Health information manager competency standards and their application to final-year, work-integrated learning (professional practice) project descriptions and learning outcomes.

Professional practice placements (work-integrated learning (WIL)) enable practical application of essential knowledge and skills, from the health information management university curricula, aligned to profession entry-level competencies. To (1) identify formal (explicit learning outcomes (ELOs)) and informal (derived learning outcomes (DLOs)) articulated in final-year, health information management WIL proposals, 2012-2021, at Australia's La Trobe University; and (2) map these to the contemporaneous, national Health Information Manager (HIM) profession entry-level competency (sub-)domains. A random sample (20%; n = 129) of 2012-2021 final-year placement proposals was interrogated using documentary analysis. ELOs and DLOs were extracted and categorised to the (sub-)domains of the Health Information Management Association of Australia's (2017) HIM Professional Competency Standards; between-group comparisons were made. Of the 129 proposals: 38 (29.5%) were absent ELOs; one had no project description; almost 74% were project-related. Predominant sub-domains in Domain A, "Generic professional skills": communication (in 63.7% of ELOs; 61.2% of DLOs); teamwork (40.7% ELOs; 50.8% DLOs). Predominant sub-domains in the eight profession-specific competency domains: "Health information services organisation and management" (Domain I; 60.5% ELOs; 100% DLOs); "Health information and records management" (Domain B; 54.9% ELOs; 56.3% DLOs); "Research methods" (Domain E; 45.1% ELOs; 44.5% DLOs). ELOs were most commonly aligned to four discipline-specific domains; DLOs were distributed across five. Analysis of the knowledge-skills learning outcomes for final-year, student-HIM placements has generated recommendations to support agency supervisors in framing WIL project proposals.Implications for health information management practice:This research will support more robust WIL to complement student HIMs' academic education for competent, postgraduation practice.