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California Consortium for Public Health Informatics and Technology

CCPHIT Information for Employers

Upon completion of the CCPHIT course curriculum, the CCPHIT program will help students connect with partnering employers for paid internship opportunities. The CCPHIT program has current contracts with over 50 community organizations across the state of California for student placements.

About CCPHIT

Our goal is to develop culturally relevant public health informatics and technology curricula through a health equity lens, with multiple tracks that prepare students to meet the needs of public health-related employers. Our program includes California state community colleges, Cal State campuses, and University of California together in complementary roles to form the California Consortium for Public Health Informatics & Technology (CCPHIT) in partnership with health partners, including Departments of Public Health, public health community clinics, and associations. We also engage community-based partners, such as health advocacy organizations, health industry providers, insurers, and technology/service organizations. Two of these key partners are:

  1. Futuro Health, a community-based non-profit that focuses on the largest network of credentialed allied health workers in the nation, and
  2. IEEE, which is at the apex of digital transformation globally, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

Regional health departments and relevant private industry partners are committed to providing paid experiential learning opportunities for participants. CCPHIT can successfully contribute to meeting workforce placements and apply our collective strategies to creating a sustainable, ongoing pipeline of a diverse PHIT workforce to assist in addressing future Public Health challenges. The consortium is 3-tier in its educational institutions with the community colleges as our frontline of engagement with communities. The educational institutions in the consortium will sustain the teaching of the new PHIT courses and motivate other educational institutions outside our consortium to do the same.

Frequently Asked Questions
  • What is our goal?

    Public Health Informatics and Technology (PHIT) training requires labor market data for planning and coordination between educators and employers. As an emerging field and developing occupational area, there is not yet a specific standard occupation classification (SOC) code designated for PHIT workers. The lack of a SOC code means that standard labor market information tools are of limited use in understanding the relevant employment landscape and job skill requirements. To fill this gap, the California Consortium for Public Health Informatics and Technology (CCPHIT) has undertaken a multi-pronged skills scan and labor market assessment with the objective of providing input useful for the design of training and curricula to help students acquire skills relevant to employment in PHIT-related areas.

    It is essential to planning and development for educators to know the skills that employers value. Additionally, the skill sets employers need will change over time as technology and public health needs change. The data-informed strategies developed over the last few years to track and potentially stop the spread of COVID-19 in California and elsewhere highlight how new and faster ways to collect, analyze, consume, and understand data are needed to protect public health. Health professionals have realized that a new type of professional with these skill sets is needed to do this critical work. CCPHIT will help fulfill a growing public health workforce demand and also improve employment options for those attaining a PHIT certificate or degree including students who will contribute to a more diverse public health workforce through their informatics skills and their knowledge of the communities of California.

  • What type of skills do students bring into internships?

    Our students of public health informatics have a wide range of skills that can be useful in internships. Some of the key skills that they possess include:

    • Data analysis and management: Our students are skilled in collecting, analyzing, and managing large data sets. This skill can be useful in internships that involve data analysis and management, such as working with electronic health records or conducting epidemiological research.
    • Technical proficiency: Students have a strong background in technology, including experience with programming languages, database management systems, and data visualization tools. This can be useful in internships that involve working with technology or developing software solutions.
    • Communication: Students are trained in effective communication skills, both written and verbal. This can be useful in internships that involve presenting data, writing reports, or communicating with stakeholders.
    • Project management: Students are often trained in project management skills, including planning, organization, and prioritization. This can be useful in internships that involve managing projects, such as implementing new software systems or conducting a research study.
    • Critical thinking: Public health informatics students are trained to think critically and analytically, which can be useful in internships that involve problem-solving and decision-making.

    CCPHIT students have a wide range of industry applicable skills and can be placed in diverse roles based on your company’s needs.

  • What are the benefits to hiring a CCPHIT student?

    Hiring our public health informatics students for internships is a beneficial decision for both your organization and the student. Public health informatics students possess a unique set of skills, including data analysis, project management, technical proficiency, and effective communication. These skills can be valuable for employers in the healthcare industry seeking specialized skills and cost-effective resources. Internships provide an opportunity to mentor and guide the next generation of leaders in the field and increase diversity in the workplace, leading to more innovative solutions and improved decision-making.

    Internships also offer several benefits for students. They provide an opportunity to apply the skills they have learned in the classroom to real-world projects and challenges, build relationships with professionals in the field, develop new skills and gain experience in areas they may not have been exposed to in the classroom, and improve their employability. Completing an internship demonstrates to future employers that they have practical experience in the field and can make them more competitive in the job market.

  • How is the internship structured?

    The Internship course is designed to provide students with practical work experience in PHIT competencies and domains with a focus on the application of management theories in an actual work setting. Students are to analyze specific healthcare case studies, situations, issues, and research to demonstrate an elevated degree of critical thinking and analysis for effective problem solving, solutions, and decision-making.

    The PHIT Program Director/Instructor, the Internship site manager, and the student will collaboratively create a research project that is a “real-world” assignment of interest to the student and beneficial to the Site by fulfilling and supporting site-specific health information management needs and current industry challenges.

    Upon project approval, the student will create a work plan in which the student will break down the project development and writing phase of the research project into appropriate steps with associated timelines. The work plan will include the identification of resources needed at the various stages within the plan.

    A minimum of 54 hours has been allotted for research and data gathering at the Internship site via face-to-face communication, telecommuting, or virtual work modes. The research at the Site will be used to build the student’s final written capstone project in the last semester of the Public Health Informatics and Technology Certificate of Achievement program, should the student choose that path.

    Throughout the internship, the student will keep a log of his or her activities and hours. At the end of the internship, the student will present their research project to the internship site manager and staff.

    At the end of the course, the site manager will be asked to complete a student evaluation form. The student is taking this experience as an academic course requirement and for a grade.

  • How many students are involved in the program?

    This project is designed to help and work with over 700 diverse students.

  • What is the cost for hiring an intern?

    We have funding up to the end of summer 2025. After that there will be some sort of cost sharing between us and the employer.

  • What are the employer’s expectations for hiring an intern?

    Employers should have a project in mind for the student to complete. There should be an area identified where a student can have a project materialize. Employer’s should tell the student what they want, what their needs are. Finally, employers should set milestones and help students achieve a certain milestone within an existing project.

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