Meet Health Informatics Assistant Professor Kim Peterson

A University of Pittsburgh alumna herself, Kim Peterson has been a faculty member in the Department of Health Information Management, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS), since 2011, bringing her expertise in informatics and health care to the students she passionately teaches.

Read on to learn more about Peterson’s career, cultivating her students’ success and how she sees the field of health informatics (HI) evolving.

Coming Home to Pitt Health Informatics

A woman with blonde hair and bangs wearing a blue shirt and black pants, a woman with black hair wearing a cream sweater and black pants, a woman with dark brown hair wearing a white sweater over a black shirt and black pants and a woman with long black hair wearing a blue shirt and black pants. — Kim Peterson (left) alongside Health Informatics students and Assistant Professor and Clinical Education Coordinator Taylor Horne (right) at the SHRS Open House in 2025.

I earned my bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees in health information management at Pitt, so teaching here was a thought so endearing to me. I had learned so much from the Health Information Management faculty, and I thought it would be wonderful to return as a faculty member and hopefully positively affect people. Throughout my academic and professional career I kept coming back to the department and I love it. I always feel like I’m coming home.

Early on, I always wanted to work in health care, but I didn’t think I could work in direct patient care. I tried it one summer just to see, by becoming a nurse’s aide in my hometown hospital. It was a wonderful experience, but it really solidified the fact that direct patient care was not for me. So, the health information management field allowed me to be in health care but be a little bit more removed.

Now, I teach the following courses across the undergraduate and graduate health informatics programs: Leadership; Talent Management and Human Resources; Security, Privacy, Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Care; and Clinical Sciences in Health Information Management.

I love teaching the Talent Management and Leadership courses to the students because if you can understand what human beings crave and what they need to be successful, you’re going to be a good leader. One of the things I say in my classes is that your IQ is going to get you the job, but your emotional intelligence is what will keep you in that job. The students really do love these types of classes because they’re very different from their other courses.

Teaching Style

I am very open with my students. Something I am also really purposeful about is if I don’t know something, I will tell them that. I do not pretend to stand on the status of my position and I’m not afraid to be wrong or make mistakes.

Additionally, during our online classes, students love to keep their cameras off, but I won’t let them. I tell them that I need to see their faces because I won’t be able to tell whether they’re bored or excited. If I can read their faces, I can tell if I’m losing them and I can change direction.

A younger blonde woman with her hair pulled back wearing a tan shirt and black and white striped pants, an older blonde woman wearing a light green dress, and a younger blonde woman with her hair pulled back wearing a light pink shirt and black pants. — Kim Peterson (middle) with her daughters Ava (left) and Olivia (right) in San Diego, California.

Teaching brings me a lot of joy and contentment. Giving students my insight from my years of experience makes me really happy. When I get done teaching each class, I feel complete. Seeing light bulbs go off with my students makes me feel good, like I’ve made some sort of difference in their lives.

What Sets Pitt Health Informatics Apart

All the HI faculty are a very close group of people who all work very well together, and I think the students feel that camaraderie. I don’t think the students see any one of us as an island out there by ourselves.

We have told our students that the people you meet in these last two years in the HI programs, some of these people will become your friends for life. Even for me, I met a girl in the program and we’ve been best friends ever since, and I’ve even visited her over spring break for the last few years. So, our students are very close to one another, and I think they’re very close to us. I think that separates our department from maybe other programs that just don’t go that extra mile.

Future of Health Informatics and AI

I see the HI program growing because I think that our students are going to learn how to work with artificial intelligence (AI) and understand it in a way that makes it meaningful. But I do not think we’ll be overtaken by AI.

We will work jointly with AI and become AI experts so that we know how to manage it. As we know, AI has no human elements. But I think our students are going to provide the human element needed to master AI and use it effectively in the workplace.
— Kim Peterson

Other Roles at Pitt

Alongside my faculty role, I am in charge of the mentorship program for our master’s level students and alumni and I work closely with our Administrative Coordinator Bailey Cassidy on those efforts. The objective is for our students to have a way to get in touch with someone that is in the field and can help them professionally get started in the program. The mentorship sessions are entirely driven by the alumni and the students. They typically meet virtually and as often as they please. The students that have participated really loved the lessons and professionalism. It’s been a good way for the students to meet each other and for the alumni to give back.

A younger blonde woman with hair pulled back wearing a black shirt, a younger blonde woman wearing a pink shirt and an older blonde woman with her hair pulled back waring a gray shirt sitting together on a porch. — Kim Peterson (right) with daughters Olivia (left) and Ava (middle).

Additionally, I am the liaison for the Health Informatics Student Association for the undergraduate program and for Health Informatics Graduate Society for the graduate students. These organizations are passionate about giving back to our students. They will organize a session on writing your resume or interviewing techniques. I’m always happy that our students really care.

Full Circle Experience

I took a leap in changing direction in my career by getting a PhD and working in academia. I have to say, it was the best thing I could have done. I am really happy in my career and I’ve gotten to fulfill something that I wanted to do since I was a new professional. I am so grateful and appreciative.

Fun Facts

A garden with pink and yellow and white flowers. — Kim Peterson’s garden.

I love gardening and find it very therapeutic. I love to work in the garden after work and on weekends. My daughters and I love to travel and explore new areas. We went on a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, this summer. We loved seeing and exploring the southwest area of the United States.

A man with short brown hair and a mustache wearing a tan suit jacket over a white collared shirt standing next to a woman with blonde hair wearing a brown and orange patterned dress.

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