Precision Health Program

Precision Health

Leading the Future of Healthcare Innovation

Application Deadline: May 31

 

An Innovative Program in a Growing Field

The Cumming School of Medicine Precision Health Program was 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.

The Precision Health program is offering a program award based on financial need. To apply, please complete this application form and send the completed copies to prehgrad@ucalgary.ca. Eligibility information can be found here.

Program Pathway and Delivery

Each of the Graduate Credentials in Precision Health are cohort-based 12-month programs (with four 3-unit courses in each level), specifically designed to accommodate busy, working professionals. 

Students who successfully complete the certificate with a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher are eligible to apply for admission into the Graduate Diploma in Precision Health. Diploma holders will be eligible to apply for admission into the Master of Precision Health degree and will receive advanced credit for 24 units of coursework completed. Each level of the program is one year long starting in the fall, making it possible to complete the master's degree in three years. 

(See our Academic Calendar for the definition of full-time and part-time status for course-based programs.)

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, all courses in the 2023/2024 year will be delivered with a combination of online synchronous sessions and asynchronous content and discussions using platforms such as Zoom and Desire-2-Learn (the university's learning management system). This will allow students who live outside of Calgary to obtain graduate education at the Cumming School of Medicine while continuing to work.

year 1

Year 1: Graduate Certificate

Select one of the following four specializations:
Precision Medicine
Quality and Safety Leadership
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
or Health Professions Education Leadership

year 2

Year 2: Graduate Diploma

Your second credential is earned by completing four courses:
Health System Leadership
Managing Complex Projects in Precision Health
and two electives of your choice

year 3

Year 3: Master of Precision Health

This final stage includes an experiential learning opportunity, research project, or internship in order to integrate theory, research, application and experience.


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

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. 

>>Learn more

Quality and Safety Leadership

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.

>>Learn more

Health Professions Education Leadership

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. 

>>Learn more

Precision Medicine

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?

>>Learn more

To learn more about the four specializations, register now at the links below:

Quality & Safety Leadership Meeting

with Dr. Ward Flemons, MD
Mon April 8 from 6 – 7 PM MT

Register now

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Meeting

with Dr. Jo-Louise Huq 
Wed April 10 from 6  – 7 PM MT

Register now

Health Professions Education Leadership Meeting

with Kenna Kelly-Turner  
Thurs April 11 from 6 – 7 PM MT

Register now

Precision Medicine Meeting

with Dr. Dave Anderson
Mon April 15 from 6 – 7 PM MT

Register now

"Two important revolutions are going to transform 21st-century healthcare.  First, big data is revealing the nature of human biological complexity both for wellness and disease and the idea that this complexity must be studied at the level of the individual and not the averaged population.  Second, systems approaches are allowing us to translate these big data into fundamental insights about how to treat patients, how to discover biomarkers that will predict the health trajectories of individuals, possible targets for drugs, and finally an understanding of wellness and disease mechanisms.  The Precision Health program at the University of Calgary introduces students to all of these and more.  Were I a young student today, I would find this program irresistible.”

Dr. Leroy Hood, MD, PhD

Chief Strategy Officer | Professor | Institute for Systems Biology

“We are excited about the Precision Health Program because it will provide new opportunities for healthcare professionals to acquire skills in precision health in a flexible, part-time, blended-online format.”

Dr. Geneviève Moineau, MD, FRCPC

President and CEO, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada

The program offers important opportunities for physicians to increase their understanding and skill in precision health and other areas.

Dr. Dawn Hartfield BScMed, MPH, MD, FRCPC,Assistant Registrar, Continuing Competence & Accreditation

College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA)

Precision Health Program Award

Frequently Asked Questions - Precision Health

Precision Health represents a new and innovative approach to the way health care is delivered, which is tailored to a patient's genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.

Note: There are varying definitions for the terms defined in these FAQs, but for the purposes of this program the above definition will be used.

Precision Medicine is the direct application of “big data” molecular biology and computational tools in the clinical context.

Precision medicine focuses on the patient as an individual, rather than one-size-fits-all medicine. This program was built around the concept of co-production of care, which empowers the patient and health care provider to decide collaboratively how best to meet a patient’s needs.

Personalized Medicine is an older term that is synonymous with precision health, but is becoming less popular these days.

Students can only take one specialization at a time.

The Graduate Certificate in Precision Health is part-time and takes one year to complete. This is one course each semester over the four standard semesters (i.e., fall, winter, spring and summer).

Once you have completed the Certificate and have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher, you may choose to continue in the Diploma and then Master's programs.  Each program is part-time, takes one year to complete, and requires completion of one course each semester over  four semesters.

Courses at the certificate, diploma and master's levels will be taught by reputable UCalgary faculty members who are experts in the fields of precision medicine, pharmacogenomics, omics, quality safety leadership, health education, and medical entrepreneurship, etc.

The program is collaboratively delivered by Cumming School of Medicine and Haskayne School of Business faculty members.

High-profile guest speakers will also share their expertise with students. 

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

Stay in touch with the Precision Health Program