Introduction to Programming for Clinicians

Objective

The objective of this workshop is to bring the basic concepts of programming and how software works closer to students and professionals from clinical areas, who have an interest in informatics, particularly health informatics.

Why is it needed?

Training offerings in introductory computer science areas are scarce. In our work area in Health Informatics, we notice great interest from doctors, nurses, clinical technicians and biomedical IT professionals without programming knowledge, to have a foundation in this area, both for personal interest and to improve communication with IT teams as part of shared projects. This workshop emerges as a first approach to the world of programming for this audience.

Who is it for?

The main audience for this workshop is professionals and students from clinical and biomedical IT areas, and for those interested in informatics, particularly in computer program development.

Certification

PARTICIPATION certificates will be issued to all students enrolled in the workshop.

Modules

Module 1

• What is a computer program?
• Introduction to programming languages
• PHP, JavaScript and Groovy
• Data types
• Variables
• Concept of no-value (null)
• Operators
• Control flow
• Code blocks and scope
• First program examples

Module 2

• FOR and WHILE loops
• Functions
• Working with strings
• Structures: arrays and lists
• Working with keyboard user input
• Activity I: patient management in a clinic

Module 3

• Recursion
• Working with files
• Formats: CSV
• Activity II: patient management in a clinic (files)

Module 4

• Structures: trees, queues and maps
• Formats: JSON
• Formats: XML
• Activity III: patient management in a clinic (JSON)

Each module includes practical examples in the three reference programming languages of the course: PHP, JavaScript and Groovy, so students can run all the programs that illustrate the different concepts covered in class on their own computers.