Angela Ross, DNP, MPH, PMP, DASM, PHCNS-BC, LTC (ret) U.S. Army Nurse Corps, joined McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston on August 1, 2015, as an assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics. She is an adjunct at the UT Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine Edinburg, TX and the UTHealth School of Public Health Regional Campus in Brownsville, TX. Her project interests include process improvement, project management, system implementation, program and project evaluation, policy development, workflow analysis, and workforce development. Ross served over 25 years in the Army Medical Department. Ross has held positions as chief medical information officer, acting chief of system service and design, and project manager for the U.S. Army Medical Information Technology Center Defense Health Agency (DHA). Ross earned a BSN from Dillard University, an MPH from Tulane University, an M.S. in nursing informatics from the University of Maryland, a Master's Certificate in IS/IT project management from Villanova University, and a DNP with an emphasis on informatics and executive leadership from the University of Maryland. She is certified by the American Nurses Association (ANA) as a clinical nurse specialist in public health and by the Project Management Institute (PMI) as a Project Manager and a Disciplined Agile Scrum Master (DASM).
- Tell us about your research center and/or what research you are currently working on?
My research focus is translational, which involves many facets of taking academic research findings and implementing them in the real world. My focus is evaluation, process improvement, and implementation. I work in complex organizations to implement the science and identify methods to apply to that science to improve outcomes. I am Co-investigator for the Texas Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CTSA), I led a team to plan and develop an evaluation method for four programs led by ten co-investigators from UTHealth Houston, UT Health Tyler, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and five research coordinators. I contributed to each program by coordinating with PIs and research coordinators to develop evaluation processes, workflows, and metrics to assess and document the aims and outcomes of each specific program. I researched evidenced based practice models, implementation frameworks, and validated tools, developed surveys, and conducted qualitative interviews.
- What Courses do you teach?
Here is a list of academic courses I have created and redesigned for McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing, and UTRGV School of Medicine. In addition, I have held the position of Adjunct Professor status at the UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing, UTRGV School of Medicine, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health Rio Grande Valley Campus:
| McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston |
| BMI 5313 |
Foundations of Electronic Health Records and Clinical Information Systems |
| BMI 5328 |
Systems Analysis and Project Management |
| BMI 5329 |
Workflow Process Modeling |
| BMI 5382 |
Synthesis Project of Public Health Informatics |
| BMI 7360 |
Advanced Project Management |
| BMI 7351 |
Evidence-based Health Informatics Practice |
| BMI 7361 |
Business, Contract & Vendor Management |
| BMI 9950 |
Project Evaluation and Writing |
| UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing |
| NURS 6315 |
Informatics & Health Care Technologies |
| UTRGV School of Medicine |
| MEDI 8129 |
Health Systems Science Year 1- Introduction to the Electronic Health Record |
- What type of professional are you looking for the Doctorate of Health Informatic Program?
McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston is the first school in the nation to offer an advanced, practice degree in health informatics. The Doctorate in Health Informatics (DHI) provides unique curriculum that was custom-built for executive-level professionals seeking a terminal, applied degree in the field of health informatics. The program is best suited for individuals who have at least three (3) years of informatics experience at the management or supervisory level.
- What does the future of applied informatics look like?
As emerging technologies are developed it is important to have a balanced and thoughtful approach, organizations can successfully navigate the complexities that come with integrating emerging technologies. This requires a multi-pronged strategy, including evidence-based practices, problem-specific technology selection, workforce development, and a strong focus on outcomes for both staff and customers.
Education
- DNP, 2014, Informatics & Executive Leadership, University of Maryland at Baltimore
- Graduate Certificate, 2008, IS/IT Project Management, Villanova University
- MS, 1998, Nursing Informatics, University of Maryland at Baltimore
- MPH, 1990, Public Health, Tulane University
- BS, 1983, Nursing, Dillard University
Areas of Expertise
- Project and program management
- Program evaluation
- System implementation
- Workflow analysis
- Executive leadership
- Policy development
- Strategic planning
- Workforce development
Projects
- Electronic Medical Record Implementation (9 Hospitals)
- Merger and acquisitions, Defense Heath Agency, development of IT System Service and Design Office, Engineering Branch
- Development of Chief Medical Information Officer role, US Army Medical Information Technology Center
- Workflow analysis, requirements analysis, process evaluation and implementation of IT services, Defense Heath Agency (DHA)
- Virtualization Solutions Implementation
- Vendor analysis of Virtual ICU technologies
- Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) – Community Engagement Component Programs, Lead for Evaluation
- Development of Project Manager education targeting Clinical Professional
- Educator and curriculum design Gaining Equity in Training for Public Health Informatics and Technology (GETPHIT)
- Development of Clinical Technical Architectural Review Board
- Theater Medical Data Integration (TMDI) Tiger Team, Lead data analysis and workflow analysis of imaging services (International and national)
- Telehealth for Disability Evaluation System (US Army Reserve)
- Exercise Activity Tracker
- Sentinel Event Analysis
- Policy development for wrong-site surgery
- TeamSTEPPS implementation and Master Trainer (10 hospital)
- TapRooT® implementation, Quality Management (20 hospital)
References
Ross A, Feider L, Nahm ES, Staggers N. An Outpatient Performance Improvement Project: A Baseline Assessment of Adherence to Pain Reassessment Standards. Mil Med. 2017 May;182(5):e1688-e1695. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-16-00104. PMID: 29087912.
Fenton SH, Ross A, Simmons D. Training Leaders in Health Informatics. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2019 Aug 21;264:1184-1188. doi: 10.3233/SHTI190413. PMID: 31438112.
McBride, S., Maker, E. V., Ross, A. M., Ross, D., & Elkind, E. C. (2021). Determining awareness of the SAFER guides among nurse informaticists. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 6(4), 6 – 13.
Rasmy L, Nigo M, Kannadath BS, Xie Z, Mao B, Patel K, Zhou Y, Zhang W, Ross A, Xu H, Zhi D. Recurrent neural network models (CovRNN) for predicting outcomes of patients with COVID-19 on admission to hospital: model development and validation using electronic health record data. Lancet Digit Health. 2022 Jun;4(6):e415-e425. doi: 10.1016/S2589-7500(22)00049-8. Epub 2022 Apr 21. PMID: 35466079; PMCID: PMC9023005.
Zingg A, Singh T, Franklin A, Ross A, Selvaraj S, Refuerzo J, Myneni S. Digital health technologies for peripartum depression management among low-socioeconomic populations: perspectives from patients, providers, and social media channels. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2023 Jun 3;23(1):411. doi:10.1186/s12884-023-05729-9 PMID: 37270494; PMCID: PMC10239590.
