Entry level jobs in informatics

[h60avtrn]

I am currently working at the bedside as an RN and have been for a little over 3 years in ICU and Med/Surg. This is my second carrer. I was formerly an avionics technician in the Coast Guard. I have been looking to make some career moves and I got into a class for informatics in my RN to BSN cirriculm. I have since fallen in love with the idea of moving into the field of informatics. There is only one probelm...Where is it? I live in a rural area and the largest hospital is only about 250 beds and you say the word informatics and people look at you and tilt their heads like a dog hearing a high pitch noise. I don't have any specific IT training but I am computer savy and not afraid of electronics. I am wondering where I should try and enter the profession and how to enter without the IT experience. It seems that everyone wants a certification but to be able to sit for the certification you have to have logged a couple of thousand hours in an NI or IT field. Am I missing somthing here or is this just impossible. I am willing to travel and have seen several jobs that would require extensive travel but is this necessary to get into the field? Is this even the right door to be going through? I would love to find a mentor and attach myself to them and find the answers but I can't even find someone who knows what it is I'm talking about...that brings me to this forum. Thank you for this forum and please HELP!

Sincerely,

h60avtrn

[rninformatics, DNP, RN]

I am currently working at the bedside as an RN and have been for a little over 3 years in ICU and Med/Surg. This is my second carrer. I was formerly an avionics technician in the Coast Guard. I have been looking to make some career moves and I got into a class for informatics in my RN to BSN cirriculm. I have since fallen in love with the idea of moving into the field of informatics. There is only one probelm...Where is it? I live in a rural area and the largest hospital is only about 250 beds and you say the word informatics and people look at you and tilt their heads like a dog hearing a high pitch noise. I don't have any specific IT training but I am computer savy and not afraid of electronics. I am wondering where I should try and enter the profession and how to enter without the IT experience. It seems that everyone wants a certification but to be able to sit for the certification you have to have logged a couple of thousand hours in an NI or IT field. Am I missing somthing here or is this just impossible. I am willing to travel and have seen several jobs that would require extensive travel but is this necessary to get into the field? Is this even the right door to be going through? I would love to find a mentor and attach myself to them and find the answers but I can't even find someone who knows what it is I'm talking about...that brings me to this forum. Thank you for this forum and please HELP!

Sincerely,

h60avtrn

h60avtrn,

You rock! I am extremly impressed. You've done your home work and have valid questions. I LOL when I read your description/comparision of folks response to the term informatics to that of a dog hearing a high pitched sound...........I laughed so loud and hard people came to my office door to see what was so funny!

250 beds is pretty good for a rural hospital as I know of critical access hospitals of 10 beds............so you are not too far into the boonies. Not every hiring manager will require a cert. If you are flexible and willing to relocate take an entry level job either with a health system or a vendor and learn. Once you've worked 1-2 year you will be able to sit for the exam or should you decide to enroll in a formal educaiton program combining 1 year worked and academic credits also allows you to sit for the NI cert but one thing at a time. Get some experience under your belt. See if you can volunteer to work on a new system implementation, upgrade happening at your hospital. Don't limit yourself to clinical systems - find out if there are any future plans to install/implement/upgrade the time and attendance, acuity or staff scheduling computer systems and volunteer to be a super user or help in any way in one of those projects.

Feel free to e-mail me and pick my brain further if you need.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Certification is definitely a bonus to those hiring in rural areas. Seriously, a license and and INTEREST in this will take you a long way.

I am in a rural CAH - 15 beds. I was hired as an LPN with previous systems experience. The job description was "BSN preferred." I was one of two applicants.

Go for it.

:)

[h60avtrn]

Thanks for the great info. Sorry for the delayed reply but me and my son took a much needed father and son canoe trip and I put the computer away for a while. Since this post I have gotten in contact with the IT guy a the small surgical hospital I work at and have gotten my name in the mix to work on an upcoming MEDITECH system install at our facility. We are moving out of the stoneage and into the electronic charting erra. Some of our surgical areas were already using the system but now it is going to be for the entire facility. Is there any advice on how to approach this or what I need to be focused on to be shure and learn in the process. As for now I am taking the sponge aproach.

[rninformatics, DNP, RN]

Thanks for the great info. Sorry for the delayed reply . Since this post I have gotten in contact with the IT guy a the small surgical hospital I work at and have gotten my name in the mix to work on an upcoming MEDITECH system install at our facility. We are moving out of the stoneage and into the electronic charting erra. Some of our surgical areas were already using the system but now it is going to be for the entire facility. Is there any advice on how to approach this or what I need to be focused on to be shure and learn in the process. As for now I am taking the sponge aproach.

Good idea on taking the "sponge approach" I'd also suggest joining Meditech L a listserve composed of people who support, build, implement and maintain Meditech CS (Client Server) and Magic applications. The listserve is utilized as a vehicle to answer specific issues, challenges and problems IT/IS Staff are having with the Meditech product(s)

Please be aware this is NOT a coffee clutch forum. Nor is it a place for the regular End Users to voice their frustrations or displeasure with Meditech or their hospital.

Follow this link to subscribe:

http://mtusers.com/mailman/listinfo/meditech-l_mtusers.com

[h60avtrn]

Thanks for the insight on the listserv. Just finished signing up!

[trixie]

Expressing an interest to whomever is implementing in your facility was a great way to start! I got started (like most of my career paths) by accident. I took the initiative to computerize some very outdated documentation in the Nursing Supervisors' office (my position at the time). The Director of Nursing took notice, and mentioned to the Nursing Informatics person in the IT dept that I was computer saavy. She then taught me some basics on the side and I actually did both jobs for awhile - without asking for extra pay, complaining, etc. She liked my work. A position opened up in IT for a 2nd informatics person and they brought me in. I am now going to get my Masters Degree in Nursing Informatics. In short, going above and beyond and being a team player will get you far!

[dave_t]

Hello,

I'm in a slightly different boat. My primary career has been IT (helpdesk, mostly) and I am certified as a MCP and a Network+ professional. Mainly, I support end users. I do have a BSN but have very little work put in as a RN so far (graduated in 2005, but re-entered into the IT world soon after). Is clinical experience absolutely necessary to excel in this field?

[rninformatics, DNP, RN]

Greetings dave,

I guess the answer to the question of: "is clinical experience absolutely necessary to excell in this field?"

How credible and effective can you be "supporting" clinical users if you are not an experienced clinican yourseelf?

Not quite sure how you would successfully suggest process redesign options if you dont know or understand how a clinical process flows/works currently. If you dont understand Evidence Based practice how can you build or design to facilitate it?

If your end users, core team members and the clinical staff do not view you as an experienced clinician how will you establish credibility as one of them?...............as a clinician?

Past experience as a Microsoft certified professional and network experience does not make you a clinical informaticist.

How well you "excell" in this field will also depend on what specific role you have. I think it is possible to be a successful project manager and perhaps even to provide Held Desk support (to some extent) with little or no clinical experience but what specific role is it that you want to pursue in this field?

Hello,

I'm in a slightly different boat. My primary career has been IT (helpdesk, mostly) and I am certified as a MCP and a Network+ professional. Mainly, I support end users. I do have a BSN but have very little work put in as a RN so far (graduated in 2005, but re-entered into the IT world soon after). Is clinical experience absolutely necessary to excel in this field?

[dave_t]

Hello rninformatics,

Thanks for the reply! Well I guess I'd like to find out more about what roles are out there. Is there a place that I can go to learn more about the field (I just learned about it last night)? In the meantime I'll keep searching through these threads.

Thanks

[rninformatics, DNP, RN]

You are welcome!

Yes, please do search and read this forum and

Do an Internet search using the terms: Clinical Analsyst, Informatics Nurse, Nurse Informaticist, Clinical Applications, Specialist.

Put in the above roles on the Indeed.com website.

Check out the websites of HIMSS, CARING, ANIA and AMIA which have job descriptions for the above roles and more!

Good Luck!

Hello rninformatics,

Thanks for the reply! Well I guess I'd like to find out more about what roles are out there. Is there a place that I can go to learn more about the field (I just learned about it last night)? In the meantime I'll keep searching through these threads.

Thanks

[dave_t]

Thank you very much, I'll check those out now!