Student Spotlight: Anamul Preetom

Anamul Preetom

Anamul Preetom combined his knowledge of healthcare and IT as a student before deciding to pursue a Master’s in Health Informatics from USF Health.

A Bull throughout his academic career, Preetom received his Bachelor’s in Biomedical Science from the University of South Florida while working for the university’s IT department. Originally aspiring to be a medical school student, by the time he’d graduated Preetom wondered if that was still the right path for him. It was a fork in the road for the direction of his life.

“I did not want to make a $200,000 decision without feeling confident about it,” Preetom said. “Because health IT combines my greatest passions and there are a lot of routes I can follow with my career, I decided this was a good option. I am planning on working for a year or two and may even consider pursuing a PhD, medical school, or even an MBA depending on the future.”

His choice for health IT was also based on the impact Preetom believes he can still have on healthcare. After his undergrad, he took time to consider various graduate programs, eventually deciding to stay with USF as the online health informatics program allowed him the freedom to pursue both of his passions and to work toward improving healthcare on a greater scale.

“It’s an exciting time for health IT,” Preetom said. “I personally am a huge believer that blockchain will revolutionize many aspects of the way we store and share data. Especially between larger healthcare organizations, there is a serious problem in regard to lack of interoperability and also information blocking. Blockchain or distributed ledger technology allows for a consortium of organizations to share data in a safe and secure manner without any questioning of the source or provenance of the data.”

Preetom’s technical background, while still important, was not his primary focus when looking at what he would get out of a graduate program. Instead, courses such as e-Healthcare ethics and Managerial Communications were instrumental in developing the way he thinks about his own role in terms of professionalism and ethics.

Preetom also took advantage of his student status this past spring by attending HIMSS19 in Orlando as a program assistant. This year’s show was his first and left him inspired as he looks forward to what comes next in his own work.

“This was my first time at HIMSS and it was one of the best opportunities I’ve had throughout my studies,” Preetom said. “Being able to attend the entire 5-day event exposed me to everything that is up and coming in the Health IT field. Volunteering for one of the largest Health IT conferences in the world, I was surrounded by Health IT executives, doctors, nurses, technologists – you name it. I’ve made many connections who I believe I will be in touch with for life. I was able to sit in for many of the lectures that physicians paid thousands of dollars to hear. I’m already looking forward to next year!”

One fact any attendee walks away from HIMSS having realized is the sheer size and reach of health IT as an industry. For Preetom, the conference put in perspective just how diverse and vital to healthcare this relatively small field is.

In his own work, Preetom is a Software Support Technician for an EHR vendor. He left the conference with a new understanding of his own field having attended sessions on the current status of goals laid out in the 21st Century Cures Act and how Medicare is supporting interoperability efforts.

“There were several sessions that I attended that I have since applied to my own work,” Preetom said. “For example, there were great sessions on Medicare promoting interoperability reporting. These sessions broke down what each measure is looking for and why. They explained what measures are being changed and what the overall vision is. Prior to this, I knew what the software I support was looking for in the measures and have a general idea of why. But since then, I am able to explain to our clients what the purpose of the measure is in detail and why they have to do it in a specific way.”

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Academic Calendar

Spring I – 2025

Application DeadlineDecember 20, 2024
Start DateJanuary 13, 2025
End DateMarch 9, 2025

Spring II – 2025

Application DeadlineFebruary 21, 2025
Start DateMarch 10, 2025
End DateMay  4, 2025

Summer I – 2025

Application DeadlineApril 18, 2025
Start DateMay 5, 2025
End DateJune 29, 2025

SUMMER II – 2025

Application DeadlineJune 13, 2025
Start DateJune 30, 2025
End DateAugust 24, 2025

FALL I – 2025

Application DeadlineAugust 8, 2025
Start DateAugust 25, 2025
End DateOctober 19, 2025

FALL II – 2025

Application DeadlineOctober 3, 2025
Start DateOctober 20, 2025
End DateDecember 14, 2025

Spring I – 2026

Application DeadlineDecember 19, 2025
Start DateJanuary 12, 2026
End DateMarch 8, 2026

Spring II – 2026

Application DeadlineFebruary 20, 2026
Start DateMarch 9, 2026
End DateMay 3, 2026

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