An Engineer for Health

Healthcare professionals need web tools, applications, and developments that allow them to perform their work more effectively and keep an optimal record of the work they provide, especially when it comes to follow-up, evaluation, or prevention.

When Cristhian Esteban Serrano Briñez decided to study Systems Engineering at UCundinamarca, he did not imagine that his path would be focused on supporting health professionals with his knowledge.

The 27-year-old graduate has been teaching Applied Informatics in the Nursing program at UCundinamarca for a year and works on an app for pregnant women. However, to get there he had to learn and work applying his acquired knowledge at the Friendly Unit and at the Agua de Dios Hospital in Cundinamarca.

“My internship was with the Friendly Unit and a final product was delivered which was Spaudec, a control and monitoring platform for patients with psychoactive substance use,” the graduate explained.

This platform allows students and nurses from the Friendly Unit to monitor cases using the necessary tools. Furthermore, the Systems Engineer ensured its compatibility with the main UCundinamarca website.

At the end of his internship, he successfully delivered the product that he now wants to update as an engineer; however, Cristhian learned more about that health service and saw the need to put his knowledge to use in this type of project.

Step by step

After receiving his Systems Engineering degree from UCundinamarca, Cristhian began working for the development office, where he also contributed his knowledge and created the Institutional Indicators Software from scratch, a project with Planning and Quality.

“It can also be uploaded from the institutional website; previously, the information was processed in Excel, and with this development, it can be done online. It has a query module and graphs the behavior of the quality management indicators,” the teacher explained.

His steps then led him to the Agua de Dios Hospital and there he implemented the information system, among other things. “During my internship, I learned about health-related topics and that's why it seemed like a great challenge in which I did very well,” said Serrano Briñez.

While working at this hospital, he was called to teach some classes and didn't think twice about it; returning to UCundinamarca was a great opportunity. "I spent a year there and here, but this year they gave me the possibility of teaching full-time and being able to do more development work, that motivated me and I decided to return.".

An app for pregnant women

In an agreement with the Andean Area University Foundation, the Friendly Unit will monitor pregnant women, optimizing the service they currently provide in Girardot, with other municipalities.

Cristhian is part of this project with an app that will be ready soon. “We are still in the planning stage, adding information and making it very useful. With this app, women won't need to provide personal information; they will be able to schedule medical appointments, track their progress, and use geolocation.” The engineer already knows that monitoring is essential at this stage of life, which is why he dedicates himself daily to ensuring this product is complete and serves the community.

“One works in health because it is a way to contribute to the communities that need it most. When the professor invited me to do it, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity. When you work in health, you identify the problems and see the results. Normally, as engineers, we develop things and don't see how people benefit, but here we do,” said the professor.

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