Is there a shortage or glut of nurses in informatics?

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I really don't know what or who to believe. I just heard an acquaintance say that there is a glut of IT workers (this includes the growing community of health IT workers), yet I thought I read somewhere that there will be a shortage of informatic nurses. Are the two related? Is the shortage related to the experienced informatic nurses? Knowing that there is a glut of informatics nurses may not stop me from pursuing a job in this area, but it will give me an idea of what I'm truly up against. Opinions and insights would be appreciated.

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Specializes in ED, PACU, OB, Education.

Come to St. Louis. Plenty of opportunities here for informatics.

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Hi,

How do I get start as a Nurse Health Informatics? Do I need some nursing (clinical) experiences first? What is your opinion on this? Can one jump right into this field (nurse informatics) without any clinical experience? Thank you in advance for your time.

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i really don't know what or who to believe. i just heard an acquaintance say that there is a glut of it workers (this includes the growing community of health it workers), yet i thought i read somewhere that there will be a shortage of informatic nurses. are the two related? is the shortage related to the experienced informatic nurses? knowing that there is a glut of informatics nurses may not stop me from pursuing a job in this area, but it will give me an idea of what i'm truly up against. opinions and insights would be appreciated.

how can i get started as an informatic nurse? can i go straight to college for this title or must i do clinical \ patient care first? please someone shed some light.

thank you

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Come to St. Louis. Plenty of opportunities here for informatics.

To be an informatic nurse, must I have a master degree ?

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To be an informatics nurse you will need some clinical experience to be hired.

Depending upon your area the educational requirements will differ. I know many LPN's working in informatics spots but they are generally in rural areas and fell into it because they needed someone state and there were few to no applicants. I am one such who is also one of those programmers whose job went overseas.

Going for the RN made a difference, though. It was important to my boss, and the PTB that I was interested in continuing my education.

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To be an informatic nurse, must I have a master degree ?

You do not need a masters degree to be an informatics nurse.

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how can i get started as an informatic nurse? can i go straight to college for this title or must i do clinical \ patient care first? please someone shed some light.

thank you

to become an informatics nurse, you need it and clinical nursing experience.

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Oh, and yes, we are in great demand.

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Specializes in Informatics, Education, and Oncology.

flossit,

Related to your question about a shortage.........as a matter of fact currently 8,000+ nurses are practicing in this specialty many more are still needed. A recent study reported that 40,000 additional professionals are needed to move towards the goal of an EMR for every American.

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What exactly is an EMR?

I am currently taking my prerequisites for an RN Associates degree. I have alway been interested in IT. I did some classes in oracle years ago. I am currently working as a secretary in a hospital while my Union helps me pay for my nursing education. A nurse executive told me about the field of Nursing Informatics and told me I should look into after I finished my associates.

I am blessed to have discovered this website. Thank you all for all the information you have provided.:yeah:

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EMR = electronic medical record.

One thing I would caution people about though: With a recession here, facilities are scaling back on implementing new technologies, and on hiring people to do that, obviously. We have a hiring freeze on and NO new systems installations or upgrades are being considered for the next year.

If you are interested in this field continue on your clinical path and don't give up your day job without something solid in hand. It's getting grim. As it is everywhere.

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