They’ve been called the “hybrid heroes of healthcare.”1 They are nurse informaticists, who use their knowledge of nursing and technology to manage and communicate health information. People who work in nursing informatics analyze data and work to improve patient outcomes, control costs, and increase the efficiency of daily operations. Specific examples of nursing informatics work include:
- Developing and maintaining electronic health record (EHR) systems.
- Managing a clinic’s transition from paper to digital records.
- Analyzing health record data to identify ways to improve patient care.
If you’re dedicated to nursing but also love technology, computer science, and innovation, then nursing informatics may be the right career for you. Here are eight reasons why you might choose a nursing informatics career:
It’s a Dynamic Profession
As information technology (IT) advances, so do the opportunities for nurse informaticists to drive innovation. A career in nursing informatics can put you on the cutting edge of nursing, computer, and information sciences as you use your knowledge to optimize health records, streamline workflow, and help improve patient care. Nurse informaticists use their communication skills to collaborate widely—within their organizations and with subject matter experts in the field. Job duties are multifaceted in a field that’s always evolving.
You Can Find Career Satisfaction
In the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s (HIMSS) 2020 Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey, more than three in four nurse informaticists said they are highly satisfied with their career choice.2 “Overall, the results of the survey indicated that most professionals are burning bright with potential,” the HIMSS reports.1 Over 1,300 nurse informaticists responded to the survey.
You Can Help to Promote the Quality of Healthcare
Information technology plays a big role in healthcare, and so the role you play in nursing informatics can impact quality of care. Whether it’s keeping accurate health records, ensuring careful shift planning, interpreting data, or something similar, good inputs lead to good outcomes.
Benefits Can Be Plentiful
More than 70% of respondents in the HIMSS survey said they receive all of these benefits: paid time off, a 401(k)/403(b), medical/ dental insurance, and life insurance.2
The Nursing Informatics Job Outlook Is Strong
According to the Department of Labor, the increasingly widespread use of EHRs will feed the demand for managers with knowledge of health information technology (IT) and informatics systems. Job growth for medical and health services managers is projected to grow 28% between 2021 and 2031, much faster than average for most professions, with a projected 136,200 skilled professionals needed by the end of the decade.3
Settings Are Diverse
According to the HIMSS survey, 68% of nurse informaticists said they work for hospitals or multifacility health systems.2 But these professionals also work for healthcare technology companies, medical record companies, clinics, staffing agencies, and the like.4
There’s Job Variety
Within those and other settings, you have the opportunity to work in a variety of jobs. Career options in nursing informatics may include clinical analyst, informatics nurse specialist, telehealth clinical coordinator, informatics administrator, electronic health record system integration specialist, informatics consultant, faculty member, researcher, perioperative informatics nurse, and more. The HIMSS survey found that “nursing informatics specialist” is the most common job title.2
You Can Advance With an MSN
A master’s degree in nursing with a specialization in nursing informatics can help open doors to executive positions like chief nursing informatics officer.1 An online degree program like Walden University’s Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) can enable you to continue to work full time while preparing for a nurse informaticist career.
How to Start a Career in Nursing Informatics
Nursing informatics offers a good career with high satisfaction and variety in a growing field. Nursing informatics requires knowledge in a wide range of areas, including analysis and evaluation, project management, communication, technology, and, of course, nursing.
In order to begin your career in nursing informatics, you’ll need to earn your bachelor’s degree. Most nurse informaticists have a BSN, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. If you are already an RN, a registered nurse, many accredited universities offer an RN to BSN degree program. If you plan to work in the field while you study, you can look for an online RN-BSN completion program like the one offered by Walden. Some colleges even offer an RN to MSN online track for nurses who plan to specialize in health informatics and want to start working toward a master’s degree right away.
With a bachelor’s degree, you could explore jobs such as nursing informatics specialist or medical records specialist.5 With a master’s-level nursing informatics degree, you could pursue management roles such as health information manager, medical records manager, health information management director.6
Advance Your Career With an MSN With a Specialization in Nursing Informatics
Walden offers a Nursing Informatics specialization that can provide you with the specialized knowledge you need to use data and technology to make real-world improvements. In this MSN nursing specialization, you’ll learn how to collect, analyze, and evaluate essential data, using information systems and technology to further the practice of nursing.
And to further fit your learning style and lifestyle, Walden offers two MSN degree completion options. Choose from a course-based, instructor-led format or opt for the self-paced Tempo Learning® format. In the latter competency-based learning format, you progress by demonstrating your understanding of a subject. There are no weekly schedules or deadlines; you learn at your own pace. Adding further flexibility is Tempo Learning’s® subscription-based tuition model, which helps put you in control of your costs.
Whether you choose course-based or competency-based learning, a master’s in nursing online degree can help you blaze a path to a dynamic and rewarding career in nursing informatics.
Walden University is an accredited institution offering a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree program online with a Nursing Informatics specialization. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible learning environment that fits your busy life.
1Source: www.himss.org/resources/what-nursing-informatics
2Source: www.himss.org/sites/hde/files/media/file/2020/05/15/himss_nursinginformaticssurvey2020_v4.pdf
3Source: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm#tab-6
4Source: nurse.org/articles/15-highest-paying-nursing-careers/#h2-informatics
5Source: https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2072.00
6Source: https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9111.00
Career options may require additional experience, training, or other factors beyond the successful completion of a degree program.
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.