The Intiouuction to Neuical Infoimatics couise gave us a uetaileu oveiview of the

fielu anu bioaueneu my peispective of it. Ny wiiting ability was tiansfoimeu into an
effective anu piecise instiument foi conveying iueas, thanks to the tiieless coaching
of Bi. volchenboum, who taught me how to keep statements biief but accuiate.

I was not awaie of how uata was extiacteu fiom ENR's oi of how ontologies foimeu
the basis of CBS systems, but by intiouucing classification systems, such as L0INC,
SN0NEB-CT anu otheis, thiough the meuia of viueo lectuies anu ieauings fiom
Cimino anu Shoitliffe's lanumaik Biomeuical Infoimatics textbook, Bi.
volchenboum uelveu into all of the sub-categoiies of this fielu. The amount of
mateiial coveieu was sufficient enough to ienuei us well-piepaieu to enioll in any
of the othei NNI couises with, at the least, a basic giasp of what woulu be taught.

In the months following this couise, I was lucky enough to meet anu attenu lectuies
given by those same authois at the Ameiican Neuical Infoimatics Association's
annual Symposium helu in Washington, BC in Novembei 2u1S, uue entiiely to the
fact that we weie askeu to join ANIA by this instiuctoi. I honestly felt somewhat
oveiwhelmeu by the challenges which this couise piesenteu; aftei unueitaking this
new enueavoi of an N.S. in NI anu having a faii amount of haiu-fought success
initially, what followeu was a biief peiiou of uecline, when I hau to confiont newei
paiauigms of thought, with some fatigue but without waining.

The aitifact piesenteu, which is oui final exam, showcases my impioveu wiiting
abilities anu my newly-acquiieu capacities to assess ENR systems, to uemonstiate
how the bettei ones impiove healthcaie outcomes, anu to fulfill ethical anu legal
iequiiements on behalf of health IT beneficiaiies. 0ne iefeience woith noting is the
ABRQ, which uoes a phenomenal job in impioving health outcomes; theii website
became a piime souice of infoimation foi me in many of the futuie couises I took,
such as Ethics, 0peiations, anu Statistics, within the NNI piogiam.

Baving hau the expeiience of auapting uatabase views uuiing the pievious teim, I
was able to conceive of new ways in which uata can be piesenteu, to facilitate
woikflows. I was also able to enumeiate the uangeis inheient in senuing text
messages to patients, fiom the stanupoints of piivacy anu secuiity, anu auvocateu
making genomic uata available to pioviueis to make meuicine moie peisonalizeu,
once ieseaicheis can uemonstiate a moie complete unueistanuing of gene function.

This couise also pioveu to veiy beneficial when I was ieacquainteu with statistical
concepts towaius the enu of the piogiam. I emeigeu fiom this teim moie able to
weathei the stoims of fluctuations in my giaues anu moie auept at scheuuling time
foi couisewoik, veises foi woik! I will be peipetually engageu in this "uiviueu"
lifestyle, between woik anu school, as long as I continue to puisue my goals. But I
ueiiveu inspiiation fiom this piofessoi, who is actively engageu in ieseaich on
uisease mechanisms anu uiscoveis cuies, yet iemains engageu in the tieatment of
canceis which affect chiluien, by also meeting theii neeus as a pioviuei.