healthcare system, automating document circulation in medical facilities, developing
software for medical purposes, creating electronic health records, etc.
R. Nelson states that today MI possesses a set of features to be called a specialty.
In particular, they include publishing MI books and textbooks, establishing scientific
journals on MI theoretical and practical problems, holding MI scientific conferences,
founding MI professional organizations, introducing educational programs of MI
professional training and initiating their accreditation [29]. In addition, MI as a
specialty has a developed system of professional competencies and an adopted code of
MI professional ethics at the international level. MI professional education also
undergoes quality control procedures in the form of MI specialist certification both
internationally and nationally [22]
However, a number of factors impede the full-scale development of MI as a
specialty in the system of higher education. The list of challenges faced by MI
education include insufficient funding, inadequate penetration of information
technology into medicine in countries with poor economics, medical staff’s reluctance
and unwillingness to global technical changes in the healthcare system. In our opinion,
one of the factor having an adverse impact on the development of MI as a specialty in
the system of higher education is the absence of MI profession description in the
international and national standard occupational classifications.
The mentioned-above evidence leads us to the conclusion that MI as a specialty
exists de facto, while information about MI in standard occupational classifications is
absent de jure. Naturally, MI professionals express concern about such a situation as
there is insufficient data on the number of MI workforce and their employment status.
The absence of MI occupation description also affects MI education financing and
causes authorities’ inadequate attention to training competent MI professionals and
teaching staff. Therefore, higher education institutions frequently meet challenges
connected with introducing MI professional training programs that would take into
account all aspects of MI specialists’ professional activity and employers’ expectations
of their proficiency.
For these reasons, non-governmental professional organizations are the first to
conduct studies on the state of MI specialty development for its official recognition
and further popularization. One of the illustrative examples is a request of the American
MI workforce’s representatives to U.S. Standard Occupational Classification Policy
Committee Chair in 2014. This initiative proposed to include a new standard
occupational classification for MI practitioner. It recommended two ways for this
occupation coding. The first one was preferred and it advised to classify a MI
professional under a broad category Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Occupations. An alternative way proposed to reside this occupation under category
Computer and Information Analyst [31].
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