Health Informatics student to represent Temple at annual conference

For Amulya Boyana (she goes by Amy), it’s been a whirlwind year. When she came from her home in India to Philadelphia for the College of Public Health’s master of science in health informatics program, it was the first time she’d stepped onto a plane. Then, not long into her first semester, the graduate student applied to work at the Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). She got the job.

“I’m just so excited – it’s my first time in the U.S. and my first semester in the program,” she says. “The department has been very encouraging and supportive.”

As a program assistant, Boyana will be one of several hundred student volunteers supporting HIMSS staff in various aspects of the event, which expects to hosts more than 40,000 health information professionals. HIMSS will cover the cost to attend the conference and Temple’s department of Health Services Administration and Policy is sponsoring her travel to the event in Orlando, Florida.

“We are excited to have Amy represent the Masters of Science in Health Informatics program,” says Thomas Martin, an assistant professor, and director of the health informatics program. “As an event and member-focused organization, HIMSS continues to offer unique opportunities for our students.”

Boyana will also write a blog during the conference sharing her experiences—of working the event, attending presentations, and meeting others in the field—with her fellow students. About 60 graduate students in the Department of Health Services Administration and Policy hold HIMSS membership, a benefit of the college’s institutional membership.

“This will be the first time I’ve written a blog, too, so Dr. Martin will be a big help with that, and I’m excited to share my experience with other students,” she says.

Health informatics is a quickly growing field that uses data science—the mathematics and computer science of gathering, storing, analyzing, and manipulating vast amounts of data—to improve outcomes for patients, providers, and administrators. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that jobs in health informatics-related fields are expected to grow 23 percent through 2022, with median salaries starting at $80,000.