SNOMED Documentation Search
Users must be equipped with adequate knowledge and skills that enable them to practice the tasks of the specific user group. Moreover, it is important that users are trained to understand and conduct SNOMED CT implementation in accordance to the visions, strategy and infrastructure of the given Member country. The following sections consider the roles of IHTSDO and NRCs in education and training related to SNOMED CT.
The overall role of IHTSDO in SNOMED CT education and training is to provide consistent information about SNOMED CT, advice about benefits and guidance on effective ways to use SNOMED CT in order to realize those benefits. In addition, wherever possible, IHTSDO shares its documents and training services in ways that enable NRCs to reuse, translate and customize them to meet national requirements. The documents, educational resources and services that IHTSDO provides to assist the process of learning about SNOMED CT are outlined below.
The SNOMED CT Document Library provides online access to a wide range of SNOMED CT
related documents. These documents range from SNOMED CT introductions targeted at
particular audiences, through to detailed specifications, specialized guides and reports.
On the Document Library web pages you will find a short introduction to each of the
documents, and a link to allow you to freely access these documents. These documents
are available either for online browsing or as PDF downloads - and in many cases both
formats are provided. Some documents include draft materials, and therefore readers
should be aware of the status of the document or section, which is indicated either
by textual status notes on individual pages or in the document preface.
The Document Library (http://snomed.org/doc) provides access to the key documents about SNOMED CT
Feedback from Members on the documentation is important for IHTSDO to ensure that
the readers are provided with the best possible materials for learning about SNOMED
CT. Members/users/readers are requested to provide any kind of feedback on the documentation,
for example if clear faults or missing content are detected, or if there are some
unclear parts that need clarification.
Comments on online documents can be posted as comments on the pages of the published
document. For documents that are not available online, please look in the document
for details of how to comment.
IHTSDO offers online SNOMED CT training courses. Currently these courses are available free-of-charge. However, each course has an application form that must be completed to sign-up for the course.
The objective of this course is to extend the depth and breadth of knowledge of SNOMED
CT in the global community. The course aims to provide authoritative coverage of a
broad range of topics related to SNOMED CT at a relatively basic level. It also enables
the growth of more detailed understanding of SNOMED CT by enabling those who complete
this course to join more advanced SNOMED CT E-Learning courses in future. This course
is targeted at anyone seeking to acquire or demonstrate a broad foundational knowledge
of SNOMED CT.
Applications are permanently open and all applicants should be offered a start date
within 4 to 6 weeks of receipt of their application. Study is self-paced and is expected
to require a total of 30-35 hours. The course must be completed within a maximum of
four months but it is possible to complete it within as little as two weeks.
This course builds on knowledge gained during the SNOMED CT Foundation course. It
provides an understanding of SNOMED CT that is sufficient for those engaged in various
parts of the implementation process – from the decision to adopt SNOMED CT, through
to specification and procurement and/or design and development of SNOMED CT enabled
solutions, to deployment and practical use.
Successful completion of the Foundation Course is a prerequisite for applying for
this course. The first intake new intakes occur in January, May and September each
year and capacity of each intake is limited. The course duration is 6 or 7 months
with an estimated time commitment of 15-20 hours per month.
This course is initially aimed at National Release Center staff in Member countries
that are developing or planning to develop a National Extension. It may also be of
interest to other organizations that are developing SNOMED CT Extensions.
Successful completion of the Foundation Course is a prerequisite for applying for
this course. The first intake new intakes occur in January, May and September each
year and capacity of each intake is limited. The course duration is 3 or 4 months
with an estimated time commitment of 15-20 hours per month.
Other courses and specific additional course modules are under consideration for development in 2016.
A small collection of open SNOMED CT Starter presentations can be viewed without the need to login to an account on the server. They provide an introduction to some of the key benefits and features of SNOMED CT. This is a good place to start learning informally before joining a course. A growing collection of additional open access online presentations will become available in late 2016 to those who have created an account on the E-Learning Server without the requirement to enroll of a formal course.
The SNOMED CT Challenge is a randomly generated test consisting of ten questions. This open access service but requires you either to create an account or to login using a temporary anonymous account.
The E-Learning Server also includes a set of pages that provides access to Other Educational
Resources. The materials referenced in these pages are not part of the E-Learning
service provided by IHTSDO. However, they include many interesting conference presentations
related to SNOMED CT as well as links to SNOMED CT educational services provided by
IHTSDO Members.
The SNOMED CT E-Learning Center can be accessed via this webpage:
https://elearning.ihtsdotools.org.
IHTSDO hosts a Consultant Terminologist Program to train people in skills related to SNOMED CT development. The program recruits new participants once a year, with announcements appearing on the IHTSDO webpage. NRCs may be interested in nominating individuals who have an established understanding of SNOMED CT for this program, for example to train NRC staff.
This program is designed to train individuals who can assist the Head of Terminology
and Head of Content to address content development issues and to develop editorial
policies and procedures. One outcome for participants is to understand and describe
the phases of editorial policy development and the differences between each phase.
To read more about this program and to see lists of former participants in this and
other training schemes see: http://snomed.org/consultant-terminologist.
IHTSDO has a website called SNOMED In Action, which offers Members and other users
an opportunity to register SNOMED CT deployments and provide various details about
specific SNOMED CT implementation and usages. Other Members and users may be inspired
to follow these examples, or get in contact with persons and institutions that have
been involved with specific SNOMED CT implementations.
IHTSDO encourages Members and other stakeholders and users to register their SNOMED
CT deployments on this site in order to facilitate knowledge sharing and awareness
about how SNOMED CT can be applied and how to reap its benefits.
On this webpage you find an overview of different examples of SNOMED CT in use, and
you also have the opportunity to register your own SNOMED deployment: http://www.snomedinaction.org.
To address national implementation requirements, NRCs are encouraged to supplement
or customize training resources published by IHTSDO. This includes translating documents
and training resources where necessary. Education related to some specific aspects
of national strategy may be well served by materials developed from scratch by the
NRC. For example, if specific reference sets are to be used within specific clinical
domains to meet specific reporting requirements, then guidance on the use of these
Reference sets could be needed along with information about the reporting procedures.
Whether an NRC develops its own training materials or modifies resources provided
by IHTSDO, it is important that any explanation of SNOMED CT be accurate and in accordance
with the formal SNOMED CT specifications. Therefore, the NRC should regularly review
the its SNOMED CT related training materials to ensure alignment with updates to International
materials.
If an NRC takes on education of the national Affiliates and users, it is important
that staff of the NRC have a broad and deep understanding of the different implementation
levels and possibilities and can facilitate requests from different user groups. Alternatively,
the NRC can advise or direct Affiliates to places and persons where they can get the
appropriate guidance. The NRC must therefore be aware of people, nationally or internationally,
who have the appropriate skillsets to educate and guide users on specific topics.
A combination of internal and external resources to provide training and education
is a reasonable solution for many NRCs.
Individuals learn in different ways. The NRC may wish to consider delivering face-to-face
or online training so that individuals get a chance to ask questions and develop their
thinking. Short introductory sessions on the principles of SNOMED CT and a walk through
the release are good ways to get people started. They may then find the reference
materials much more accessible.