CREATE Training Program in Medical Informatics: Preparing Canada's Workforce for Health Data of Tomorrow

数字健康正在改变加拿大人获得医疗保健的方式，改变临床工作流程，同时为计算科学提供独特的机会，彻底改变健康和业务决策。虽然七国集团政府将在2020年重点关注这一主题，特别是数字卫生协作对进步的核心作用，但COVID-19大流行的前所未有的影响表明，迫切需要了解数据的重要性及其对决策的解释。在加拿大和世界解决从人口和资源的高级别政策到患者结果的日常预测分析等问题时，信息学和计算科学方面熟练的劳动力准备，以及必要的卫生数据及其应用背景至关重要。当前大流行病的一线希望可能在于加拿大正在投资资源，以准备我们的集体应对措施，并得到数据的关键帮助。虽然人工智能和信息学在快速分析下一代大规模数据方面显示出巨大的希望，但由于健康数据的独特性，未来的工作人员将需要高度专业化的培训。加拿大信息和通信技术委员会预计，到2023年，对具有计算科学专业知识的熟练工人的需求将达到30万。其中12万美元将用于健康和生物技术，这是未来经济的六大创新领域之一。为了在新的就业市场中打造成功的职业生涯，我们CREATE项目中的HQP不仅要学习计算机和信息学方面的最新技术，还要培养对健康数据环境的深度和广度的理解，以及灵活的方法，使他们能够在这样一个快速变化的环境中保持当前的状态。我们与医学信息学领域的主要利益相关者合作，并通过解决问题、体验式学习和专业成长方面的创新来补充技术培训。为了巩固加拿大在全球领域的竞争优势，我们共同努力培养具有多学科经验的计算机科学家，并与包括妇女、黑人和土著社区、受过国际教育的专业人士、职业转型人士和残疾人在内的不同群体合作。

Digital health is transforming the way Canadians access health care, altering clinical workflows while providing unique opportunities for computing sciences to revolutionize health and operational decision making. While G7 governments were set to focus on this topic in 2020, specifically on the Centrality of Digital Health Collaboration to Progress, the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the critical need to understand the significance of data and its interpretation for decision making. As Canada and the world tackle questions ranging from high level policies on population and resources to day-to-day predictive analysis of patient outcomes, skilled workforce preparedness in informatics and computing sciences with necessary context in health data and its application is vital. The silver lining of the current pandemic may lie in resources that Canada is investing to prepare our collective response, critically aided by data. While AI and informatics show great promise in rapid analysis of next-generation large scale data, future workers will require highly specialized training due to the unique nature of health data. Information and Communications Technology Council of Canada projects demand for >300K skilled workers with expertise in computational sciences by 2023. Of those, >120K will contribute to health and biotechnology, one of six innovation areas of the future economy. To forge successful careers in the new job market, HQP in our CREATE program will not only learn state of the art in computing and informatics, but also develop a depth and breadth of understanding of the health data context and a flexibility in approach that allows them to stay current in such a rapidly changing setting. We partner with key stakeholders in medical informatics, and complement technical training with innovations in problem solving, experiential learning and professional growth. To solidify Canada's competitive advantage in the global space, we contribute to concerted efforts to train computer scientists with multidisciplinary experience and by engaging diverse groups including women, Black and Indigenous communities, internationally-educated professionals, those transitioning careers, and persons with disabilities.