Help a (semi) new grad nurse looking to get in informatics. What's my next step?

[RNreby]

Hello everyone,

I'm a semi new grad nurse, (graduated last spring 2016) with a BSN. I firmly believe nursing informatics is the domain I'm called for. But my dilemma is how to get in this field directly. I have no clinical experience because my life path after college had a different course for awhile. I worked for the past year using a computerized electronic tester to test electrical outlets in a hospital (I went through all the critical care units doing the test). It's a quarterly test they do for safety standards, and I was the team leader using that tester. So I think that provides some good background for informatics as well.

But I'm concerned that having no clinical experience will put me at a disadvantage when I want to apply for informatics positions. Do I need to get an IT degree, like a bachelors or masters? Or should I just do volunteering in informatics area?

I have years of experience with Microsoft Office software and some experience with website setups. I feel comfortable learning new tech related things.

So any advice on what should be my next step to get a position in informatics is very appreciated!! Thank you for reading!

- Becky

[llg, PhD, RN]

Depends on what type of job you want. If you want to be "the computer guy" ... then you'll probably need a degree in that field -- not nursing. But if you want to go into NURSING informatics, you'll probably need some nursing experience. The reason for that is that most nursing informatics jobs require that you either work with the nursing to help them implement information technology ... or you work on the development side, developing technology for use by nurses. Either way, you need actual nursing expertise to do that. To get expertise, you'll need to actually do some nursing.

[ikarus01]

Funny thing is, plenty of people doing so called "informatics" job without any type of clinical experience. However, I have seen too many times that if you have a nursing degree, then you're asked for clinical experience when you go for an informatics job. I would work as a nurse and keep applying for jobs to see what happens. Some nurses are lucky and get the job without much clinical experience, and like I said, plenty of people working in this field with zero clinical experience.

[missguidead]

This is actually a great topic I'd also like to know. I just got my license with no nursing experience. But I think that I'm called to do this area in nursing. I have Help Desk experience and savy on computers. I just wish I now where to start. Been checking out jobs about nurse informatics, however, they require clinical experience. Masters for Nursing Informatics is mad expensive. I'm looking forward to new updates on this thread.

[pinkuu]

Some hospitals I have rotated at have particular nurses become "superusers" of EMR systems which are newly being implemented on the floors. They act as the go-to persons for questions about how to navigate and chart through the software system. They go through extra userability training that transitions them into this role without any extra IT-related credentials. Of course this only applies if your hospital is adopting a new system, and if you're actually working at the hospitals in a clinical capacity, but just a thought if one day both of these criteria points fits into your specific situation.