Need a contender for Atlanta’s best bootcamp? Start with free coding tips from the top programming academy in the South, fresh donuts, and Batdorf & Bronson coffee. Not a bad way to start a Saturday morning.
To continue their mission of connecting, educating, and developing medical entrepreneurs, Forge presented a free digital health bootcamp on August 16th at Emory University’s School of Medicine. Sponsored by physicians from Kaiser Permanente, the event introduced an enthusiastic group of doctors, clinicians, students, and faculty to the basic concepts of coding, front end vs. back end development, how APIs work, and more.
Q&A sessions and networking breaks allowed participants to meet and exchange ideas. Neuroengineering students, physicians, and web developers discussed topics ranging from public health initiatives to apps that access patient data.
With a background in health care and information technology, Byron Stokes attended the bootcamp to build his programming skills. “I’m excited to see Atlanta becoming a health tech innovator,” he says. “We have all these hospitals here, so it’s good for us to get together and develop something like this.”
Using a series of presentations and working examples, instructors from The Iron Yard guided bootcamp attendees through the initial steps to developing software and apps. Around 60% of participants had some programming knowledge, but those with no experience were comfortable asking questions throughout the open forum for discussion.
Ruby on Rails instructor James Dabbs mentioned PC MedLink—an application that helps the Peace Corps get medical supplies to rural communities—as one of the practical applications that can be born from collaborations between tech experts and health care professionals.
With a booming health care industry and startup community, Atlanta is poised to shape the future of medicine. Forge is hosting the city’s first health care hackathon from 8/22-8/24 and will offer quarterly bootcamps. Visit Forge’s bootcamp page to learn more, or contact Yogi Patel, Director of Digital Health, at yogi@forgeatl.com.
[Photo Credit: Stephanie Roman]