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Introduction to the Precision Health Program

The Precision Health Program at the University of Calgary is designed to meet the professional development needs of current and future healthcare practitioners across Canada and internationally. This unique program strengthens students' knowledge and skills in Precision Health and supports role integration in areas such as advanced clinical skills, data science, entrepreneurship, organizational leadership, research, education, professional development, and consultation to impact patient, provider, and health system outcomes.

Program Specializations

The Precision Health Program is comprised of a Graduate Certificate in Precision Health, a Graduate Diploma in Precision Health, and a Master of Precision Health with four specializations to choose from:

• Innovation and Entrepreneurship: How to validate and advance innovation, be an entrepreneurial thinker or entrepreneur, and employ change management to bring novel ideas into the clinical domain.
• Quality and Safety Leadership: How to use knowledge in precision health and medicine to design and inform quality and safety initiatives in order to achieve optimal, person-centred outcomes.
• Health Professions Education Leadership: How to use an evidence-based approach to curriculum design, delivery, implementation, and evaluation. How to lead and adapt teaching and assessment practices in response to changing contexts, new research, and advancing technologies.
• Precision Medicine: How to leverage new technologies to guide clinical decision-making. For example, how can genomic markers be used to personalize prescription drugs and dosages? How will health care professionals use AI to support the delivery of care?

Program Pathway and Delivery

This fully online program provides participants with a choice of two separate, educational pathways:

• Option A: Full- or part-time master’s degree
• Option B: Part-time, three-year "laddered" program consisting of stackable graduate credentials:
  • Year 1: Graduate Certificate (Select a specialization)
  • Year 2: Graduate Diploma
  • Year 3: Master of Precision Health: Includes an experiential learning capstone project

Program Curricula

The program is delivered through a combination of live/synchronous online classes, as well as asynchronous deliverables so participants can practice and finetune skills with the support of experts in the field. Live sessions consist of lectures, case study discussions, and real-world examples, and allow you to network with a small cohort of skilled professionals.

Master’s Capstone Projects with Community Partners

Participants work with a community or academic organization on a capstone project that relates to their future career goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is precision medicine?

Precision medicine is an advanced way of practicing medicine that aims to utilize large-scale data and data-informed tools to uncover the unique genetic and physiological characteristics of an individual in order to tailor prevention, diagnostic, and treatment approaches to individuals and communities.

What is precision health?

Precision health is an optimal health outcome driven by precision medicine and education that takes into consideration a person’s genetic, physiological, environmental, and lifestyle factors to provide a person-centered approach for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Who teaches the courses?

Instructors in the program are experienced, accomplished leaders in healthcare, education, and business who are passionate about mentoring participants in the program.

Is there an experiential capstone project?

Participants work with an academic or community partner to complete a project of their choosing.

Is the program online or in-person?

The program is fully online with Zoom classes taking place once a week, often from 5 – 8 PM MT to accommodate working professionals.

Who are the participants?

This online graduate degree is for medical doctors, nurses, administrative leaders, policy makers, researchers, and a wide variety of other industry professionals who want to contribute to the evolution and improvement of healthcare.

How long does the master’s program take to complete?

The part-time master’s program is three years in duration, with summers off. The full-time master’s program is two years in duration, with summers off.

What are the fees for the program?

Tuition information can be found under Cumming School of Medicine. Students are also assessed general fees as listed in the Graduate Calendar.

How do I choose a specialization?

When you apply to the Precision Health Program, you can choose a first and second option out of the four specializations. Determine which specialization is of interest by reviewing each stream’s web page and the course descriptions.

Can I change specializations once in the program?

If you begin the program with MDPR 600: Foundations of Precision Health, you will learn more about the specializations, and can transfer to a different stream (if approval is granted from program leads). Should you decide to switch streams later in your program, additional courses would be required.

I am applying to medical school, can I complete just one year of grad studies?

Yes, the laddered program is designed for those who are only able to commit to one year of studies at a time. Please enroll in the graduate certificate to receive a credential or parchment for your first year.

When are classes scheduled?

Classes are typically held once a week in Zoom, on either Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays between 5 – 8 PM Mountain Time (MT), to accommodate working professionals. These online classes are interactive and collaborative so attendance is highly recommended and/or required to support your success and build a network in your field.

Conclusion

The Precision Health Program at the University of Calgary offers a unique opportunity for healthcare professionals to acquire skills in precision health in a flexible, part-time, blended-online format. The program provides important opportunities for physicians to increase their understanding and skill in precision health and other areas. With its four specializations and fully online delivery, the program is designed to meet the needs of a wide range of healthcare professionals.