Clinical Informatics Fellowship

Clinical Informatics (CI) is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field dedicated to the study of biomedical data, knowledge, and information technology (IT) and its application to the delivery of health care. The critical role of clinicians trained in informatics is recognized as integral to the success of our health systems and our national health agenda. Physician informaticians are uniquely equipped to direct optimal implementation of health information technology and its use in clinical care delivery and continuous quality improvement. Expansion of the clinical informatics workforce and development of leadership at local and national levels are priorities and the demand for informatics expertise continues to grow as our healthcare system evolves.  The University of Virginia Clinical Informatics Fellowship Program gives physicians the knowledge, experience, and tools to pursue careers as leaders in this emerging field.

Our program was ACGME-accredited in 2017 and is based in our Department of Pediatrics and the Division of Biomedical Informatics in the Department of Public Health Sciences.  Physicians who are board-certified or board-eligible in any medical specialty are welcome to apply.  Our past and current fellows work in general pediatrics, emergency medicine, and pulmonary and critical care medicine.

The CI training program is 2 years long. CI differs from more traditional fellowship programs in that, rather than developing expertise in a specific field of medicine, trainees develop expertise in domains that are relevant across care settings. The curriculum is focused on developing knowledge of the health system, health information systems, and applied informatics.  Fellows also develop leadership skills as they put their informatics work into practice.

The UVa CI Fellowship Program consists of didactic work, rotations, and targeted experiential learning.  Didactics include courses in biomedical informatics, clinical information systems, clinical decision support, and SQL programming.  Fellows are trained in Epic Physician Build.

The Core Longitudinal CI Rotation forms the “backbone” of the CI fellowship program. This 2-year longitudinal assignment allows the CI fellow to practice clinical informatics with mentorship and supervision appropriate to the fellows’ level of knowledge and skill, to provide educational experiences that would not be as well-suited to block rotations. Other rotations include Introduction to Health System Information Technology, Clinical Decision Support, Analytics and Reporting, and Telemedicine.

Fellows are integrated into our informatics team, our HIT team, and into their medical specialty area and actively participate and learn from ongoing CI experiences including IT planning, implementation, and maintenance activities; participation in communication and decision-making through standing committees; serving as a liaison and consultant to clinicians and IT personnel; teaching medical students and clinicians about clinical informatics; assisting with IT user training, and working with our quality and safety team.

Our next application cycle will be in the Fall of 2025 for the July 2026 incoming fellowship class.