I was very pleased to see the September/October 2003 CIN Special Report: Education and Networking in Nursing Informatics. This information is extremely valuable to the ongoing development of the nursing informatics specialty. By way of update to the Report information, I wanted to share that the University of Arizona College of Nursing has made some very significant changes to its healthcare informatics program, which we have begun to implement this Fall. The University of Arizona College of Nursing now provides advanced education in healthcare informatics at master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels. Our informatics programs reflect the College's long-standing tradition of research, theory, and intellectual rigor. All informatics programs are dedicated to the preparation of healthcare informatics experts who are sophisticated innovators within today's rapidly changing and information-intensive healthcare environment.

Master's and Post-Master's Certificate programs prepare Healthcare Informatics Specialists for challenging new roles in diverse healthcare environments. Program graduates are prepared to:

* Use theory and conceptual models to analyze healthcare environments to determine clinical and administrative decision support requirements and

* Access and utilize existing data sets for evaluation purposes.

Design databases for management of healthcare information.

Provide leadership in conceptualization, design, implementation, and evaluation of healthcare information systems.

Evaluate the effectiveness of healthcare information systems to support data, information and knowledge requirements to improve client and organizational outcomes.

Doctoral (PhD) and postdoctoral programs prepare Healthcare Informatics Scientists. Individualized programs of study provide an opportunity for research program development and implementation in the field of healthcare informatics under the guidance of expert faculty mentors. Program graduates are prepared to

Critique, generate, test, and disseminate healthcare informatics knowledge.

Conduct original theory-based research in healthcare informatics using diverse methodological and statistical approaches.

Engage in high-level scholarly discourse regarding development and dissemination of healthcare informatics science.

Provide leadership in the development of the healthcare informatics specialty through interdisciplinary collaboration and policy development.

I appreciate the opportunity to share current information about the University of Arizona College of Nursing's Healthcare Informatics Programs. Additional program information is available through the College of Nursing Web site at: http://www.nursing.arizona.edu.