CMIH Experiential Learning in Healthcare

CMIH Experiential Learning in Healthcare

A program for undergraduate students with an entrepreneurial interest.

In today’s increasingly complicated and costly healthcare landscape, there is a need and an opportunity for new ideas and approaches to be created and developed to make a fresh impact. We believe students at the University of Arizona can contribute to this field and benefit from such learning experience as they start their own careers. The objective of this new program is to provide undergraduate students with an opportunity to conduct a hands-on, interdisciplinary experiential learning project. Students will build a research or a business prototype that addresses a problem, question, or need in healthcare. They will work in small, interdisciplinary teams of two or three students with at least one member in a healthcare or medical field.  The projects will be data-driven, and leverage data science, AI, or other STEM solutions to solve existing problems. 

Students will receive a $500 stipend and Eller or Honors College credit. Applications will open in October 2024. Check back here. The program start date is January 2025. 

Want to chat and find a teammate? Join the slack and introduce yourself and the project you are in: slack

Topics and Scope

Each year, a specific theme will be chosen. The theme will be broad and fit a variety of projects. Students can propose their problem to solve or can select from a provided list of potential problems.  

2025 Theme: 

The Emergency Department:

Projects addressing problems from the patient, provider, and public perspective.

Eligibility

All University of Arizona undergraduate students will be eligible. Teams with at least one Eller undergraduate student will receive priority. The application process will consist of a one-page proposal describing the problem to be solved and its importance, team members (if known), potential advisors, and prior work done. Projects that extend course work or are complementary to course work are encouraged, however, they have to be separate since credit will be assigned for them. 

Domain experts will serve different roles depending on their availability, ranging from answering questions by email and in person to hosting people for a tour or shadowing. 

ON CAMPUS

Srikar Adhikari, MD, Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine

Dave Biffar, MS, ASTEC, Director of Operations

Expertise: Business Side Simulation in Healthcare; Business Plans, Systems Integration Hospital with Simulation Center; Medical Devices-Company

Zachary Cohen, PhD, Director of the Personalized Treatment Lab, Department of Psychology

Expertise: Precision and Personalized Treatment Approaches in Mental Health, Machine Learning, Digital Therapeutics, Digital Phenotyping/Passive Sensing, Clinical Decision-Making, Clinical Trials, Psychotherapy

Kate Ellingson, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Expertise: Infectious Diseases Epidemiology; Infection Prevention; Healthcare-Associated Infections; Occupational Health

John Galgiani, MD, College of Medicine/Valley Fever Center of Excellence

Expertise: Valley Fever 

Allan Hamilton, MD, ASTEC, Executive Director

Expertise: AI in Healthcare

Brian Hilligoss, PhD, Associate Professor, Eller College of Management 

Expertise: Management and Leadership in Healthcare, Organizational Change, Coordination 

Joanna Katsanis, PhD, College of Medicine, Associate Clinical Professor, Psychiatry

Nell Maltman, PhD, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

Expertise: Autism, Speech/Language, Cognition, Genetics 

Erin McMahon, EdD, CNM, FACNM, Assistant Clinical Professor

Expertise: Midwifery, Maternal Mortality/Morbidity, Triage, Telehealth, Provider Access

Mike Myers, MBA, Eller College of Management 

Expertise: Advertising, Marketing, Consulting, Entrepreneurship, Pharma, Medical Device, Biotech, Market Access

Sudha Ram, PhD, Professor of Management Information Systems 

Expertise: Healthcare Analytics, Mechine Learning, AI Applications in Healthcare 

Sydney Rice, MD, College of Medicine/Department of Pediatrics

Expertise: Outpatient Clinical Care, Children, Disabilities, Autism 

Ritu Pandey, PhD, Associate Research Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, Associate Director Translational Bioinformatics, Center for Biomedical Informatics and Biostatistics

Expertise: Data driven insights, Precision medicine, translational bioinformatics, connecting biomedical data points.

Jennifer WishnieDVM, MSc, MPH, DACVPM, Associate Professor of Practice, College of Veterinary Medicine

Expertise:  Veterinary Public Health, Zoonoses, Antimicrobial Use and Resistance, Food Safety, Policy, Climate Change

John Woolf, PT, ATC, PhD, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program

Expertise: Patient-Centered Care, Relationship-Centered Care

Seokjun Youn, PhD, Management Information Systems

Expertise: Operational Efficiency in Healthcare Delivery Systems; Patient Flow and Healthcare Resource Management; Health IT, Patient Portal, and Online Health Communities; Clinical Practice Variation; Capacity Planning and Scheduling in Healthcare. Data Analytics and Machine Learning

Beth Zerr, PharmD, Department of Pharmacy Practice at the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy

Expertise: Telehealth; Pharmacy; Diabetes; Women's Health; Primary Care; Transitions of Care

OFF CAMPUS

Zachary Brooks, PhD, CEO, UGenome

Hirsch Handmaker, MD, Research Professor of Radiology, UACOM-P, Chairman and CEO, The CACTIS Foundation 

Jared Perkins, CEO, Children's Clinics Tucson

Expertise: Healthcare Administration, Financing and Healthcare Systems 

Ramona Walls, PHD, Executive Director of Data Science, Data Collaboration Center, C-Path Institute 

Expertise: Data Science, Data Management, Standards, Clinical Data, Regulatory Standards, Public Private Partnerships 

Pre-Emergency Department projects:

  • An Arizona wait times website (compare to DMV wait time for emissions testing).
  • Educational chatbots that help decide whether an ED visit is needed.
  • Develop app to connect patients with a telehealth provider to help screen/treat without ED visit.

In the Emergency Department projects:

  • Develop AI-guided triage process. (Domain expert proposed project.
  • Identifying undiagnosed cases of rare disease (e.g., valley fever, others) in the emergency room. (Domain expert proposed project)
  • Screening patients who come to the ER for possible concussion. (Domain expert proposed project)
  • Leverage AI to adjust interactions with doctors for patients with autism. (Domain expert proposed project)
  • Design patient chatbots to guide patients in how to ask questions.
  • Leverage AI to adjust interactions with doctors for patients with autism. (Domain expert proposed project)
  • Develop an AI advocate for patients that explains tests ordered and results of each test as they are completed.
  • Personalized Medication Service

Emergency Department Business Management projects

  • Use AI for better budgeting in the ED.
  • Develop AI tool to predict staffing needs by shift.  
  • Compare business models with contractors in ED and university ED.