Nurses as Consultants to EHR Vendors?

mariafh · Apr 18, 2012

There are many different positions for informatics nurses in the vendor area. This includes R&D, software quality, learning products, marketing, research, and the field organizations. I am an informatics nurse that works for an HIT vendor for critical care information systems (philips). But, what I do is not typical. Since I also have a computer science degree, I am a software engineer in the R&D development and very much involved in with user interface/system design. My position requires a technical/engineer degree and not a nursing degree. We also have nurses in software quality who are responsible for developing test plans and system testing. We have other nurses on the product who work in learning products and are responsible for designing the education programs and user documentation. They also deal with customer clinical support issues that cannot be resolved by the support center. They are also involved in the design/review of the user interface, although they are not designers of the UI. Their travel is minimal and salaries are very good. Other informatics nurses work in the field organization and do the on-site customer implementation and training. Those nurses are the ones that most people meet while working in the hospital. Those jobs require much travel. We also have some other nurses who are involved with coordinating research, both within Philips healthcare (information systems and cardiac monitors) as well as helping customers with research. They have doctorates in general and their focus is research, not HIT. Lastly, we have nurses working in marketing as product managers. They are responsible to determing what the product should do in the future, features in general. They also travel a great deal. For all positions, full time is the norm. Part-time as requested is provided for those that don't travel much. Generally, salaries are very competitive as compared to hospital salaries. We also will call in nurses as consults for focus groups or usability studies, but those are very short term engagements.

rninformatics, DNP, RN · Apr 18, 2012

I work for one of the largest Healthcare IT vendors in the USA and so do many who post to and visit this Forum.

As Mariafh wrote there are several different roles within any vendor organization (device vendors included) - including the ones you mentioned. Salaries vary by role, experience, education level, level of leadership, geographical location, etc.

Here is a resource that may assist you.

http://www.himss.org/content/files/2011HIMSSNursingInformaticsWorkforceSurvey.pdf

Good Luck

Hello,
I'm curious if anyone has been approached (or if anyone has heard of nursing colleagues) to work for an electronic health record vendor? If so, in what capacity? Full-time hire, consultant, contract work? Were you asked for input into interface design (to make the system more user friendly)? Where you asked to help with implementations or workflow assessment and re-design?
Also, what do you know or have heard regarding salary or compensation in these roles? If you are comfortable, what vendors (eClinicalWorks, Meditech, e-MDs, etc)?
Last, if not with EHR vendors, then have you heard or know of nurses working for device manufacturers or other IT businesses (including research, analytics, etc)... and in what capacity?
Just curious to read about opportunities other than hospital based nursing informatics positions. Right now, I work with small physician practices in a consulting role.
Thank you so much.
-Randy

RanRoc · Apr 18, 2012

Thank you, both!. Much to think about with this great information!!! In addition to the link you provided, Angela, I had previously read through: http://www.himss.org/handouts/ni101.pdf ...Looks like similar content. I was somewhat surprised to see a downward trend for hospitals in Primary Workplace settings, although not surprised by the rise in Health Systems. Somewhat disappointed in the decrease in vendor settings.

Angela, I see that you are Board Certified...aside from the what the HIMSS survey reveals, do you feel that it has helped you in terms of getting the work that you wanted, did it help in salary negotiation? Is it recognized and perceived as valuable to non-nursing personnel in HIT (especially C-level pros)?

I'm thinking about sitting for the test after I fulfill the requirements (required CE's).

Thanks to the both of you!

-Randy Yniguez

rninformatics, DNP, RN · Apr 18, 2012

I think that my experience, my Board Certification in NI and my CPHIMS have helped me be more marketable. I feel that the CPHIMS is respected and recognized by IT professionals outside of NI and that my NI certification is recongnized more so by those within nursing, nursing informatics and nursing education.

The PM certification is also a wonderful certification to have related to validation and recognition of expertise. It is also highly regarded within our industry and our speciality.

I attribute the level of compensation I have achieved primarily to GOD, then to my own negotiation skills ( I dont think nurses generally put much effort into developing this skill), knowing my worth and doing my homework as to what the market will allow.

I have of late felt the need to further enhance both my marketability, future career goal achievements and my education by resuming my graduate studies.

Good Luck!

RanRoc · Apr 18, 2012

Thank you for your insights!

-RY