and telecommunications skills, strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work as a team player, who are geographically mobile, and who specialize in medical informatics and/or medical librarianship during their graduate work in library and information science.

SEQUENCE OF COURSEWORK

May Cohort

August Cohort