Dr. Demetrius Solomon is the newest addition to UF’s implementation science faculty. With a background in healthcare transformation and systems engineering, Solomon brings extensive academic credentials and real-world expertise to UF’s online Graduate Certificate in Implementation Science program.
Solomon recently spoke with us about his experience and why UF’s program stands out.
From Engineering to Implementation Science
Solomon didn’t start out in implementation science. In fact, he found his way there through systems engineering.
“I got my PhD in industrial and systems engineering but ended up doing implementation science research along the way,” Solomon recalled. “What I studied was human factors engineering — understanding how we design technologies, tools, work systems and processes to improve clinical effectiveness and produce high-quality staff and patient outcomes.”
When it came time for his dissertation, Solomon focused on evaluation, or “how we go about evaluating these interventions to understand if they actually worked in practice.”
But soon enough, a lecture on systems approaches to clinical innovations changed everything. “That’s how I got involved in combining human factors and implementation science to actually put innovations into the healthcare system,” Solomon said.
Implementation science is a field that bridges many disciplines, but Solomon broke it down simply:
“At the end of the day, it’s about how we go about putting an innovation into practice, right? How we take these innovations and make them practical and usable and reach as much of the population as possible to create impact.”
What You’ll Learn in Implementation Science Fundamentals
Solomon teaches the course Implementation Science Fundamentals (GMS 6851), where students learn the building blocks of implementation science research.
“They learn how to develop a logic model for carrying out an implementation science research project,” Solomon said. “And they learn the different components of that logic model, such as strategies: How do you identify the determinants that influence the effectiveness of an implementation project? What are some of the determinants that influence the implementation of a clinical innovation?”
You’ll also walk away with some very practical evaluation tools. “[The course] gives you tools to understand how you respond or what you can use to develop a good plan to address barriers you experience,” Solomon explained.
Stakeholder engagement is another critical part of working effectively within the healthcare system. As students learn how to engage with stakeholders, Solomon notes, they learn to ask: “What are some tools that we can use? What are some strategies? It’s really a high-level view of what this whole process looks like for implementing an intervention and developing an implementation project.”
Teaching Online: Connection and Support
Teaching is a new experience for Solomon, but — as a true systems engineer — he’s already thinking about how he can make his students’ lives easier.
“My goal is to become as interactive as possible, whether through having students do a presentation about themselves via video, respond to each other through discussion boards or get feedback from other students within the program,” he said.
Solomon wants to “understand what barriers they may be experiencing and always being open and available and giving prompt feedback. To give practical support and tools that help them carry out the implementation of their project.”
Career Opportunities in Implementation Science
But what can you do with implementation science training? A lot, according to Solomon.
“A lot of new innovations are being created every day and need to be put into practice where they can offer impact overall,” he said. “Whether it’s a protocol, a policy, or some type of new AI technology. Whether it’s AI-driven or evidence-based, clinically-proven clinical decision support tools that need to be implemented in practice throughout the world so they can impact the population.”
Solomon emphasized that the field needs more trained professionals. “If more clinicians and practitioners are trained in these tools and techniques, it’ll help build up the staff and skill sets needed to carry out important work,” he explained.
Who would benefit most from implementation science training? Solomon gave us a comprehensive list, including:
- Population health researchers
- Health services researchers
- Clinicians
- Nurses
- Doctors
- Bioinformatics professionals
He added that “AI professionals will benefit tremendously, because they’re designing, implementing and evaluating different types of interventions.”
Why Choose UF’s Online Implementation Science Program?
It’s the students as much as the faculty and curriculum, according to Solomon.
“The faculty and staff at UF really have a wide spectrum of backgrounds,” he said. “The breadth of knowledge that these different professors have within implementation science [is outstanding]. They have many years of experience working with different types of projects, programs and policies.”
Solomon also singled out what he called the program’s “deep investment in students.”
“It’s flexible and online,” he said. “You can interact with a more diverse cohort of students because of the flexibility. It tailors the coursework to the different contexts, backgrounds and experiences of the students. There’s an emphasis on contextualizing the work they’re doing and really developing coursework and course content around that.”
Join Dr. Solomon and other exceptional UF faculty and students in this 11-credit online graduate program. Find more details on our program page.
