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Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Appl Clin Inform 2025; 16(03): 583-588
DOI: 10.1055/a-2547-5208
State of the Art/Best Practice Paper

Surveying the Efficacy of an Open Access Biomedical Informatics Boot Camp

Skyler D. Resendez
1   Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States
,
Gillian Franklin
1   Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States
,
Crystal Tomlin
1   Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States
,
Rachel Stephens
1   Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States
,
Heather Maness
2   Center for Instructional Technology and Training, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States
,
Srikar Chamala
3   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States
4   Department of Pathology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States
,
Ross Koppel
1   Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States
5   Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
,
Peter L. Elkin
1   Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States
6   Department of Veterans Affairs, Knowledge Based Systems and WNY VA, Buffalo, New York, United States
› Author Affiliations
Funding This work has been supported in part by grants from NIH NLM T15LM012495, R25LM014213, NIAAA R21AA026954, R33AA0226954, and NCATS UL1TR001412. This study was funded in part by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a biomedical informatics boot camp with regard to improving the skill sets of its participants.

Methods

The University at Buffalo hosts a free, virtual biomedical informatics boot camp annually. Lectures covering various subject matters are offered, for example, general programming, machine learning, natural language processing, and clinical decision support. Once the 2023 boot camp had concluded, an anonymous voluntary survey was distributed.

Results

Seventy percent of the survey respondents indicated that they agreed that their expectations were met. Eighty-two percent of the respondents indicated that our JupyterHub and the associated educational coding materials are useful tools for learning. Free response answers showed a desire for additional hands-on courses over theoretical lectures.

Conclusion

The results were overwhelmingly positive. Most respondents felt they had expanded upon their knowledge of informatics. The study also pointed out challenges, including keeping difficulty levels appropriate for an audience with diverse educational backgrounds.

Keywords

education - clinical informatics - consumer health informatics - professional training - informatics specialists

Protection of Human and Animal Subjects

We submitted our work for ethical consideration by the Univeristy at Buffalo Institutional Review Board, who informed us that our study is considered a QI project and does not fit under the auspices of IRB approval requirements. Surveys were entirely anonymous and optional.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 17 October 2024

Accepted: 11 February 2025

Accepted Manuscript online:
28 February 2025

Article published online:
25 June 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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