Going back to school for Nurse Informatics, need help deciding school

klone, MSN, RN · May 18, 2015

Bad news for you....Master's level coursework will be heavy on paper-writing, because at that level, it's very much about theory and not rote memorization.

I would look into non-profit schools, rather than for-profit such as Capella, UoP, Chamberlain, etc. You will get a degree that's more respected and will probably cost about half.

ikarus01 · May 18, 2015

I'm having a hard time getting clear cut information regarding schools that offer this degree, cost, curriculum, etc.

First and foremost, nursing informatics is one of those fields where what really counts is experience in the field.

Just a month ago i was working in a hospital that is looking to hire some analysts. Some of the candidates had a master's degree, but zero informatics experience. And one that actually got invited to the interview did terrible on the interview mainly because she had no clue what the job involved.

So first point i was to make is, schools are in the business of selling you a degree; and that's why my first advice to people looking to enter informatics has always been and will always be, make sure you're involved in the field if you plan to go ahead and spend money on a master's degree.

As far as the curriculum and what school is better----really, doesn't matter as most schools can only teach you theory. In other words, no school is going to have an informatics appiication where you will go through all the stages of a project implementation.

Is kind of like saying, I want to be a flight nurse, so i need to find the best nursing school that will prepare me to be a flight nurse. Can that really be done? I don't know of any nursing schools that have flight nursing clinicals.

That leads me to another point....many of the schools out there expect the student to find a location where to do their practicum, and if you're paying mega money for a degree, what in the world is the school doing for you then? Imagine going to nursing school and then finding out that you have to find your own preceptors, your own clinicals, etc

Thus, if you want to get your master's, get a secondary email, get a disposable cell phone number and contact them all to see which one offers the cheapest online course because in the end, what you actually get is a piece of paper that might allow you to interview for jobs. I guess like others said, stay away from profit schools. But as far as the best school? Not important.

I think I understand that I need to get a BSN, MSN then certification in informatics. Tyvm

In fact, for an informatics job, all you need is nursing experience; you don't need a BSN, or MSN or certification. There are LPN's working in the field. And that goes back to my first point---get experience in the field if you can. Certification? Been in the field 10 years and I'm not certified, but there is an option to get certified if you want.

Now, let's be realistic. In the last 2, 3 years informatics has become popular that many nurses get their master's degree and that's why now if we post a job, we get hundreds of applications.

Of the hundreds of applications, we then filter through the candidates that have relevant experience, unless the job is actually looking for an inexperienced candidate.

But what this means is that hospitals now can pretty much sit back and really choose the candidates they want. About 7 years ago, no joke, hospitals didn't care what application you knew. If you even worked with excel, they would give you a job. Now they want specific experience and that's why again, i repeat, experience in the field is essential.

Point being, field has become competitive. Now, not only do you have techy nurses, but you also have nurses with experience on the field, and nurses that have a masters in informatics and also informatics experience. So definitely, is not what it used to be a few years back, when things were a lot easier in terms of finding a job.

But if you go for your degree, make sure to ask, how is the practicum done, and does the school offer job search assistance. And also, if they tell you that such and such percentage of their students got jobs, then i would be curious to know how many of those students were there because their employer wanted them to have the degree for promotion purposes or how many of those students were already working in the field. Well, that's all for the moment and good luck to you.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · May 18, 2015

I have applied for a spot in an Informatics MSN. It is at the facility I work at (a teaching facility). I work with the team transitioning to an EPIC version for out system and have worked on teams to optimize 2 different specialties. I do this extra, this is not my job (yet), I work as a care nurse and do audits and in services about the optimizations that are rolled out. I don't think you can just decide that you want to do something without knowing what it is. As PP said. Love the analogy of flight nursing. It may be 5-7 years before you get a ride on the chopper.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · May 18, 2015

Check out OHSU (Oregon) Informatics - they have a ton of options. They were a pioneering school in the field of Healthcare/Biomedical Informatics. They have certificate and degrees - with distance options. I also would caution you against a commercial (investor owned) school...they are no match for the reputation of well-established traditional programs.

leahmdavis · Nov 8, 2015

Hi. I go to Capella University, enrolled into the RN-MSN program. I'm reaching the end of my first year, and I love the school's curriculum. I have really been torn between 2 specializations: nursing leadership (which what I chose) & informatics (which I just switched to a few days ago). Capella's informatics program will allow you to t take the board certification after you complete the program, which one of the reasons I decided to switch now. Otherwise, I would have stayed in the leadership specialty & take the informatics certification program after.

Another reason I switched is because there's nurse informatics position in where I work, and I'd like to convey the message that it is a field I'm interested in. I have minimal experience in being a super user but that's unfortunately because of the patient care unit where I work (I do agree that some experience in the field helps to acutally get you in it.) There's no guarantee I'd even be considered for an interview, but I have nothing to lose. I am in the MSN program & I have my job either way.

My professional goals is another reason I decided to pursue an MSN over a BSN; and no, I do not have a target position to reach. I do think though that with all the changes in nursing, health care, patient population & conditions, we have to get better at what we do & influence what governs our practice. For a nurse, I think it's important for you to choose where in that you belong & why. By the way, any graduate program is heavy on writing papers, so if you decide to go for it, it's better that you come to accept this fact about.

Goodluck on your goals & journey.