Not a Nurse but an IT Geek

Hi Guys,

I am not a nurse, but have been in IT for about 10 yrs (analyst/developer(programmer). I want to get involve and develop a career in nursing infomatics. What do I have to do? What are the steps involved? I do have a bachelors degree, but in computers. Is anyone aware of the links or sites or schools that I can inquiry with?

Thanks,

[elleNY]

UMD (University of Maryland, a good school!) has a MS in Nursing with a specialization in Nurse Informatics. This program requires a BSN in Nursing and RN..Thus, you would be advised to do an accelerated BSN and then continue to a program like this.

On the other hand, there may be MS Nursing programs which only require a previous degree (Entry to practice I believe they're called)..You could do this, skip the BSN/RN, and then do a relatively short postgrad certification in informatics (also at UMD). OOh the joy of google and free time in between classes ;-) Good luck.

http://www.allnursingschools.com/featured/nursing-informatics/ has a list of programs.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

There are degrees in nursing informatics, but usually at the MSN level and usually have a prereq of being a nurse (most often with a BSN).

[iPink, BSN, RN]

I graduated a couple of years back with a B.A. in ITI (Information Technology & Informatics), I too was thinking about going into Nursing Informatics. After researching further into that specialty, it said those jobs will be in demand in the future, but decided to go the Nurse Practitioner route as they are in demand now. Best of luck!

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

It would behoove you to learn and understand what being a nurse means. I find the software we use now are so NOT NURSE FRIENDLY it's laughable. It's all theory, and not true clinical application. IOW, the software SUX.